Tony Velasquez

Tony Velasquez was born on 29 October 1910 in Ulilang Kawayan, Paco, Manila, the sixth child of a father from Pangasinan and a mother from Cavite. He studied at Jose Rizal College, completed a correspondence course in illustration in 1934 and, while still a student, worked as a part-time illustrator for the press that became Ramon Roces's Acme Printing.

With the scriptwriter Romualdo Ramos he created Kenkoy, the "Filipino comic star", who first appeared in the Tagalog magazine Liwayway on 11 January 1929, and in 1932 added Ponyang Halobaybay, a portrait of the Filipina of the American era; Nanong Pandak, Talakitok, Talimusak and Tinyente Dikyam followed. From 1935 he was chief advertising artist for Roces Publications, designing labels and mascots for products such as Cortal and Esco Shoes. Regarded as the father of Tagalog comics and the founding father of the Philippine comics industry, he died in 1997.

Sources

Facts in this profile are drawn from the Wikipedia article(s) linked below, consulted on 21 September 2026; the text is original. Wikipedia (English)

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