[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pg8_yd_6atcv3mo54rm914oejysi6tbiutsxtve0su0.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Advert from the comic's 30th Anniversary back in 1996. [[note]] L - R: [[RidiculouslyAverageGuy Mr. Chin]], [[ObliviousToLove Miss Chan]], [[CoolOldGuy Old Master Q]], [[FatComicRelief Big Potato]], [[TheRival Mr. Chiu]] [[/note]] ]]

%% Zero Context Examples are commented out. Please expand on them before uncommenting. Thanks!
%%
''Old Master Q'' [[note]](Chinese: 老夫子; pinyin: Lǎo Fū Zi; Cantonese Jyutping: lou5 fu1 zi2)[[/note]] is a Chinese manhua created by Alfonso Wong [[note]](Chinese: 王家禧; pinyin: Wáng Jiā Xǐ; Cantonese Jyutping: wong4 gaa1 hei1). Note that Alfonso's pen-name "Wong Chak" (王澤; 王泽; Wáng Zé; wong4 zaak6) is his eldest son's ''real name'' and Wong Jr. took over the comic from him in 1995.[[/note]]. The cartoon first appeared as comic strips in the newspapers and magazines in Hong Kong in 1962, and later serialised in 1964.

The series features Old Master Q and his friends - Big Potato [[note]](Traditional Chinese: 大蕃薯; Simplified Chinese: 大番薯; pinyin: Dà Fān Shǔ; Cantonese Jyutping: daai6 faan1 syu4)[[/note]], Mr. Chin [[note]](Chinese: 秦先生; pinyin: Qín Xiān Shēng; Cantonese Jyutping: ceon4 sin1 saang1)[[/note]], Mr. Chiu [[note]](Traditional Chinese: 老趙／趙先生 Simplified Chinese: 老赵 / 赵先生; pinyin: Lǎo Zhào / Zhào Xiān Shēng;; Cantonese Jyutping: lou5 ziu6/ziu6 sin1 saang1)[[/note]], and Miss Chan [[note]](Traditional Chinese: 陳小姐 Simplified Chinese: 陈小姐; pinyin: Chén Xiǎo Jiě; Cantonese Jyutping: can4 siu2 ze2)[[/note]] - in many different hilarious situations. They are usually portrayed in a variety of social statuses, professions and time periods, ranging from beggars and office workers to actors and ancient warriors, allowing a wide variety of settings and ideas. Some scenarios include aliens, monsters, ghost sightings, and the afterlife. The majority of the comic strips parodies those themes.

In the context of the strips, Old Master Q, Big Potato and Mr. Chin are close friends; Mr. Chiu often play an antagonistic role toward the trio; finally, Miss Chan is often portrayed as a love interest to Old Master Q.

----
!! Old Master Q provides examples of (Note: Most tropes are PlayedForLaughs):

* ThreeSixtyDegreeSwingSetSwing: In one short where Master Q is babysitting a kid in a playground, he gives the kid a hefty push that sends him spinning 360 degrees around the bar more than once... until the kid gets entangled horizontally on the swing's top bar. Cue Master Q's making an OhCrap look.
* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Often seen in ancient Chinese settings, in which Master Q's sword can cut down trees.
* AccidentalPun: In [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2201/ strip #2201]], a westerner asks Master Q about a picture on the wall: a bright sun and a beach. Master Q replies him, "Sun of a beach." The next panel shows Master Q with black eyes and the westerner angrily walking away.
%%* AccordionMan
* TheAlcoholic: Most of the male characters often consume alcoholic drinks and may end up with double vision, pouring the drink on one's head, passing out on the streets, etc.
* AlienAmongUs: The plot of the animated film ''Old Master Q & "San-T"'' where an alien Master Q encounters the titular alien, who helps him fight the evil landlords who plan to tear down a lunapark.
%%* AllChinesePeopleKnowKungFu
* AllJustADream: For better or for worse, the events taking place in some strips end with the character going through said events waking up with the realization that they had been dreaming all along. [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/30/ Here]] [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/618/ are]] [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1190/ some]] [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/895/ examples]].
* AmbiguousGender: Discussed. A person they encounter [[http://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1716/ in this strip]] has Master Q and Big Potato discussing whether the foul language the stranger used makes them a man or if the hand on their hip while they were angry makes them a woman.
