Life in six panels: Old Master Q creator Alfonso Wong dies at 93
Tributes paid to iconic Old Master Q creator, author and cartoonist, who died in the United States on New Year’s Day
Legions of fans across the generations are mourning the loss of author-cartoonist Alfonso Wong Kar-hei, the creator of what is arguably one of Hong Kong’s most beloved and enduring Chinese comics, Old Master Q.
“Mr Wong Kar-hei left this world peacefully on New Year’s Day, January 1, at 5.57am US time, due to organ failure as a result of old age,” the statement on the comic publisher’s website read.
Wong’s Old Master Q comic strips first began appearing in local newspaper columns in 1962 just a few years after he moved to Hong Kong from Tianjin. They were serialised in 1964 and became an instant hit. They continue to be published to this day.
His eldest son Joseph Wong Chak – whose name the elder Wong adopted as a nom de plume – took over the franchise following his father’s retirement.
The six-panel comic strips touch upon themes ranging from current affairs and pop culture, to class divisions and social issues such as poverty and suicide.
