Born in Teocaltiche, Jalisco, Mexico, Cruz published his first comic when he was 18 years old and his career became one of the most productive and successful in the Mexican comics-scene.
In the beginning his works were printed in the magazines Paquin, Paquita and Pepin, and many of these stories captured his readers, like Adelita y las guerrillas.
He created novels of great power like Carta Brava, Percal, Tango, Ventarron, El Valiente, Tenebral, Dancing and Malevaje.
In 1947 he started writing for films and acted in more than thirty movies with directors like Ismael Rodríguez, Agustín P. Delgado, Chano Urueta, Miguel Morayta, René Cardona and Juan Orol.
On February 10, 1940, Cruz married Doña Ana Maria Ayala Cornejo at age 23, with whom he had his first son, José Gustavo.