DeZuñiga still in ICU after mild stroke
Three days after legendary Filipino comics creator Tony DeZuñiga suffered a mild stroke, his wife and manager Tina assured well-wishers that he is on the mend.
“He’s so much better, he’s aware about everything, he just needs to stabilize his blood pressure and take all the machines out of his system, but for sure, he’ll survive this battle because of the love and prayers you guys poured in,” Mrs. DeZuñiga posted in the artist’s Facebook account.
DeZuñiga, 71, was rushed to Las Piñas Doctors Hospital after he fell ill Tuesday morning.
He is the first Filipino artist to work for the so-called “Big Two” in comics publishing, Marvel and DC Comics. The Los Angeles-based artist is also best known for co-creating “Jonah Hex,” a disfigured Western anti-hero and “Black Orchid,” a bullet-proof superheroine.
In 1978, he flew back to the Philippines to scout for Filipino comic book artists.
“He went before us all into the comicbook world and created Jonah Hex. Our thoughts and power for him these next days and weeks however long it takes,” Filipino artist Whilce Portacio posted in Facebook.
In 2010, DeZuñiga returned to Jonah Hex, pencilling and inking “Jonah Hex: No Way Back,” a graphic novel released to coincide with the Jonah Hex film. These days, DeZuñiga spends his retirement teaching art and doing commissioned paintings.
DeZuñiga was supposed to appear in the book launch of Ruben Napales’s “My Filipino Connection: The Philippines in Hollywood” this week in Makati City. - Jerald T. Uy
Prayers for the family of Sir Tony.