Source: PDI
This comics retelling was awesome, but much too short
I GREW up watching the many reincarnations of Darna, from the very young Vilma Santos, to Nanette Medved, Anjanette Abayari, and the more recent Angel Locsin and Marian Rivera.
Darna was our homegrown Wonder Woman, a simple, unassuming lass whose superpowers were revealed after swallowing a pebble and shouting “Darna!” She was, in a way, also representative of the Pinoy’s dream girl—a contrast of simplicity, power, beauty, integrity, and let’s not forget, a smoking hot body.
The typical image of Darna immortalized on celluloid fighting crime in skimpy clothing and jiggly bits was what gave “Darna Lives,” the nine-page graphic fan fiction retelling by artists Gerry Alanguilan and Arnold Arre, so much impact. It was jarring to see Darna/Narda as a fat, weary, plodding housewife, tending to her demanding kids, her unattractive, unappreciative husband while simultaneously eking out a living selling meat at the palengke.
You know though that it’s not the whole story, and the last frame dramatically reveals that there is so much more to Narda the limp housewife.
Unfortunately, that’s where it ends. The whole story is one big question that will have you wanting to camp out at Gerry’s door, demanding more pages.
While we didn’t really camp out at his house, we did ask him a few questions about “Darna Lives,” and why that life was cut short.
Why Darna?
As a comic book creator, my mind is actively imagining, “What if I could do this or that?” on a variety of things. One of the things that my mind was on was Darna. As a character, I feel that she has become rather stagnant, with every new incarnation just going over what has been done before.
I first thought of this story in 1994, and during that time I was still reeling from how Alan Moore had revitalized UK’s equivalent of Darna, which was Marvelman. Moore had a new and interesting take on such an old character, and I thought I would apply the same sensibilities to Darna and see what would happen.
How did you intend to tell “Darna Lives” if you were to be given a chance to complete it?
Even back in 1994, I was not optimistic that we would be allowed to do this kind of story, but if I could do at least the first segment of it—which were the first nine pages—I’d be very happy. It would be enough to show the possibilities that can be done with the character if one is not bound to follow what had gone before.
But if there was a small chance we could get to continue with it, yes, I do have an entire story planned, which would have explained everything. I planned it as a one-shot graphic novel of perhaps 150-200 pages, as opposed to the traditional serialized installments spread over several months.
Have the Ravelos seen your version yet?
Yes, they sent congratulations, but I get the impression that this is not something they wish to pursue at this time— and it’s really completely understandable. I’m really happy with the nine pages Arnold and I did, and I think Arnold and I are better off creating our own characters. It’s cool to reinterpret characters created by comic book artists from another generation, and as a fan, it excites me as well to see new artists do things with them.
But as comic book creators, I think it would be much better if we created our own things for our generation.
Did you expect the reception from fans to be this enthusiastic?
No. It was quite unexpected! I knew Arnold and I would get some reaction, but we were really overwhelmed and surprised by the intensity of the reactions.
So what’s next? Can we expect more from “Darna Lives”?
Although I was optimistic in my blog about continuing the series if we were given permission, it’s very unlikely that there will be anything more. Yes, it ends on a crazy cliffhanger, but perhaps it’s better that way. I think Arnold and I were able to show that Darna, as a character, can stand to be interpreted differently to allow her to remain appealing and relevant to a new audience. I hope “Darna Lives” can push for this kind of change. I think Filipinos, as we have seen, are open to it, and comics creators and filmmakers do not need to keep relying on old tricks and gimmicks that have worked before. I hope it can push our storytellers in other media, especially TV and movies to be bolder. “Di mage-gets ng masa yan” is a stupid, cowardly statement that ensures nothing but stagnancy.
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This comics retelling was awesome, but much too short
I GREW up watching the many reincarnations of Darna, from the very young Vilma Santos, to Nanette Medved, Anjanette Abayari, and the more recent Angel Locsin and Marian Rivera.
Darna was our homegrown Wonder Woman, a simple, unassuming lass whose superpowers were revealed after swallowing a pebble and shouting “Darna!” She was, in a way, also representative of the Pinoy’s dream girl—a contrast of simplicity, power, beauty, integrity, and let’s not forget, a smoking hot body.
The typical image of Darna immortalized on celluloid fighting crime in skimpy clothing and jiggly bits was what gave “Darna Lives,” the nine-page graphic fan fiction retelling by artists Gerry Alanguilan and Arnold Arre, so much impact. It was jarring to see Darna/Narda as a fat, weary, plodding housewife, tending to her demanding kids, her unattractive, unappreciative husband while simultaneously eking out a living selling meat at the palengke.
You know though that it’s not the whole story, and the last frame dramatically reveals that there is so much more to Narda the limp housewife.
Unfortunately, that’s where it ends. The whole story is one big question that will have you wanting to camp out at Gerry’s door, demanding more pages.
While we didn’t really camp out at his house, we did ask him a few questions about “Darna Lives,” and why that life was cut short.
Why Darna?
As a comic book creator, my mind is actively imagining, “What if I could do this or that?” on a variety of things. One of the things that my mind was on was Darna. As a character, I feel that she has become rather stagnant, with every new incarnation just going over what has been done before.
I first thought of this story in 1994, and during that time I was still reeling from how Alan Moore had revitalized UK’s equivalent of Darna, which was Marvelman. Moore had a new and interesting take on such an old character, and I thought I would apply the same sensibilities to Darna and see what would happen.
How did you intend to tell “Darna Lives” if you were to be given a chance to complete it?
Even back in 1994, I was not optimistic that we would be allowed to do this kind of story, but if I could do at least the first segment of it—which were the first nine pages—I’d be very happy. It would be enough to show the possibilities that can be done with the character if one is not bound to follow what had gone before.
But if there was a small chance we could get to continue with it, yes, I do have an entire story planned, which would have explained everything. I planned it as a one-shot graphic novel of perhaps 150-200 pages, as opposed to the traditional serialized installments spread over several months.
Have the Ravelos seen your version yet?
Yes, they sent congratulations, but I get the impression that this is not something they wish to pursue at this time— and it’s really completely understandable. I’m really happy with the nine pages Arnold and I did, and I think Arnold and I are better off creating our own characters. It’s cool to reinterpret characters created by comic book artists from another generation, and as a fan, it excites me as well to see new artists do things with them.
But as comic book creators, I think it would be much better if we created our own things for our generation.
Did you expect the reception from fans to be this enthusiastic?
No. It was quite unexpected! I knew Arnold and I would get some reaction, but we were really overwhelmed and surprised by the intensity of the reactions.
So what’s next? Can we expect more from “Darna Lives”?
Although I was optimistic in my blog about continuing the series if we were given permission, it’s very unlikely that there will be anything more. Yes, it ends on a crazy cliffhanger, but perhaps it’s better that way. I think Arnold and I were able to show that Darna, as a character, can stand to be interpreted differently to allow her to remain appealing and relevant to a new audience. I hope “Darna Lives” can push for this kind of change. I think Filipinos, as we have seen, are open to it, and comics creators and filmmakers do not need to keep relying on old tricks and gimmicks that have worked before. I hope it can push our storytellers in other media, especially TV and movies to be bolder. “Di mage-gets ng masa yan” is a stupid, cowardly statement that ensures nothing but stagnancy.
