This comics has become such a mainstay in our cultural consciousness that I sometimes wonder why not more fun activities are organised around it.
We should have a Lao Fu Zi dress-up day or see more of him in our Chingay parades.
I grew up in the 70s reading it all the time, whether it was at the clinics, barber shop or bookshops in South Bridge Road. It kept me company a lot when I had a bad case of chicken pox in Sec 3. It was so bad I had to be quarantined for 3 weeks.
I have never quite understood why it is called Old Master Q in English, but I am sure as hell proud of Alfonso Wong, the creator and author. He was the first Asian to stand tall in a world of comics dominated by Marvel and DC comics. And Lao Fu Zi humour is no slouch either, often displaying doses of pathos, irony, courage and reverse logic.
It was current also, often displaying scenes and situations of Lao Fu Zi (and his sidekicks) dealing with gangsters dress in bell bottom pants and garish print shirts. Altogether quite a priceless read. And one can still find plenty copies of Lao Fu Zi at salons and barber shops.
