Liwayway is a leading Tagalog weekly magazine published in the Philippines since 1922. It contains Tagalog serialized novels, short stories, poetry, serialized comics, essays, news features, entertainment news and articles, and many others. In fact, it is the oldest Tagalog magazine in the Philippines. Its sister publications are Bannawag, Bisaya Magasin, and Hiligaynon.
Lauro "Larry" Zarate Alcala was a well-known editorial cartoonist and illustrator in the Philippines. In 2018, he was posthumously conferred the National Artist for Visual Arts title and the Grand Collar of the Order of National Artists.
Comics in the Philippines have been widespread and popular throughout the country from the 1920s to the present. Komiks were partially inspired by American mainstream comic strips and comic books during the early 20th century. The medium first became widely popular after World War II. Its mainstream appeal subsided somewhat during the latter part of the 20th century with the advent of other mass-media forms such as telenovelas, but experienced a renaissance in the mid-2010s with the increasing popularity of artists such as Gerry Alanguilan, Arnold Arre, Budjette Tan, Kajo Baldisimo, and the rise of fan communities through comic book conventions such as komikon. Webcomics produced by independent Filipino web-based artists have caught the attention of local and foreign readers.
Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang is an anthology of short stories written by "Lola Basyang," the pen name of Severino Reyes, founder and editor of the Tagalog magazine, Liwayway. The original magazine stories have since been adapted into books, comics, television, and film.
Jim M. Fernandez was a Filipino comic book artist best known for his works on Aztec and Aliwan Komiks. He also popularized the fictional character, Zuma in his novels. Apart from being an editor, illustrator, cartoonist, and writer for Philippine comics, Fernandez was also a certified public accountant in the Philippines.
Bienvenido Munoz Noriega Jr. (1952–1994) was a Philippine playwright.
Filipino cartoon and animation, also known as Pinoy cartoon and animation, is a body of original cultural and artistic works and styles applied to conventional Filipino storytelling, combined with talent and the appropriate application of classic animation principles, methods, and techniques, which recognizes their relationship with Filipino culture, comics, and films. It also delves into relying on traditional and common Filipino "sense of going about things" or manner of coping with Filipino life and environment.
Kulafu was one of the earliest comic book heroes in the Philippines. Created on July 7, 1933, by Filipino illustrator Francisco Reyes and Filipino writer Pedrito Reyes, Kulafu appeared on the first colored adventure strip and the first two-page comic strip in the Philippines, under the same title.
Francisco V. Coching was a Filipino comic books illustrator and writer and is regarded as one of the “pillars of the Philippine Komiks Industry”. He served as both illustrator and writer for his comic book stories, Coching is referred to as the "King of Komiks", and as the "Dean of Philippine Comics". In 2014, he was posthumously conferred as a National Artist for Visual Arts, the highest honor for artists in the Philippines.
Federico C. Javinal is considered one of the “great achievers in Philippine Art”, particularly in the field of Philippine comics.
José Zabala-Santos, nicknamed as "Mang Pepe" by hometown neighbors and as "Zabala" by colleagues in the cartooning profession, was a successful cartoonist in the Philippines and was one of the pioneers of Philippine comics. He became one of the most popular cartoonists in the Philippines during the 1950s because of his cartoon characters such Popoy, Sianong Sano, and Lukas Malakas. Zabala is one of the "respected names" of artists in the Philippine cartoon and comics industry.
Halakhak Komiks is the first regularly published comics magazine in the Philippines. Its first publication was on November 15, 1946. It was founded by Filipino illustrator Isaac Tolentino and Filipino lawyer Jaime Lucas.
Antonio "Tony" Velasquez is a Filipino illustrator regarded as the Father of Tagalog comics and as the pioneer and founding father of the Philippine comics industry. He was the creator of Kenkoy, an “iconic Philippine comic strip character”.
Dominador "Hal" Santiago (August 9, 1941 – February 21, 2021) was a Filipino illustrator and writer in the field of Philippine comics. Santiago was described by Filipino writer Jim M. Fernandez as the “Raphael of [Philippine comic book] Illustrators”. His illustrations for eight comics series made him one of the most prolific Filipino comic illustrators, second only to Mar T. Santana, who has illustrated 17 series.
Elena M. Patron-de los Angeles, commonly known by her maiden name Elena Patron, was a Filipina scriptwriter, novelist, poet, dramatist, essayist, and magazine columnist. Patron was one of the few women in the Philippines who ventured and succeeded in writing for Philippine comics, a field that was dominated by Filipino male writers.
Voltar was a comic strip title and comic book character created, written, and illustrated by Filipino illustrator Alfredo Alcala in 1963. A story about Vikings, Voltar was first published in the Philippines by CRAF Publications, a comic book company established by Alcala himself, together with other colleagues in the field of comics such as Virgilio Redondo, Nestor Redondo, Amado Castrillo, and Tony Caravana, among others. Voltar was described as one of the most spectacular comic strips to ever appear in Philippine comics.
Ukala (Ang Walang Suko), meaning "Ukala (The Unrelenting)" [i.e. the one who doesn't give up] was a comic strip title in Philippine comics. The main character in the comic book story is Ukala. Ukala was created in the 1950s by distinguished Filipino illustrator Alfredo Alcala. Ukala, the character, was a Native American Indian or "Amerindian". The story, written and illustrated by Alcala for Filipino readers, was about the adventures of Native American Indians set at a timeline when the first Europeans arrived in the Northwestern region of the Americas. Ukala was adapted into film as Ukala (Ang Walang Takot), meaning "Ukala (The Fearless)" in the Tagalog language. It appeared on the pages of the Philippine comic book named Pilipino Komiks. It had been made into movie by Sampaguita Pictures, directed by Artemio B. Tecson in 1954. Leading performers were Cesar Ramirez in the title role and Alicia Vergel as Margarita.
Virgilio "Virgil" Redondo y Purugganan was a Filipino comic book writer and artist.
Clodualdo del Mundo Sr. was a Filipino novelist, playwright, essayist, short story writer, journalist, screenwriter, teacher, critic. Many comics fans know him as the prolific writer of komiks through Liwayway and Ace Publications.
