A meteor rock falls from the heavens. A gay guy decides to swallow it, believing that it has magical powers to fulfil a wish. Lo-and behold, the rock is magical. However, it doesn’t grant wishes instead it turns him/her into a beautiful woman with superpowers. This person decides to put her new found beauty and superpowers to good use by battling giant amphibians, disgusting corpses and megalomaniac alien feminists.
Does its sound familiar? That’s because it is. It sounds like Darna, but it’s not. It’s Carlo Vergara’s graphic novel, ZsaZsa Zaturnnah. Many people believe that ZsaZsa Zaturnnah is nothing more than a rip-off of the quintessential Philippine heroine, Darna.
Of course, it’s easy to think that. The way that they acquire their superpowers is the same, their outfits look alike and they both have a knack for fighting against power-hungry women. What makes Zaturnnah different from Darna is that Zaturnnah is funnier. She has a lot more character.
However, ZsaZsa Zaturnnah isn’t just a graphic novel that makes a person laugh like crazy but it is also something that mixes classic Filipino culture with the modern Filipino culture. It takes the iconic Darna and gives it an extra oomph. Instead of having the typical pretty girl turn into a superhero, Carlos Vergara substituted the pretty girl with a fun gay character, Ada. And the result is marvellous.
The language used in ZsaZsa Zaturnnah is very easy to understand. Unlike, other Filipino literature that uses words which are rather difficult to understand and seem to be taken from a soap opera. It uses colloquial language mixed with gay lingo. This makes the graphic novel very upbeat and easy to comprehend.
ZsaZsa Zaturnnah is not just a brainless story. It also has a lesson. Although the lesson is in typical comic book corniness, it is still there. It tells the reader that one must be true to themselves. Even if you are a superheroine or a gay hairdresser. - MAE EDILLON
Photograph Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zsazsa_Zaturnnah
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