Old Master Q
| Old Master Q | |
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Cover of Old Master Q vol. 44. Art by Alfonso Wong.
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老夫子 (lou5 fu1 zi2) |
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| Genre | Humor comics, Gag-a-day, Pantomime comics, Text comics, Satirical comics |
| Author | Alfonso Wong |
| Demographic | Various |
| Original run | 1962 – present |
Old Master Q (Chinese: 老夫子; Jyutping: lou5 fu1 zi2) is a popular Hong Kong manhua created by Alfonso Wong. The cartoon first appeared in the newspapers and magazines in Hong Kong in 1962, and later serialised in 1964. The comic is still in publication today.
The comic is copyrighted by WangZ Inc, a company established by Joseph Wong Chak (Alfonso Wong's eldest son) in Taipei, Taiwan.
The series' cast is led by Old Master Q, an elderly, lanky man dressed in a distinctive traditional Chinese attire. Supporting characters include Big Potato (Old Master Q's identically-dressed contemporary with a stumpy, big-headed build) as well as Mr. Chin, Mr. Chiu and Miss Chan, who are all represented in more modern, progressive attires. In the context of the strips, Old Master Q, Big Potato and Mr. Chin are close friends while Mr. Chiu often plays an antagonistic role toward the trio; Miss Chan is often portrayed as a love interest to Old Master Q.
The overall theme of the comics centers around humour, with characters usually portrayed in a variety of social statuses, professions and time periods, ranging from beggars and office workers to actors and ancient warriors, which allows for a wide variety of scenarios to explore. More outlandish situations incorporate surrealism, close encounters with aliens, ghost sightings, and the afterlife. While each comic is typically produced as short strips of four, six or twelve panels, longer comics have been produced revolving around lengthier adventures of the main cast pitted again gangsters in modern Hong Kong or warriors in a wuxia setting.
While Old Master Q comics primarily focuses on humour, it also reflects changing social trends, particularly from the 1960s to the 1980s. The comics would sometimes feature societal problems in urban life, such as poverty, petty thefts and secret societies. It also poked fun at fashion,contemporary art and rock music. The comic strips sometimes also bemoan the decline of ethical or moral values in modern-day living. Characters often display acts of selfishness or misery, although the comics occasionally display good values like filial piety. The language barrier between the Chinese language and the English language is also depicted in some comic strips, illustrated with Old Master Q's difficulty communicating with foreigners, especially Westerners.
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Wikipedia