Orphaned early in life, his mother died in World World War II when he was just a year old and his father was always working in the woods because of the war. When the war was over, his father was able to land a job as a messenger at a post office in Manila, and his father took him to live there.
He was left in the care of aunts and relatives. Sobrepeña spent most of his teenage life at the Quezon City High School in Kamuning, Quezon City. After high school, he took up Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines in Diliman.
While in college, he was moonlighting as an illustrator at a local bookstore, providing the drawings for textbooks used in elementary and high schools.
Then after earning his degree in college, he got a small job at a local publishing company, where he would draw all the characters of Francisco Balagtas" novel Florante at Laura. Then he applied as an illustrator at several comics publication including Graphic Arts Services, Incorporated.
(GASI), Atlas Publication, Islas Filipinas Publishing Company and American Council on Exercise Publication. He worked there for years, comics like Silangan, Aliwan, Wakasan, Lovelife, Funny Komiks and the like were very popular during those times.
He had worked in comics for so many years and that was where he made a name for himself.
Eventually, his talent and hard work paid official He was given an award for "Best Komiks Illustrator" for his illustrations on the cover of Lovelife Komiks.
