Tony DeZuniga’s creative artwork brought DC Comics characters like Black Orchid and Jonah Hex to life.
For several years, the Filipino comics creator and illustrator made his home in Stockton.
Now, the Haggin Museum is displaying the original artwork of DeZuniga’s. The exhibition features a range of work, from comic books to commercial art, on display through Aug. 16.
DeZuniga, who died in 2012 at age 79, “used dramatic lighting, intricate textures, and dynamic compositions to create richly immersive worlds. His work redefined the possibilities of comic book art, inspiring generations of artists and leaving a lasting legacy in the industry,” the museum said.
DeZuniga was born in the Philippines and kept strong ties to the island nation throughout his life. He had worked in advertising and produced graphics, but comic books would be his claim to fame. He was the first Filipino comic book artist published by American companies.
In the 1970s, he worked on DC Comics, where he was known for bringing an emotional edge to characters. In later years, he turned to the emerging video game industry. He used his illustrator and storytelling skills to help develop games for Sega.
The Haggin exhibit of DeZuniga’s works fits nicely with the museum’s collection from another famous commercial artist, German-born J.C. Leyendecker, Haggin CEO Susan Obert said. In addition to creating covers for popular coffee-table magazines, Leyendecker illustrated classic advertisements in his early 20th-century heyday, whether it was handsome men in suits or pink-cheeked children devouring Kellogg’s Corn Flakes.
As for DeZuniga, Obert said: “He’s known for his comic books … but he really did a full range of artwork.”
Plus, he has a Stockton connection. “It is so fun when there it is something with local ties,” Obert said.
Tina DeZuniga described her late husband as a genial, intelligent man with a gift for humor. He had been working in San Francisco and New York, but came to the Stockton area to be close to a daughter in Lathrop after his previous wife had fallen ill.
She was running the Red Orchids restaurant in downtown Stockton at the time when DeZuniga asked her to cater a ceremony — the blessing of the house — after his wife had died.
“He was very nice, very funny, very smart,” she told Stocktonia.
As time passed, the two became more than acquaintances.
“When he first came into the restaurant, he kept telling me, ‘I am an artist,’ ” she recalled. “Then he starts sending me flowers every day. After a week or so, my restaurant looked like a flower shop.”
They married in 2001 and eventually moved back to his native Philippines, where she said they were happy and surrounded by friends.
After he died, she returned to the Stockton area, where family members now run another Filipino restaurant, Best Lumpia, on Thornton Road.
She said she’s thrilled to see his work displayed in the Haggin.
“It’s a good tribute for comic art and Tony,” she said. “It’s something that’s really special.”