Growing up joy: Lao Fu Zi and other old-school comics

(Clockwise from top left) Asterix, Mafalda, Archie comics and Dennis The Menace. PHOTO: ST FILE / SCREENGRABS FROM YOUTUBE

The creator of Lao Fu Zi or Old Master Q comics, Alfonso Wong, died on Jan 1, 2017.

His comics, which were also adapted into movies and cartoons, entertained generations of children, and even adults, in Asia.

Here are nine other old-school comics you may remember reading:

1. The Wanderings of San Mao

San Mao's hard life as a child vagabond can also been seen as a comment on the state of China at the time. PHOTO: ST FILE

San Mao, which means "three strands of hair" in Chinese, was traditionally a popular nickname for children.

First published in 1935, the comics by Chinese artist Zhang Leping used San Mao, an orphan, to illustrate the tumultuous changes in Chinese society.

His hard life as a child vagabond can also been seen as a comment on the state of China at the time.

San Mao is perhaps the oldest Chinese cartoon character still in popular consciousness today, according to China Daily.

2. Mafalda

Mafalda often stumped her middle-class parents with questions about the world. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM YOUTUBE / TELECLAN TV

Comic strip artist Quino created Mafalda in 1963.

The innocent little girl with big hair and profound questions was popular worldwide. She often stumped her middle-class parents with questions about the world.

Her siblings and friends - a group that expanded as the Argentine comics continued - represented different types of people in society, from the materialistic to the idealistic.

3. Doraemon

A page from a Doraemon comic. PHOTO: ST FILE

The Japanese comics starring robot cat Doraemon and his bumbling owner Nobita was first published in 1969.

Thousands of stories about Nobita's mishaps with gadgets of the future were published in the original series.

The television cartoons that aired from 1979 to 2005 were also extremely popular. There have been movies, video games and a musical in Japan based on Doraemon.

4. Dennis The Menace

PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM YOUTUBE / Y2J19831

Dennis The Menace debuted in 16 newspapers in the United States in 1951 and is still running.

The perpetual 5½-year-old Dennis is now 65, and his run-ins with crotchety neighbour Mr Wilson are still ongoing.

Comic artist Hank Ketcham used his own family, including wife Alice and his then four-year-old son Dennis, as inspiration for the comics.

There was also a completely different British comic of the same name, which happened to be published on the same day as the American one.

5. Archie

Archie's love triangle with Betty and Veronica brought in peak sales of about half a million copies a year in the 1960s. PHOTO: TWITTER / @ARCHIECOMICS

Teens Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead and Reggie from Riverdale High are like familiar friends to fans of the long-running series. It has been around since 1941, and marked its 75th anniversary in 2015.

The wholesome, red-headed Archie's love triangle with Betty and Veronica brought in peak sales of about half a million copies a year in the 1960s.

In 2014, the adult Archie was shot dead in the Life With Archie series, while protecting his gay best friend Kevin Keller. The series starring teenage Archie continued.

6. Asterix comics

Asterix, who lived in the first century BC, has sold more than 325 million comic books. PHOTO: ST FILE

Asterix and his village of indomitable Gauls, who lived in the first century BC, have sold more than 325 million comic books.

Late writer Rene Goscinny and illustrator Albert Uderzo created the first story in 1959.

The French series almost came to an end in 1977 with the death of Goscinny, but luckily for fans, Uderzo decided to carry on alone.

7. Richie Rich

PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM YOUTUBE / CARTOOONSINTROS

Richie Rich is still a shorthand for someone immensely wealthy, more than 60 years after the American character was created in 1953.

The "poor little rich boy", who has an impossibly competent butler named Cadbury, is the richest boy in the world.

Home Alone child star Macaulay Culkin played Richie in a 1994 movie.

8. The Adventures Of Tintin

Tin Tin And The Picaros and Tin Tin: The Shooting Star. PHOTO: ST FILE

Intrepid journalist Tintin, his cowlick and faithful dog Snowy, have adventures from the high seas to outer space in the series by Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé.

It first appeared in a youth supplement for a newspaper in 1929.

There are 23 complete books in the series. Artist Remi died in 1983, aged 75, while drawing the 24th instalment - Tintin And Alph-Art.

9. Candy Candy

Candy Candy is based on the life of a beautiful blonde orphan girl and set at the start of the 20th century. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM YOUTUBE / CANDY CANDY

The shoujo comic - one appealing to teenage girls, with storylines based on relationships - was a huge hit in the 1970s.

The story is based on the life of a beautiful blonde orphan girl and set at the start of the 20th century.

It was based on a novel by Japanese writer Keiko Nagita, who wrote using the pen name Kyoko Mizuki.

It was later made into a popular anime series and short films.

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