magic amulets - the only thing in these stories that could even the odds against evil, supernatural forces. After the war, Ravelo realized that the Filipinos were in need of a superhero so he again shopped his superheroine concept to publishers until one of them, Bulaklak Komiks agreed to publish Ravelo's heroine that he now called "Varga" in 1947 (inspired by the Varga girls series of illustrations) and the strip took off. Varga made her debut in Bulaklak Magazine, Vol. 4, #17 on July 23, 1947, which Ravelo wrote and drew. In an interview, Ravelo revealed that he offered his creation first to Liwayway Magazine and other publications but was rejected. Had Liwayway Magazine not rejected the offer, Varga would have been the Philippines' first komiks superhero. Contrary to popular belief, Darna was not named after the magical Ibong Adarna (Adarna bird), which appears in a Philippine epic of the same name. In Bulaklak Magazine, Narda was already established as Varga's mortal identity. "Darna" was simply an anagram of "Narda". The concept and image of the character was based on the illustrations of Superman appearing on comic books brought by soldiers from the United States to the Philippines. It was the story of a mortal girl named Narda (named after one of Ravelo's childhood playmates), her brother Ding and their grandmother, Lola Asay, who lived in the town of Masambong when a falling star revealed itself to be a magic amulet that turns Narda into the superheroine Varga. The name Varga was under ownership of Bulaklak Komiks. Darna's first adventure was first serialized in the pages of Pilipino Komiks (Ace Publications, Inc.) #77 on May 13, 1950, where she was pitted against the sultry snake goddess, Valentina. Here, Narda, a young girl, swallows a stone, which has the word "Darna" on it, and transforms into Darna by shouting out the latter's name. Likewise, Darna turns back into Narda by shouting Narda's name. The stone, which was from the planet Marte, stays in her body. Her secret is known to her grandmother and her brother, Ding, who becomes her sidekick. Darna quickly gained popularity among Filipino comic book readers. The original Darna comics series, written by Ravelo and illustrated by Redondo, ran for 28 issues. Later years On May 31, 1951, Darna made a crossover from comics to cinema even before the comic book serial was finished. Royal Publications under Fernando