Master of the Chinese Comic Universe

The Old Master Q comic strip dates back to 1962, and the first bound edition came out two years later. So far, there have been 400 volumes and more than 18,000 individual strips. In the early days Master Q was a four-frame comic, but, in response to the needs of different newspapers with different-sized spaces, it later appeared in six-, eight-, and even twelve-frame versions. The one most familiar to most people is the six-frame version.

Old Master Q was brought into Taiwan many years ago, and remains popular. In 1998, the Shang Yen Publishing Company acquired the rights, and began reprinting old strips. So far they have released 100 volumes. Each one has sold about 20,000 copies, which is very satisfying considering how flooded the contemporary market is with Japanese comic books.

The man behind the Master

Before looking more at Old Master Q, let's first see the man who created the strip, Alphonso Wong. After the end of World War II, Wong tested into the Western art section of the department of fine arts at Fu Jen Catholic University in Beijing. Unfortunately, he had to give up his studies after two years when the Communists seized control of mainland China, and he later left for Hong Kong. But his background in art was of great help in making a living later on in the British crown colony. Little did Wong, who as a child loved to sketch, ever think that he would gain fame and fortune as an adult by drawing comic strips.

Like many children who loved to doodle, Wong was often punished by the teacher because, rather than paying attention, he was drawing little figures or airplanes. Ordered to stand facing the wall, little Wong would wait until there was a lapse in the teacher's vigilance and begin drawing right on the wall! Infuriated, the teacher would then order him to kneel on the floor with his hands behind his back and a pen held between his teeth.

But even this could not deter Wong from finding a way to amuse himself. Using his tongue to move the pen around, he began to draw on the floor, enjoying himself immensely, and completely ignoring the fact that he was supposed to be suffering punishment. Isn't this kind of playfulness and determination reminiscent of Old Master Q himself?

When Wong came to Hong Kong after the fall of the mainland, he worked for a Catholic organization illustrating Bible stories and editing a pastoral magazine. He drew comics in his spare time. Old Master Q was first carried in the Sing Tao Daily in 1962. At first Wong merely wanted to do something with his comic-drawing pastime that he could look back on later, never thinking to turn it into a profession. But, as the saying goes, plant a willow branch and you'll end up in the shade. Old Master Q's antics turned out to mean a great deal to people in an era that was otherwise short on amusement.

Instant hit

The first Old Master Q comic book was published in 1964; the first 6000 copies sold out in two days, and fans pressed the publisher to restock. Thereafter, Master Q was a regular visitor to the best-seller lists. Wong couldn't have stopped if he wanted to, and eventually he decided to become a full-time cartoonist.

A lot of people wonder how Wong has managed to keep coming up with material all these years. Wong says that he draws on daily life. He always has his radar up for material, whether reading the paper, watching TV, seeing a movie, chatting with friends, or just walking down the street. When he gets an inspiration, he immediately jots it down in a notebook, and makes a draft sketch as soon as he gets home. Constant observation, regular note-taking, and then drawing later-that has always been his approach.

Though many readers have never seen Wong in person, he is not a total stranger to them, mainly because he appears from time to time in Old Master Q. Take for example a strip called "Self-Infatuation." The cartoonist is riding a huge motorcycle, but his legs are short, so when he hits a red light he has to stand on tip-toe to keep his balance. Others laugh at him, telling him he is out of his league, or getting too big for his britches. Wong merely retorts that he is studying ballet, and has to practice his postures at every opportunity.

Sleeping with a real character

Miss Chen, the character in the strip who makes Master Q's heart do somersaults, is based on Wong's real-life partner, whose maiden name was Chen Ling-ling. She married Wong when she was only 19, yet proved highly capable despite her tender years. She had to be, for while Wong spent his days drawing cartoons, fishing, and playing with pottery, all the domestic chores fell to her.