* AmusinglyAwfulAim: This happens to Master Q in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2510/ strip #2510]] when he tries archery but never manages to even hit the stationary target post. It ends with him breaking the bow in anger and leaving in a huff.
* AsideGlance: Master Q, when the outcome of a certain event is too absurd for words, resorts to looking at the reader with a wide-eyed expression of sorts. One woman borrowed this trope [[http://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/839/ here.]]
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: When there are pretty girls around, Master Q will be distracted. HilarityEnsues afterwards.
** One strip shows Master Q is flirting with Miss Chan. His speech to Miss Chan is roughly translated to: "You are my life. You are my soul." But when a girl passes by, he is cut in the middle of his speech. When the girl has gone, he asks Miss Chan, "What was I talking about earlier?"
** [[http://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2097/ Sometimes Mr. Chin experiences this problem too.]]
* BaldnessAngst: Some strips happen due to Master Q's desire to no longer be bald. [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2477/ See]] [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2496/ for]] [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2379/ yourself.]]
* BananaPeel: One of the myriad agents for SlipperySkid. In [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1908/ strip #1908]], however, it's somehow responsible for a [[EpicFail freak car accident that sends Master Q's car crashing into a building, with the car in question ending up FAR ABOVE GROUND]].
* BeyondTheImpossible: Most of the strips feature this. Includes Master Q [[http://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1669/ eating bullets before shooting as if his fingers are real guns,]] [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2186/ pulling out a pistol in ancient Chinese settings during a fight]], [[http://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1733/ eating two microphones at once,]] etc.
%%* BigEater: Most of the male characters are this. Sometimes leads to BalloonBelly.
* BillionaireWristband: In one episode, Master Q and an unnamed rich man get into an argument over who's richer, showing off their wallet and credit cards, and finally culminating in Master Q boasting about his diamond-studded Rolex. Their argument is cut short [[TemptingFate when a robber suddenly shows up, holds them at gunpoint, and announces it's a robbery]].
* BlackComedy: Many strips involve some pretty grim material, up to including the main characters dying, but all PlayedForLaughs. And thanks to NegativeContinuity, death doesn't stick.
* BodyguardBetrayal: In [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1919/ strip #1919]], Master Q hires a man as his bodyguard at the rate of $10 a day, which the man claims is low, but he relents when Master Q threatens to find someone else. The hired guard accompanies him to a bank... and then has Master Q BoundAndGagged when no one is looking before leaving with the money Master Q takes out of the bank.
* BreakingTheFourthWall:
** Sometimes Master Q is drawn to be looking at the readers while speaking.
** Happens in universe. Master Q is performing in the TV. Big Potato suddenly phones him with the phone in front of the said TV to tell him that his house is burning. Master Q reacts by getting out of the TV screen and asking Big Potato about the fire.
* BruceLeeClone:
** In-universe example and parodied. There's one strip where Master Q asks Big Potato not to leak out his secret: people are saying that he is like Bruce Lee.
** The first animated film had So-Totally-Not-Bruce Lee train Master Q and Potato, as they are on the run from criminals.
%%* ButtBiter: Especially when there are dogs involved.
%%* ButtMonkey: The titular character is this.
* CantYouReadTheSign: Some strips involve someone doing whatever is noted as inadvisable by the nearby sign.
** In [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/252/ strip #252]], Master Q spots a sign underneath a bench and takes it out by tilting the bench, only to discover that the sign reads "WET PAINT", by which point his right hand already has paint on it.
** Master Q takes a peek at a nude beach through the fence despite the nearby sign reading "MEMBERS ONLY" in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2149/ strip #2149]].
--->[[BreakingTheFourthWall Damn Alfonso Wong.]]
%%* CasanovaWannabe: Most of the male characters, especially Master Q.
* CelebrityParadox: One of the comic strips have Master Q, Chin and Big Potato buying tickets for their own cartoon, ''Older Master Cute'' (1981). Cue the ticket seller making a sudden DoubleTake.
* CharacterTitle
%%* TheCharmer: Mr. Chin is implied to be this by his friends in the fourth animated film.
%%* TheChewToy: All the characters, especially Master Q.
* CloudCuckoolander: Master Q. Most of the time.
** When Miss Chan tells him that two men are proposing her and she can't decide who she should go with, Master Q tells her to go with him instead.
** When Master Q's boss scolds him for a very long time, [[http://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1364/ Master Q laughs at the boss, infuriating him so much]].
