Prewar Pinoy comics star Ponyang resurfaces at Tony Velasquez exhibit

Go ahead, ask your parents and grandparents. Chances are, they would know who Ponyang Halobaybay is.

Ponyang who?

She is the sassy and lovable comics strip character with scores of suitors. Created by comics artist Antonio “Tony” Velasquez in 1932, Ponyang is a perfect portrait of the modern and materialistic Filipina in contrast to the profile of Rosing, the wife of Kenkoy.

Ponyang Halobaybay is also the title of Velasquez’s comic strip serialized in Liwayway magazine.

Starting Feb. 15, Ponyang will share the gallery wall at Cevio Art Haus with other fictional characters created by Velasquez.

The retrospective exhibit will showcase 20 pre-war artworks (1930-1950) of Velasquez, an acknowledged pioneer of the Philippine comics industry.

For Cecilio Tobillo, owner of Cevio Art Haus, it is highly unlikely that there has been no proper tribute given to the man regarded as the Father of Filipino Comics since he died in 1997.

“I was in contact with his wife, Mrs. Pilar Velasquez, and informed her that I plan to make a retrospective exhibit of his work which she readily agreed,” said Tobillo in an interview.

“The exhibit will showcase three decades of his original artworks as well as memorabilias lent to me by the family like his pen used in making the artworks, an original copy of the first comics in the Philippines which he made, and his other personal stuff,” he added.

Velasquez created the very first serialized Filipino cartoon strip, “Mga Kabalbalan ni Kenkoy (Kenkoy's Antics)” with writer Romualdo Ramos. It first appeared on the pages of Liwayway magazine on January 11, 1929, kickstarting the tradition of cartoon strips in the country.

Early start

Kenkoy’s cartoonist started his career in 1927 as a part-time artist for Banaag Press when he was attending evening classes at Jose Rizal College. During the same year, Banaag Press was bought by Don Ramon Roces and renamed it Acme Printing, which created graphics for Liwayway.

All of the employees were retained including Velasquez.

In 1935, Velasquez was appointed as head of the advertising department of the Ramon Roces group of magazines, which included Liwayway, Bannawag, Bikolnon, Bisaya, Graphic, and Hiligaynon. He designed the drug bottles and also created cartoon characters for their advertisers. Thus the birth of Captain Cortal for Cortal, Nars Cafi for Cafi Aspirina, Isko for Esco Shoes and many others.

After his retirement in 1947, he founded Ace Publications which started publishing Pilipino Komiks in 1947, Tagalog Klasiks in 1949, Hiwaga Komiks in 1950, Espesyal Komiks in 1952, Kenkoy Komiks in 1959, and Educational Klasiks Komiks in 1961. When it closed down in 1962 after a labor dispute, he founded Graphic Arts Service, Inc., or GASI, which published popular Pinoy Komiks, Pinoy Klasiks, Aliwan Komiks, Holiday Komiks, Teens Weekly Komiks, and Pioneer Komiks.

GASI was the largest publisher of comics in the country in that period. It had state of the art printing equipments, such as a stripping machine and a color separation machine (Vario Klischograph), which were imported from abroad.



More than 300 characters: From Kenkoy to Talakitok

Velasquez created more than 300 cartoon characters, some of whom became Filipino household names, such as Kenkoy, Tsikiting Gubat, Talakitok, Talimusak, and Ponyang Halobaybay. He went to Germany, the United States, and Japan to study their latest methods and technique.

Velasquez was also known for mentoring famous Filipino illustrators including Francisco Coching, Mars Ravelo, Jose Zabala-Santos, and J. M. Perez.

According to Tobillo, Mrs. Velasquez will attend the opening of the exhibit “if her health permits as she is already 96 years old.” Steve Gan and Hal Santiago, his peers in the comic industry will be present as well.

He said, “The exhibit hopes to pay tribute to the man who started the comic industry. May his works be an example to other budding artists who wants to follow his footsteps.”

The exhibit will run until February 28. —KG, GMA News

Cevio Art Haus is located at 60 San Isidro St., Barangay Kapitolyo, Pasig City.