6p
Kenkoy by Tony Velasquez - Singles
(50,000)
17p Ikabod
by Nonoy Marcelo - Singles (50,000)
21p Sakay
N' Moy by Hugo C. Yonzon - Singles (50,000)
22p Kalabog
En Bosyo by Larry Alcala - Singles (50,000)
22p Souvenir Sheets of One (12,500)
Hugo the Sidewalk Vendor by Rodolfo Y. Ragodon
Design Coordinators: Architect Ramon G. Orlina, Dr. Ngo Tiong
Tak
Layout Artist:
Alfonso V. Divina
First Day Covers: Manila
National Stamp Collecting Month -
Cartoonists: Great Achievers in Philippine Art
Antonio Santos Velasquez (Tony Velasquez)
was born in Paco, Manila on October 29, 1910. He is known as the
"Father of Tagalog Komiks." In -1926, while a boy of 16 in high
school, he worked as a photo-engraver at the Banaag Press in Santa
Cruz, Manila, which was later bought by Ramon Roces of Liwayway.
Velasquez took courses in Cartooning and Advertising at the Federal
School of Arts of America. In 1935, he was promoted to chief artist
for the six sister magazines: Liwayway, Graphic, Bannawag, Bisaya,
Hiligaynon, and Bikolnon. On 11 January 1929 the first issue of his
comic creation Kenkoy appeared in Liwayway. Except in Graphic,
Kenkoy appeared in all the magazines either in Tagalog or translated
into the regional languages. The comic strip survived the Japanese
occupation and continued after the war, appearing twice weekly in
the Pilipino Komik. In 1993, he received the "Gawad CCP para sa
Sining" from the Cultural Center of the Philippines. His earlier
awards include Best Komiks of the Year from Graphic Arts Service,
Inc. (1963); Special Award from the Citizens Council for Mass Media
(1971); Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan sa Larangan ng Makasining
na Komiks from the City of Manila (1974). He died April 22, 1997 and
in 1998 received posthumously, the Life Achievement Award from
Komiks Operation Brotherhood.
Nonoy Santos Marcelo
was born on January 22, 1939 in Malabon, then province of Rizal. He
was an AB student at the Far Eastern University when Alejandro Roces,
the FEU dean, spotted his talent and encouraged him to create a
regular strip for the Manila Times. He was critically acclaimed
almost from the beginning, and especially after 1963 when he created
"Tisoy", still a high-water mark in the history of Philippine
comics. A cartoonist of political satire, Marcelo’s works evokes the
funny and oftentimes harsh realities that make up the nation and its
search for a cohesive identity. His cartoon series Ikabod provided a
social commentary on the Marcos dictatorship at a time when media
was under the dictatorship's control. Marcelo's sketches provide a
glimpse into Philippine life. Endowed with great sensitivity,
intelligence, and humor, his highly popular works draw on the
everyday realities of political and social life, reflecting the
unsaid national sentiment of the times. His most popular works are
the comic strips Plain Folks (Daily Mirror), Tisoy (Manila Times),
and Ikabod (Bulletin Today). Marcelo's works merge political issues
with popular forms in drawing a commentary on Filipino society,
especially during a period of heightened state oppression. On
February 2, 1999, he received the Parangal Sentenyal sa Sining at
Kultura Award.
Hugo C. Yonzon, Jr.
was born on May 24, 1924. He spent a semester at the University of
the Philippines College of Fine Arts and Architecture - under the
Ramon Roces Scholarship when he decided to plunge headlong into his
passion for the visual arts. He started his career as an advertising
artist, photographer and cartoonist. His most famous cartoon strip,
"Sakay N' Moy", ran in the old Manila Times for more than 18 years
starting in the mid-50's until he devoted most of his time to
painting, mostly oils of Philippine bucolic scenes. Yonzon garnered
major awards in painting (then categorized as modern and realistic),
photography, and caricature. He successfully explored with
neo-realist style, phased into cubism, and settled back into
realistic renditions of his favorite subject of farmers and
fishermen. He was part of the so-called "The Triumvirate" with
Malang and Ang Kiukok, holding three-man shows several times.
Together with four others, they established Gallery Seven, a
trailblazing' artist-owned and managed art gallery that showcased
new works in the early 60s.
Larry Alcala
was born in Daraga, Albay on August 18, 1926. He had a degree in
Fine Arts from the University of the Philippines and served as chair
of the Visual Arts Department of U.P. College of Fine Arts until he
retired in mid-1995. As UP professor, Alcala introduced the degree
course in commercial design and the 8-rnm film production of
animated cartoons. Larry Alcala made over 500 characters, 20 comic
strips, 6 movies, 2 murals, and 15,000 published pages in 50 years
of cartooning. Through Mang Ambo, Kalabog en Bosyo, Asyong Aksaya,
Siopawman, and many others, he entertained readers while injecting
social commentary. His favorite was Asyong Aksaya, the detestable,
wasteful character spawned by the oil crisis of the late '60s and
whom he once said in an interview "we can all see ourselves,
especially that part of us we don't want to acknowledge". His most
popular regular piece 'Slice of Life", where he challenged readers
to spot caricature of himself within the cartoon that depicted
situations in the lives of typical Filipino families. From his home
here, he drew the cartoon weekly for the Philippine Star and the
Sunday Times magazine until his death, along with the daily comic
strip, "Siopawman". Alcala received numerous awards and citations
here and abroad for his cartoons. Among them were the Araw ng
Maynila Award in 1994, Pamana Award for cartooning in 1991, Catholic
Press Award for Best in Humor in 1998, the MOPC-SPIC Excellence in
Cartooning, and the UP Alumni Association Professional Award in Fine
Arts. Founder of the Samahan ng Kartonista ng Pilipinas, Alcala
worked to give Filipino cartoonists wider exposure, observing that
local comics often took a backseat to syndicated and cheaper foreign
strips.
Rodolfo Y. Ragodon
was born on July 27, 1929 in Manila. He got his degree of Bachelor
in Fine Arts (BFA) from the University of the Philippines in 1952.
Since 1962, he has held several one-man and group exhibitions,
including a one-man show in New York, USA in 1991. In 1954, he
created the "Footnotes in Philippine History", which appeared in the
Daily Mirror every Sunday between 1954 and 1972. In 1958, he created
the famous comic strip "Hugo the Sidewalk Vendor", which appeared in
the Manila Times daily between 1958 and 1972. In 1960 and 1962, he
received the Manila Overseas Press Club - Society of Philippine
Illustrators and Cartoonists Award for Best Cartoon - given by the
Cartoonist Association of the Philippines. He was the pioneer
painter of Philippine churches, ancestral homes and old Manila. In
1964, he received the "10 Outstanding Young Men Award" in Paintings.
In 1967-68, he was a UNESCO scholar for studies of colonial churches
in Europe and Mexico. He was commissioned by Imelda Marcos to do 2
paintings as gifts of the Filipino nation to Popes; one for the late
Pope John Paul VI on his first visit to the country in 1970, and the
other for Pope John Paul lion his coronation day. Since 1997, he
became a member of the Art Authentication Panel of the National
Museum. He died on April 28, 2001 in
Quezon City.