** There is one strip where Master Q is a palmist. When a beggar asks for money by showing his palm, Master Q does a fortunetelling.
* CoconutMeetsCranium: Mr. Chin suffers from this fate in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1847/ strip #1847]] when a coconut drops onto his scalp while he sunbaths under a coconut tree.
* CombatPragmatist: Ranges from spitting and biting the foe to taking off foe's shirt, which leads to a DefeatByModesty.
* ComedicSpanking: Master Q in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2/ this strip]] ends up having to spank a fussy child to get him to behave for a hair cut.
* CrashingDreams: Literally played straight in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/146/ strip #146]], in which Master Q dreams of driving a fast car that ends up crashing before he wakes up and finds his bed that was nowhere near the wall in front of him as he slept having struck said wall.
* DeathGlare: [[http://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2034/ This strip has Old Master Q being subjected to one such glare from a girl he takes a fancy to at the moment.]] Almost looks like a fiery EyeLaser.
* DisasterDominoes: Played literally straight in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2488/ strip #2488]]: Big Potato trips over the uneven ground, falls forward, and collides with (in sequential order) Old Master Q, Mr. Chin, and finally Mr. Chiu, who walk in the AllInARow formation in front of him, with the box Mr. Chin hoists over his head hitting Mr. Chiu for good measure.
* DisguisedInDrag: Played with in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2340/ strip #2340]]. Big Potato, in his normal clothing, bumps into a waiter holding a bowl of noodles, causing the noodles to fly out of the bowl and fall onto Big Potato's head, which, in turn, results in the waiter mistaking him for a woman, much to Big Potato's chagrin.
-->Sorry, miss.
* DisneyDeath: Sometimes it's shown that Master Q is already dead, but turns out to be alive again. Also a case of DeathIsCheap.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Many examples, but one is particularly extreme: A man disposes of a bottle from his window, which nearly hits Master Q. In return, Master Q runs up to him and ''[[http://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2014 throws him into outer space.]]''
* DIYDentistry: In one episode, the title character helps his friend, Chin, remove a tooth with a closing door... only [[OffWithHisHead to remove Chin's entire head instead]]. Yes, it's PlayedForLaughs and Chin comes back the next issue in one piece because of the comic's NegativeContinuity nature.
%%* TheDoorSlamsYou: Extremely common. Usually when the characters are hasty.
* DownerEnding: Quite a few strips end this way due to some unforeseen incidence turning an otherwise fine circumstance into a ShaggyDogStory.
** Master Q manages to bypass his opponents, goalie included, in a soccer match in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/899/ strip #899]], and kicks the ball to score... only to end up kicking it over the goalpost and miss the shot, leaving him to beat himself up with fluent SymbolSwearing over his blunder.
** Master Q does his best to clean up his residence in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2335/ strip #2335]] in anticipation for the friends' arrival, but the place ends up looking less than ideal due to them showing up in rainy weather.
* DrosteImage: Invoked with Master Q's [[http://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1012/ self portrait]] where he paints himself holding the canvas, then he paints himself holding the canvas in the smaller canvas, and so on. The last panel shows the real Master Q holding the painting the same way the painting of himself is holding it.
* DrunkenMaster: Sometimes Master Q can take out robbers while being drunk.
* DrunkOnMilk: A strip had OMQ and Mr. Chin walk out of a bar drunk on wine. Big Potato, however, walks out drunk on a liter of soda.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Especially notable in the strips from the late 60s.
** The earlier strips are more "realistic" and grounded in reality, per se. Later strips contains more outlandish elements such as aliens, supernatural, time travel, giant monsters, and stuff which wouldn't occur in real life.
** Chin doesn't show up until the later installments, and even when he does, he's a FlatCharacter at best.
** Master Q's affection for his girlfriend, Miss Chan, isn't that obvious in the earlier strips.
** The most jarring element? Mr. Chiu actually debuts in a long story titled "Haunted House Adventure", involving Master Q, Potato Head and Chin travelling to a rural village to visit Master Q's grand-auntie, and in that story, not only is Mr. Chiu introduced as Master Q's distant cousin, but he's actually a friend and ally to the trio! Alphonse Wong only started portraying Mr. Chiu as an enemy maybe a decade later after his debut, to create an antagonist solely for the story, and his FaceHeelTurn is never explained.
* EngineeredHeroics: Master Q pulls this when he fends off a mugger who turns out to have been paid to act as such in order for Master Q to impress a girl in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1939/ strip #1939]].
