Chiaroscuro of the Uncanny: An Unknown Side of Old Master Q

Wong Chak’s Old Master Q, a superlatively well-known and popular Hong Kong comic series, is commonly seen as a hilarious comedy. Through analyzing hitherto neglected narratival modalities (i.e., the “funny uncanny,” “horror uncanny,” and “as-is uncanny”) whereby Wong plays with disturbing elements, the chapter argues that Old Master Q is actually more variegated and sophisticated. Ng and Wee draw a connection to the age-old supernaturalistic worldview of the Chinese, modern Hong Kongers’ immersion in the paranormal, as well as Western visions of dark cosmic Otherness as expressed by H. P. Lovecraft, Eugene Thacker, and others. Wong Chak is thereby shown to be an artistic master of the uncanny who transcends the bi-cultural tension inherent in a Hong Kong modernizing between the East and the post-Enlightenment West.