As a young and struggling cartoonist, Ravelo brought his superheroine idea as the Philippines' answer to Superman to various publications both in the Philippines and in the United States but was rejected because publishers kept telling him "female superheroes will not sell". So Ravelo shelved his concept for the duration of the war. Years 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.