* ExactWords: Happens more than once.
** In [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1891/ strip #1891]], Master Q kills a mosquito landing on Big Potato's head with a newspaper. Because Big Potato was napping at the time, however, he's not pleased that Master Q woke him up prematurely and tells him not to use a newspaper. When Master Q spots another mosquito landing on Big Potato's head, he kills it... with a fly swatter this time.
** Applied without texts in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2316/ strip #2316]]. Miss Chan points to some heart-shaped declarations of love marks on a tree she and Master Q are passing by on their date, and so Master Q decides to do the same... except the heart shape he carves is the anatomically-correct version.
** Master Q invites a girl out on an expedition for their date in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2386/ strip #2386]] and remarks that their driver has arrived after a short walk. The girl assumes they're going in a car... but the last panel shows that the vehicle of choice is a ''bus''.
* FashionDissonance: Exaggerated for comedy. The manhua started in the early 60s but the strips move on with the times as well and it is very noticeable through the random civilians' appearances (i.e. [[TheSixties long-haired hippy-dippy men]], [[TheSeventies flared trousers]], [[TheEighties shoulder pads]], etc.) which causes Master Q to point out the more ridiculous looks that were considered trendy. [[IWasQuiteAFashionVictim Though he's not above]] [[http://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/154/ trying to fit in as well.]]
* FlippingTheBird: Master Q [[http://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/602/ in this strip (though it's difficult to tell)]] when a man wolf-whistles to a girl he's with, [[{{Hypocrite}} despite doing the same to random women a few panels ago]].
* FlowerPotDrop: Very common. Often happens as a result of Master Q singing to attract a woman. In [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1918/ strip #1918]], a woman does this to Master Q twice: the first time by accident, and the second time on purpose.
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: A lot.
** Master Q and Mr. Chiu quarrel this way: Master Q is in the TV. Mr. Chiu is watching the TV and sees Master Q, so he calls him, "Damn you, Master Q." Then Master Q looks at the camera and replies to his insult.
** There is a strip when Master Q is watching a cowboy show. The cowboy has drawn his gun and is shown to be aiming at Master Q on the TV. It ends with a panel showing Master Q lying limply on the couch.
** Another strip features two people fighting in the TV, which damages everything nearby (includes a vase above the TV), which leads to Master Q and Big Potato calling police.
** [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2498/ Strip #2498]] has Master Q's cat reaching towards the TV screen when a fish appears there, before reaching into the TV itself. Master Q laughs at his cat... and the strip ends with his cat leaving with the fish that initially appeared on TV, shocking Master Q as a result.
** An [[InvertedTrope inversion]] happens in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2198/ strip #2198]] when the TV show features a lady teaching how to apply lipstick. Then Master Q and Big Potato move the TV. The next panel shows that the lady's face and lips are messy with lipstick.
* TheGadfly:
** Sometimes Master Q annoys Mr. Chiu or the other way round for no reason. Often leads to the two of them fighting.
** Occasionally, Master Q annoys anybody else for no reason, such as when someone is reading a book, he takes it away.
* GaleForceSound: Sometimes downplayed and looks more like SonicStunner. It is chilling and literally hair-raising at times (especially when sung in high pitch).
* GhostShip: Master Q encounters one in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2073/ strip #2073]], with the ship in question being none other than [[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic the Titanic itself]] -- not surprisingly, Master Q decides to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere get the Hell away from it the moment he discovers the identity of the ship]]. For bonus point, the strip itself is actually titled "Ghost Ship".
* GiantMedicalSyringe: The 2002 spinoff, titled ''Master Q's Fantasy Zone Battle'', introduces the sidekick, Chin, who works as a doctor, his first scene teasing a flu patient with a humongous syringe as large as himself. [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere The terrified patient predictably bolts out of the clinic]] just as Chin pulls out a smaller syringe, says "[[JustJokingJustification Nah, just kidding]]!" before realizing the patient had left.
* GoneHorriblyRight: Some strips run on this. Case in point is [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2372/ strip #2372]]: Master Q tries to woo a girl with a bundle of flowers, only to be turned down. He then shows her a large bag full of money, resulting in the girl in question doing a 180-degree change of attitude at once, proving herself to be a GoldDigger. The strip ends with Master Q running away from the girl while holding his bag, with the girl chasing him.