Mrs. Wong is upbeat by nature, and with her head of curly white hair, from a distance you could mistake her for a sculpture of a bodhisattva. The robust Mrs. Wong is a far cry in physique from the slender Miss Chen of the strip, a point which Wong can only explain by playfully saying: "Whoops!" The couple have been together for 50 years, and they are still deeply attached. Wong even declares: "Without this wife of mine, I would never have lived so long." He's not kidding. In recent years he has undergone several serious operations, each time relying on his wife's tender loving care to recuperate.

Old Master Q first crossed over to the shores of Taiwan in 1967, and was quickly as successful at bringing happiness as he had been in Hong Kong. Legislator Jao Yung-ching relates that Old Master Q has helped him through many a dark day. He recalls that he first came across Master Q when he was preparing for his university entrance exams. Every day he did nothing but study and take exams; it was depressing. But he discovered that reading Master Q really gave him a lift, and it became a constant companion. Even today he carries Master Q comic books in his briefcase. He explains that when things get slow in the legislature, or some loudmouth legislator is rambling on and on, he just brings out Master Q and immediately he finds solace from the discomfiting atmosphere.

Let's hear from the fans

Author and cartoonist Chao Ning, compares Old Master Q to a Chinese Don Quixote wandering the streets and back alleys. Chao describes Master Q as a purely Chinese comic strip, saying it gives away nothing to foreign comics. So long as you are Chinese, no matter what your age, you can get it. Chao also says that when he feels down, he only needs to see Master Q and he feels a little bit better.

Comic critic Hong Te-ling is also a big Master Q supporter. He says that back in the 1960s, when Master Q first came to Taiwan from Hong Kong, a lot of people's lives would have been very monotonous if not for Master Q. He also says that the friendship and philosophy of life displayed by Master Q and Big Potato was a model for many people of that generation. In the closed Chinese societies of that time, there was nothing to match Master Q for putting a smile on your face by expressing people's innermost feelings. Indeed, Wong sees Master Q as serving precisely this function: release of inner thoughts.

In the eyes of his pals, Alphonso Wong's every gesture and every word are as amusing and outrageous as the comic strip itself. He even looks a little like Big Potato. But in personality he is more akin to Old Master Q, quick on his feet and still a child at heart. Privately, though, Wong still prefers Big Potato, who is honest and loyal and will go through anything for his friend; people like him are indispensable in real life.

Wong often deprecatingly calls himself a circus clown, just putting out some foolishness to amuse people. Though he has been famous for decades, he remains modest. He insists that he is not worthy of the title "cartoonist," claiming: "I just draw pictures depicting my own life, so how do I dare consider myself a real cartoonist?"

Though now 77, Wang is very healthy energetic and still works steadily. Is he feeling the pressure from up-and-coming younger cartoonists? With his child-like outlook on life, not a chance: "People are fond of saying that each successive wave on the Yangtze overtakes the one that precedes it, but nothing is going to displace me!"

Wong doesn't think much of contemporary trends in comics. "Every second they have to show something sexual or make the story more violent and scary." He comments that this reflects the culture of the authors. But Wong is not moved by these modern trends, saying: "It's strange. I couldn't think up something sexual or violent and make a comic out of it if my life depended on it." But he can come up with something witty, cute, or absurd at the speed of thought.

After many years of observation, Alphonso Wong is convinced that young people in fact have excellent senses of humor. When they see a funny comic strip, they will laugh right out loud, and pass it around among their friends. But those who produce comic books always think that young people are too dumb to get it, and don't give them the chance. They think young people just want blood and guts, the more provocative the better! Wong believes that such thinking couldn't be more wrong.

Artistic family

Wong has six sons, and all of them have inherited his artistic genes. His eldest son Joseph is an architect, currently teaching at Shih Chien University, who has also helped his father to set up the Old Master Q Comic Workshop in Taiwan. Wong's second son, Peter, worked as an illustrator at the Nelvina animation company in Canada for nearly 20 years, and now has his own animation firm. Number three, Paul, is an architect and interior designer who has done the design work for many department stores and shopping malls in the US. Anthony, the fourth son, is a lead animator for Disney. Among his credits are the films Mulan, The Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast, which have all enjoyed popular and critical acclaim. Wong's fifth son, Solomon, designs gift products. The youngest in the group, Ken, originally studied medicine, but his passion for the visual arts was too strong to resist, and several years ago he also became an animator. He currently works for the Film Roman company.

