Liwayway Magazine 1923-2005
Hal Santiago passed on some sad news to me today. Liwayway Magazine, the birthplace of the Philippine Comic Book Industry when Kenkoy by Tony Velasquez debut on its pages in 1929, will cease publication in May 2005.
The cancellation of Liwayway will include its regional translations Hiligaynon and Bannawag. Liwayway enjoyed 82 years of much sucess and endured trying times including the Japanese occupation in World War 2. Aside from Tony Velasquez, it also made a super star out of writer artist Francisco V. Coching with his popular serials including Marabini, Hagibis and El Vibora (featured in 2004 in a stamp released by the Philippine Postal Corporation).
It was also a venue in which the talents like Alfredo Alcala, Fred Carrillo, ER Cruz, Federico Javinal, Jun Lofamia, Mars Ravelo, Nestor Redondo, Ruben Yandoc, Alex Niño and hundreds more artists flourished.
Liwayway has been a repository of some of the greatest comics art ever published in the Philippines and I'll be designating May, June and July as Liwayway months as I feature artists and artworks published in Liwayway on this journal and on the online museum.