* GrievousBottleyHarm: Usually when Master Q is drunk.
** Deconstructed in a few strips. There is one where Master Q gets hit by a bottle on the head and ends up being submitted to a hospital. There, a pretty nurse serves him until he recovers. But after fully recovering, Master Q wants to return to the hospital so that he'll be served by the nurse again. So, he thinks of hitting his own head with a bottle. The next panel shows people carrying a coffin, where it ends.
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: In [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1933/ strip #1933]], it's a fish/whale instead of a human suffering this fate, as the result of the marine animal in question ramming the boat Master Q had fitted razor-sharp blades to head-on, causing the animal in question to be split cleanly in two halves.
* HardHead: Big Potato often shows this. In one strip, a robber slashes his dagger at Potato's head, but the knife breaks instead.
* HyperCompetentSidekick: [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2200/ strip #2200]]. Mr. Chiu manages to impress the audience with his balancing act despite sweating slightly, and then Master Q takes the props away... with a much more impressive balancing act of his own ''without breaking a sweat'', unseen by the audience.
%%* HyperspaceMallet: Sometimes some characters (mostly women) can suddenly take out a hammer out of nowhere.
%% Is the above used for slapstick?
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[http://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1200/ Right here.]] Yeesh! Thank God these comics are in black and white...
* ImprobableAimingSkills: Commonly shown by Master Q or is sometimes averted in the strips. Master Q can hit a fly by throwing an adhesive tape, pierce dragonflies with arrows, etc.
* JumpRopeBlunders: One strip had the comic's resident FatComicRelief, Big Potato, intending to exercise by jumping rope a hundred times, with his friend Chin do the counting for him. But due to Potato's short stature and clumsiness, he repeatedly gets the rope hitting his face instead.
--> '''Chin''': "One!" [cue Potato's jump-rope hitting his face]
--> '''Potato''': "That one doesn't count. Do it again."
--> '''Chin''': "One! [Potato's jump-rope hits his face again]... again?"
--> '''Potato''': "Yes, again!"
--> '''Chin''': "One! [fifteen minutes later]... one?"
* LanguageBarrier:
** In the strips which involve westerners, Master Q and his friends will speak English instead of Chinese, although they fail most of the time.
** In a strip where Big Potato is using a typewriter, he ends up typing random letters instead of Chinese characters.
* LaserGuidedKarma:
** There are a few strips dedicated to Master Q getting his just desserts for attempting to take advantage of a random dope.
** Then there are some strips where Master Q gives the what-for to whomever that wronged him. One example is [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2301/ Strip #2301]], where Master Q, after getting conked on the back of the head by a fellow restaurant customer sitting behind him across the booth when tilting his head backward too much, positions his fork from the back of his head, which gets the patron behind him pricked upon tilting his head backward too much again.
* LastNameBasis: Mr. Chin, Mr. Chiu, and Miss Chan are always referred to by surname with their given names remaining unknown.
* LimitedWardrobe: In [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1703/ one strip]], Master Q opens his cabinet, which is full of the yellow plaid shirt he always wears.
* LoudSleeperGag:
** Big Potato is known for his excessively loud snoring. [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/829/ Strip #829]] has Potato taking an afternoon nap and snoring to the point of disturbing Master Q, who's trying to read the newspaper. Master Q then puts a plaster over Potato's mouth, only for Potato to snort instead. Cue Master Q pinching a plastic cloth-peg over Potato's nose, and Potato then starting to chime through his ears.
** [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/12/ Strip #12]] illustrates Master Q as a loud sleeper instead of Big Potato.
* LowClearance:
** In [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/186/ strip #186]], Big Potato gets knocked off the balance bicycle he's riding when he crosses paths with a wooden plank Master Q and Mr. Chin happen to hoist on their shoulder at the time.
** Master Q ejects himself out of a falling airplane in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/481/ strip #481]]... and ends up [[WatchOutForThatTree slamming face-first into a tree that's growing horizontally off a cliff]].
%%* LoopholeAbuse: Frequently done.
%%* [[http://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/15/ This strip shows a tiger doing it.]]
%%* ManChild: Master Q is sometimes depicted as childish, such as [[http://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1862/ here.]]
* MeanBoss: Mr. Chiu is consistently portrayed as such to whatever job the trio is working at, yelling at them or mistreating them during work. He mostly butt heads with Master Q because of this.
