José Zabala-Santos (sometimes spelled as Jose Zabala Santos) (20 July 1911 – September 7, 1985), nicknamed as "Mang Pepe" ("Mister Pepe" in the

Tagalog language Tagalog ( ,According to the ''OED'' anMerriam-Webster Online Dictionary ; ''Baybayin'': ) is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by the ethnic Tagalog people, who make up a quarter of the population of the Philippines, and as ...

Definition o
''Mang''
bansa.org) by hometown neighbors and as "Zabala" by colleagues in the cartooning profession, was a successful cartoonist in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and was one of the pioneers of

Philippine comics Philippine Comics () have been popular throughout Philippines, the nation from the 1920s to the present. Comics studies, Comics scholar John A. Lent posited that the Philippine comics tradition has "the strongest audience appeal, best-known ca ...

. 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''.Sianong Sano by Jose Zabala Santos 1950's
Comicartfans.com (2009-07-07). Retrieved on 2011-05-25. Zabala is one of the "respected names" of artists in the Philippine cartoon and comics industry.

Biography

Although born in Calumpit,

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan (; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on ...

, Philippines in 1911, Zabala spent his childhood years in Malabon, Rizal. He was a resident of Kuatro Kantos, Malabon. He first learned how to draw through his mother, a painter.

Education

He attended college at the School of Fine Arts of the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

, where he met Francisco Reyes, another Philippine comics pioneer. However, he quit school when he was 16 years old. One of the reasons is that the UP School of Fine Arts was not offering cartooning classes He instead opted to enroll and earned a diploma in a cartooning course offered in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

via correspondence learning.

Career

Zabala officially started his cartooning career in 1932 through the sponsorship of Amado V. Hernandez, who was then the editor of Sampaguita magazine. It was during this time that he created the characters ''Titina'', ''Lukas Malakas'', and ''Popoy''. After the demise of Sampaguita magazine, Zabala moved to

Liwayway ''Liwayway''''Liwayway''
Komiklopedia, The Philippine Komiks Encyclopedia, Komiklopedia.w ...

Publications, where he created the cartoon character name ''Sianong Sano'' in 1935 for the Tagalog-language magazine ''Liwayway''. Through Liwayway, Zabala's ''Lukas Malakas'' became popular. Although popularized by Larry Alcala – one of Zabala's students – Zabala was the original creator of the so-called ''Slice of Life'' cartoon page. Zabala's version of "Slice of Life" is titled ''Lifestyle''.Jose Zabala Santos' Lifestyle (1979)
. Romiworks.multiply.com. Retrieved on 2011-05-25. He temporarily interrupted his cartooning career in 1941 upon the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. From 1942 to 1948, he worked for the art department of the Manalang Advertising Agency. It was in the advertising field where Zabala became interested in the art of

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

. After World War II, Zabala moved to Halakhak Komiks to create ''Pinoy'', a cartoon character that had similarities to his ''Popoy'' character in Liwayway magazine. He also illustrated comic book covers while working for Halakhak Komiks. Zabala's ''Si Pino'' was one of the comic strips featured in the first issue of Halakhak Komiks.Halakhak Komiks by Komiklopedia on 2007/04/03
Komiklopedia.wordpress.com (1929-01-11). Retrieved on 2011-05-25. After the declaration of

Martial Law in the Philippines Martial law in the Philippines () refers to the various historical instances in which the Philippine head of state placed all or part of the country under military control—most prominently during the administration of Ferdinand Marcos, bu ...

in 1972, Zabala retired from his cartooning career in Philippine comics to work instead for the Philippine Manufacturing Company (PMC, now known as

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...

)Jose Zabala-Santos (Mang Pepe) (20/7/1911 – 7/9/1985, The Philippines)
Lambiek.net. Retrieved on 2011-05-25. in 1949. In 1955, Zabala worked on an animation project entitled Juan Tamad (“Lazy John” or “John the Lazy”) in cooperation with Francisco Reyes. While working at the Philippine Manufacturing Company, Zabala shot and produced a six-minute 35-mm animated short film for a product of the company. However, there was no certainty whether the film that was processed in the United States had actually been presented as a commercial.Animation Council of the Philippines honors Zabala
. Animationcouncil.org. Retrieved on 2011-05-25. In 1970, Zabala retired from the Philippine Manufacturing Company in order to join the advertising agency of Francisco Reyes, another Filipino pioneer in comics. In 1978, Zabala joined his nephew Nonoy Marcelo, also a cartoonistPtyk is home By Alicor Panao
. Up.edu.ph (2002-12-19). Retrieved on 2011-05-25. to work on the production of ''Tadhana'' ("Destiny"), the first-ever Philippine feature-length

film.

Death

Zabala died in 1985 at the age of 74.Philippine Animation Festival » 2009 » Lifetime Achievement Awardee » Jose Zabala Santos
. Animahenasyon. Retrieved on 2011-05-25.

Awards

Zabala received honors and recognitions for his contribution to the Philippine comics and magazine industry. His awards included the Komiks Operation Brotherhood (KOMOPEB) Life Achievement Award (1984) and the 4th Gintong Parangal ng Malabon's Gawad ng Katangian (1984). Zabala was posthumously awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc. (ACPI) during the November 25 to 28, 2009 Animahenasyon Pinoy Animation Festival that was held at the Gateway Mall, Araneta Center, Cubao,

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

References