Mars Ravelo kin: ‘Caparas took Komiks King tag from our dad’

The children of Darna creator Mars Ravelo have accused National Artist nominee Carlo J. Caparas of "grabbing" the "Komiks King" title from their father. "Through dubious press releases, Carlo Caparas proclaimed himself the Komiks King," read a statement sent by Ravelo’s daughter, Rita dela Cruz on behalf of her siblings, "A title which, we know Caparas very well knows, belongs to Mars Ravelo." GMANews.TV tried to get Caparas’s side on the issue, but his wife, Donna Villa, said in a phone interview on Saturday that she and her husband were "already tired of defending themselves" in the media. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s choice of Caparas as this year's National Artist for film and visual arts stirred up the hornet’s nest among artists. Caparas's critics claim that the "’90s massacre film" director has bypassed more notable Komiks legends like Ravelo. Caparas shot to fame in the late '70s after his komiks character Panday (Blacksmith) was adapted to film. The lead role was played by Fernando Poe Jr. In the '90s, he directed massacre and pito-pito films (movies shot in seven days) that were popular in those days. More recently, Caparas has been aiming higher. He is engaged in talks to do a film about the EDSA Revolution of 1986 and has expressed interest in filming Pres. Arroyo's biopic. [See: Film director wants Gina Alajar to play Arroyo] According to Ravelo's children, Caparas is a pretender to the throne of "komiks king." "(He) can never represent… artists (like) Tony Velasquez, Larry Alcala, Francisco Coching and our father (who) are komiks legends not as a result of a grand design but because of hard work, extraordinary talent and true passion for komiks. Caparas represents something else," the statement added. Aside from the superheroine Darna, Ravelo also created Filipino classic komiks characters such as Dyesebel, Captain Barbell, Lastikman, and Varga, among others. Most of Ravelo’s creations have either been adapted to film or television over the past 50 years. The Ravelos said they were forced to speak up after TV host Manoling Morato defended Caparas's inclusion on the elite list. Morato reportedly said in a television interview that Caparas deserved to be hailed as a National Artist for reviving the dead komiks industry and crossing over to the big screen. The former chair of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) defended his friend anew and said that Caparas was able to pen 800 graphic novels while Ravelo only managed to create 10. “Nanalo na bang Best Director si Mars Ravelo? Hindi pa kaya wala siyang karapatan. Mas malawak ang nagawa ni Carlo kaysa kanya (Did Mars Ravelo win a Best Director award? He has not, so he has no right. Carlo has had a wider body of work than Ravelo)," Morato reportedly said. Ravelo’s children did not let Morato get away with the statement. “Mamang Manoling, dahil po ba sa eight hundred na komiks novels na isinulat ni Caparas kaya siya nanalo sa category ng visual arts? Sayang kung nakapagsulat pa pala ng limangdaang kuwento ang tatay namin ay puwede na rin siyang manalo," they said. (Because he wrote 800 komiks novels, does it mean Caparas deserved to win in the visual arts category, Mr. Manoling? It’s such a shame! If our dad had only written 500 stories then he should’ve won too.) Ravelo’s children also corrected Manoling: "Mga pito lang po ang naisulat ni Mars Ravelo na nobela sa bawat taon ng 50 years niyang career sa komiks (Mars Ravelo only wrote seven novels in his 50-year career in comics)." "At nasaksihan po namin kung paano trinabaho ng ama namin ang mga nobelang iyon. Ika nga po, ang gabi ay ginawa niyang araw. Tulog lang po ang pahinga. Kasi po kahit nasa kubeta siya, at kahit habang kumakain siya, nag-iisip pa rin siya ng kuwento. Tapos si Mang Carlo ay nakuha pang makapag-direct ng mga pelikula. Wow!," they added. (And we witnessed how he worked in those novels. As the saying goes, he turned the nights into days. He only rested in his sleep. Because even in the bathroom and when he eats, he still thinks of story ideas. Then, Mr. Carlo still had the strength to direct films. Wow!) ’I never said that’ But in a phone interview with GMANews.TV on Saturday, Morato denied pitting Ravelo against his friend Caparas. "I don’t even know Ravelo. Who is he?" Morato said. According to him, he only said in the interview that he did not know any of Ravelo’s works. "I’m not even familiar with these komiks people," he said adding that he could even give a copy of the interview to Ravelo’s family. But when GMANews.TV asked Morato who deserved the National Artist award more, he said: “Si Carlo J. Caparas ang nagbuhay ng komiks. Patay na ‘yun eh. (Only Carlo J. Caparas revived komiks. It was already dead)." “Eh ilan ba ang ginawa ni Mr. Ravelo na Komiks, sampu? Eh si Carlo J. Caparas, 800 (And how many komiks did Mr. Ravelo make, 10? Carlo J. Caparas made 800)," - GMANews.TV