* MermaidInAWheelchair: In one strip, Master Q sends a mermaid in labor to the hospital in a wheelchair.
%%* MultipleEndings: The first animated film, ''Color Old Master Cute'', had this.
%%** In number one, EverybodyLaughsEnding [[spoiler:with [[BlackComedy VIVISECTION]]]].
%%** In number two, BigDamnHeroes of sorts.
* {{Mummy}}: In one strip, Master Q is depicted as an archeologist excavating an Egyptian tomb. Opening a sarcophagus, Master Q retrieves a scroll on a mummy, commenting, "Hmm, I can't read hieroglyphs..." cue the mummy suddenly sitting up, grabbing the scroll, and replying, "Well, I ''can''!"
* MundaneUtility: Happens once in a while.
** As Master Q shows in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1061/ strip #1061]], boxing gloves are handy in helping their wearer avoid getting burned while handling hot food.
** Mr. Chin illustrates in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2480/ strip #2480]] that a fish's ribs are useful as a makeshift comb.
* NegativeContinuity: Nothing really sticks in this strip's universe. A character could be superhuman in one strip then a useless weakling the next or even ''dead'' then perfectly fine between installments with no explanation. It doesn't really matter, [[RuleOfFunny as long as it's funny]].
* NeverBringAKnifeToAGunFight: Master Q does this by pulling out a pistol in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2186/ strip #2186]]. Doubles as BeyondTheImpossible due to the strip in question being set in ancient China.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands:
** While it's a given considering the comics' NegativeContinuity, the movies also follow this trope with all the characters having new jobs depending on the story.
** Mr. Chiu is an inverted example in that he's always some sort of boss, but to a different business every time. up to eleven in ''Old Master Q & "San-T"'' where it seems that all the jobs the trio are trying to get are all run by Mr. Chiu.
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Occasionally.
** Master Q buys a violin in a case in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2085/ strip #2085]], sees a stranger being mugged on the way home, beats the mugger with his violin case, gets the mugger arrested, returns home... and finds his violin severely damaged upon opening its case.
** Master Q feeds a tiger with a long chain of sausage links in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2506/ strip #2506]], with himself eating said sausage links from the opposite end from the tiger. They reach the point of a SpaghettiKiss... and then ''the tiger devours Master Q''.
* NonIndicativeName: "Big" Potato is the shortest member of the main trio, and barely comes up past Old Master Q's waist. The animated movies usually shorten his name to just Potato, which is a blunt but apt description of his body shape.
* ObliviousToLove: More often than not, Master Q's attempts to woo his on-off girlfriend, Miss Chan, would end up like this instead. In the 2001 movie, Master Q managed to give Miss Chan a diamond ring, only for her to thank him for a wonderful wedding present... because she's getting married in a week, but NOT to ''him''.
* OverlyGenerousFool: Played for Laughs in one strip. Master Q is walking to his girlfriend's place on a date when he comes across an alley filled with beggars. He gives money to each and every one of them, until reaching the last beggar when Old Master Q realize he's out of cash. Cue the last panel depicting Master Q arriving at his girlfriend's place in boxers.
* OrWasItADream: The strips in which Master Q dreamt of having done something wonderful or even impossible ([[MundaneMadeAwesome from catching a huge fish]] [[HopelessSuitor to getting married]]) is then revealed to have inexplicably happened for real once he wakes up.
* PaperworkPunishment: Parodied in one strip. Master Q and Mr. Chiu - depicted as Q's boss - are playing Chinese Chess and Q wins three rounds in a row, gloating away each time. Mr. Chiu then [[SoreLoser retaliates]] by dumping a ''huge'' stack of paperwork as tall as a person on Q's desk as punishment.
* PayingInCoins: Master Q makes payment in this fashion in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1507/ strip #1507]] as his payback of choice toward the sales clerk who gets condescending at him while he states his intention of buying a TV. The strip ends with said sales clerk begrudgingly counting the pile of coins, looking agitated as he does so.
* PetsAsAPresent: [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2119/ Strip #2119]] ends with Master Q giving Miss Chan a dog as her birthday present.
* RescueRomance: Master Q rescues a drowning woman in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1077/ strip #1077]] and they proceed to get married... and then it turns out to be AllJustADream.
* RockPaperScissors: Parodied in many ways. One of the jokes is Master Q winning in the game against Santa and ''takes away all his presents''.
