‘Old Master Q’ comics began in the 1960s and were published in various Hong Kong’s newspapers and magazines by Alfonso Wong Kar-hei under his pen name Wong Chak.
The comics are not only a timeless memory for the Hong Kong community, and also a collective memory of learning idioms through the four- or six-panel comics for all Chinese. Each character is vividly portrayed in the comics, including the quaint Old Master Q with the humorous Big Potato, the sunshine and honest Mr Chin, together with Ms Chan, Old Master Q’s love interest, Mr Chiu, who loves to compete with Old Master Q, his bold cousin with long braids, his dog Wong Dor-li, and a parrot who loves to send love letters to Old Master Q. There are even monsters and aliens which add up to the story.
Old Master Q has appeared in comics for sixty years and has gone through vicissitudes in life. He became more happy-go-lucky under Wong Chak’s portrait in the 21st century. Regardless of how Old Master Q’s hair style changes, the everlasting elements that run through the comics are the very impressive set of gown and hat of Old Master Q, and more importantly, the young heart of the author.