Joseph Wong has deep admiration for his dad. When he was a child, he stood in awe watching his father draw and paint. "In those days, in order to make a little extra cash, father did posters for films. I used to stand next to him watching him depict these beautiful actresses with a few strokes, and the likenesses were uncanny!"

Wong reveals that, though he enjoyed watching his father work every day and grew to love doodling himself, he would never draw in front of his father. Once when Joseph had to hand in an oil painting assignment, he worked for a couple of hours, but still was not satisfied, and had to ask his father for some advice. His father took one look at it, picked up the brush, and did the painting over. Joseph didn't dare to take it directly to school, and so deliberately added some immature brush strokes before turning it in. Nonetheless, when his classmates saw it, they knew immediately, and laughed at the younger Wong: "Your father definitely must have done that for you!"

Joseph Wong notes that, having passed through years of tribulation in 1930s China, World War II, and the Civil War, and ending up in Hong Kong, "These older people really know what 'hard times' and 'hard work' mean." Yet, he adds, "This has never come out in father's art. Instead, his drawings express a humorous, mirthful outlook on life."

A Chinese cultural asset

Old Master Q has remained popular with Chinese people from its beginnings to the present day. You can always find the old guy in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Chinese communities in the US. Old Master Q was brought into mainland China in about 1980, with formal publication rights being acquired there in 1998. So where does Master Q sell the best? Statistics say it's still Hong Kong. As the author explains, this is because the strip has been running in Hong Kong for so many years that it has a stable core of loyal readers.

This March, when Joseph Wong accompanied his father on a visit to Kuala Lumpur, he saw for himself the enthusiasm with which readers have embraced Old Master Q. The local media even declared Master Q "a cultural asset of the Chinese people." Having seen these things, Joseph Wong has become more determined than ever to distribute and internationalize the intellectual property rights to Master Q comics, images, cartoons, films, and trademarks.

Alphonso Wong now lives in Los Angeles. He is a great lover of nature, and enjoys a simple lifestyle. Besides drawing and painting, the most important part of his life is fishing, to which Wong declares himself "addicted." Often, he'll get halfway through a comic strip, and then put it down, pick up his fishing pole, and head out to the water. Usually he will spend two or three hours there, and though it's not unusual for him to come back without a single fish, he always feels terrific, and can go back to work to finish his cartoon. He is fond of telling friends: "When there's some difficulty before you, don't plow straight ahead. Just look at things from a different angle, and sometimes you'll get a totally unexpected result."

Alphonso Wong has one more trick up his sleeve: He can draw and paint with both hands at the same time. As a young man, he loved swimming, diving, roller-skating, and hunting, and was even a drummer in a band. As a drummer, he learned to control each hand and foot independently. Over time, he found he could paint ambidextrously, and now even signing his name with both hands at the same time poses no great challenge.

He's obviously had a very interesting life. But when you ask him what the most interesting thing in life is, this old man who still has the heart of a child responds without hesitation: comic books.

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The central characters in the comic strip-including the delightful Master Q, Big Potato, and Mr. Chin-have been right there at the sides of countless Chinese children as they have grown up.

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Fatal Slip

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Panic Attack

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Snake Charming

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Alphonso Wong has long been regularly featured in Hong Kong entertainment magazines and newspaper sections. This is a drawing he did of the newly married starlet Ko Lan. It's only a few strokes, but it's uncanny how Wong captures the essence of the subject.

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Joseph Wong is planning to market a line of spin-off products based on his father's comic strip. These will soon be available to consumers. (photo by Jimmy Lin)