** One of them starts with a rule: who loses gets punished by the winner, such as if rock wins, the winner punches the loser; if paper wins, the winner slaps the loser. When Master Q beats Mr. Chiu's Paper with Scissors, he literally cuts Mr. Chiu's hand.
* RubberOrifice: Big Potato, the comic's FatComicRelief and BigEater, demonstrates the ability to expand his mouth to any size he wants in several strips to accommodate whatever food he's eating, from a DagwoodSandwich ''taller than his head'' to a whole pizza which he chomps in two bites.
* RuleOfFunny: A lot of nonsensical things happen for the sake of quick gags.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Many strips end with a character (often Master Q) getting the hell away from whatever circumstance said character finds too scary/dangerous/etc. to handle. [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2073/ Here]] [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2180/ are]] [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/751/ some]] [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2502/ examples]].
* SeesawCatapult: [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1746/ Strip #1746]] has Big Potato doing this to Mr. Chin, resulting in Mr. Chin [[BeyondTheImpossible being launched into outer space from said seesaw and remaining no worse for wear the whole time]].
* SeriousBusiness: Some strips take place the way they do due to this trope.
** Master Q takes a stroll in a park in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/806/ strip #806]] and witnesses a group of people leaving a lot of mess behind at the picnic table, and so he forces them to stay and clean up the mess ''at knife point'', letting them leave only after they finish the work to his satisfaction.
** Master Q tries to enjoy some peace and quiet in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/866/ strip #866]], but two strangers ruin his mood by showing up with a stereo blasting music loudly and refuse to turn it off when Master Q protests, resulting in Master Q beating the strangers up and destroying the stereo before walking away angrily.
* ShaggyDogStory: Quite a few strips end this way, with some of them concluding in a DownerEnding as a result.
** Master Q tries to escape prison in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1953/ strip #1953]] by digging his way out of his cell. He succeeds... and finds himself in an execution room where prison inmates are killed by [[HangingAround hanging]] (luckily for him, it's empty), prompting him to get back in his cell at once.
** In [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2487/ strip #2487]], Big Potato isn't happy about being part of the TinyGuyHugeGirl image when he's on a date and so buys a pair of high-heeled clogs in the hope of mitigating his HeightAngst. This ends in a DownerEnding because the clogs aren't nearly enough to close the difference between his date's height and his own.
* SlipperySkid: Often happens thanks to BananaPeel, roller skates, soap bars, toy cars, etc.
* SmurfettePrinciple: Miss Chan, Master Q's usual love interest, is the only recurring female character outside of the trio.
* SpaghettiKiss: A non-romantic example of this takes place in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2506/ strip #2506]], where Master Q shares a series of long sausages with a tiger by eating from the opposite ends and working their way towards the center... and it concludes on a dark note with ''[[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished the tiger devouring Master Q]]''.
* SpiceUpTheSubtitles. The animated movies that date from [[TheEighties 1981-1983]] had swear words in the burnt-in subtitles that range from everything but the F-word itself. Unusual in that it's official.
%%* SquashedFlat: Getting stomped by an elephant, hit by a giant log, etc.
* SteppingOutToReact: One strip has the titular character see his MeanBoss walk past. He then greets the boss, who ignores Master Q only to unexpectedly slip and fall down. Cue Master Q making a run to the washroom... to laugh his ass off.
* SuicideAsComedy:
** [[http://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/317/ Right here,]] where he's about to [[spoiler: shoot himself whilst inside a recently purchased coffin!]]
** [[http://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1315/ This strip as well.]] A random stranger reacting to Master Q's self-inspiring words about making a name of himself by [[TemptingFate suggesting that he plan for a burial ground for himself instead]] -- they're on a building balcony in this setting, and the only part of Master Q that's still visible in the last panel is his shoes when the stranger turns around.
* SuperficialSuggestionBox: One comic strip has Big Potato dropping a suggestion form in a shop office's suggestion box. Just then, noticing an employee coming to collect the box, Big Potato decide to observe behind a corner... only to see the employee emptying the box into a trash can.
%%* SuperSpeed: When any characters are scared or in hurry, they often show this.
* SuperWindowJump: Deconstructed. Master Q does this [[http://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/386/ here]], [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome and emerges lacerated by the broken glass.]]
* SuspenderSnag: One short plays this for BlackComedy, where Master Q, after an argument with his girlfriend, tried killing himself by jumping off a cliff, only for his suspenders to be snagged by a branch midway where he ends up dangling in mid-air in a comical fashion.
* SymbolSwearing: This is how profanity is presented in the strips. Case in point is [[http://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/602/ this strip]], where Master Q cusses at a man with "X@★#*", FlippingTheBird for good measure, for wolf-whistling at a girl he's with at the time.
* TenPacesAndTurn: Master Q does this with a westerner in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2236/ strip #2236]]. [[ShaggyDogStory It ends up with no one winning because their starting point is on the peak of a small hill that obscures the view of one another when they turn around.]]
* TimeTravel: The second animated film had Master Q, Potato and Mr Chin traveling back to ''Literature/WaterMargin'', in the way of Mr Chiu's time machine.
* ToiletHumour: A few strips fall into this.
** In [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1957/ strip #1957]], where [[IWasToldThereWouldBeCake Master Q claims to Big Potato that he's making a cake and invites the latter to share some, and Big Potato obliges...]] [[TheCakeIsALie only to end up inside Master Q's bathroom, holding his nose due to the foul odor]].
--->'''[[TheGadfly Master Q]]''': Would you like some tea?
** Master Q and Mr. Chin go scuba-diving in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2320/ strip #2320]] and come across a sunken ship, before Master Q gestures in a direction. Mr. Chin follows him... to the washroom of the ship.
** A westerner asks Master Q where he could buy a chair in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2453/ strip #2453]], but Master Q can't understand him due to LanguageBarrier, and so the westerner squats to imitating sitting down. Master Q leads him... to a men's toilet.
* TongueOutInsult: in one strip the titular character is a doctor, where he gets a tongue-out gesture in his direction by a neighbor's kid, a stray dog, a baby in his oblivious mother's arms and a patient, ''all in a single page'' as a RunningGag.
%%* TorsoWithAView: When firearms are involved, this may happen.
* UniversalAdaptorCast: As the series description above states, the main characters are put in all sorts of roles.
* UseYourHead: Big Potato is often shown to be able to break through a stone wall or cripple someone with his head-butts.
* VagueAge: Master Q is Old. ''How'' old is never quite clear due to his varying levels of athleticism.
%%* VolleyingInsults: Master Q and Mr. Chiu.
* WatchOutForThatTree: More than once.
** Master Q calls his dog over to him in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/164/ strip #164]], but the dog runs into a tree on the way over.
** Master Q's attempts at getting edible fruits off a tree by repeatedly shaking it in [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/1920/ strip #1920]] ends with said tree falling on him.
** In [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2478/ strip #2478]], Master Q drives a two-seat convertible... into a tree.
* WeaponsBreakingWeapons: In "The Old Village", Master Q, Big Potato, and Mr. Chin fight three bandit leaders. Master Q fights their main boss, a WarriorMonk who wields a "treasured ancestral sword made from the best steel in the Ming Dynasty"; however, Master Q is carrying a new sword made of modern-day stainless steel, and breaks his opponent's weapon in two hits.
-->'''Master Q:''' I get it, you fools are all antiques from five centuries ago!
* WhatTheFuAreYouDoing: This can happen in strips that are set in ancient Chinese settings. For example: [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2349/ strip #2349]] has Master Q dueling against an opponent wielding a long chain with metallic balls at each end, and the strip ends with said chained weapon entwining both of them together in a tight bind.
* WomanScorned: Miss Chan isn't above giving payback to Master Q should he wrong her.
** [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2402/ Strip #2402]], in which she reacts to Master Q laughing at her after a bee hidden in the bouquet of flowers he gives her stings her nose by yanking ''his'' nose to the point it elongates to the length of his entire ''skull'', is one such example.
** Another example is [[https://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/2439/ strip #2439]]: Master Q gives Miss Chan the cake he bought for her birthday, but the one mistake on his part -- addressing the recipient as "Miss '''LIN'''" on the cake -- spells doom for the otherwise-happy occasion, as evidenced by Master Q leaving Miss Chan's residence with his cake covering his body from the shoulders up.
* WouldHitAGirl: In the comics, when a woman has hurt him (or wronged him in some way) Master Q has no qualms about giving them the what-for.
* WouldHurtAChild: Played for laughs. In [[http://www.oldmasterq.com/comics/319/ this strip,]] a boy throws a ball at Master Q's head only for him to ''throw it back to his face''.
%%* YourHeadAsplode: Sometimes the strips end this way, especially in the strips that involve balloons.
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