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'Alternative comics' for better future |
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Written by By RUBY TAM YU-PIK
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Wednesday, 19 March 2008 |
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It is easy to find a comics fan who has a large collection of Japanese manga, but difficult to get someone who has read any local comics in Hong Kong.
 “They (Japanese manga) have a strong story plot and their works arecreative, they look much better than the Hong Kong’s,” said Ray, a17-year-old art student who loves reading Naruto, Hagaren and LadiesComics.
However, local comics were popular in the 70s and 80s, said ChowKai-wing, the department head of the History Department at HKBU.
“Readers had recognition reading comics reflecting the social andcultural characteristics, like the story of Old Master Q is about howtraditional Chinese deal with modern inventions,’’ explained ProfessorChow, “the story was what had been experiencing and thus comic was sopopular at that time.”
“Bruce Lee mania also heated the demand for Kung Fu comics which attracted a large amount of male readers,” Chow added.
Since the Kung Fu comics became dominant in Hong Kong, the publicimpression on local comics only consists of hostile fighting and bloodand is hardly recognized as an art. This type of comic is alsocriticized for its violence drawing.
Attempting to bring the public new comics and inspiration for comicdevelopment in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Arts Centre (HKAC) hosted analternative Japanese and Korean comic exhibition in November.
The exhibition is the finale program of Comix Home Base project, whichwas launched in 2006 to provide a platform to local and oversea artiststo share artwork and experience.
Comic artists from two alternative comic publishers in Japan and Koreawere invited to show the alternative comic culture and the history ofJapanese and Korean comics in the exhibition.
Alternative Japanese manga started in the 70s employing funny drawingsto depict social problems or personal matters, and they use powerfulpictures to convey messages instead of words.
Twenty years later in the 90s Korean alternative comics was foundedafter Korea’s quasi-democratic administration of Kim Young-Sam providedfreedom of cultural expression.
Drawing style of the alternative manhwa (comics in Korean word) inKorea is more realistic and the storylines are mainly summaries ofmajor historic events, with personal experience of artists who spenttheir childhood in the turmoil and vigor of the 1980’s democraticmovement.
“The Korean manhwa is similar to that in France as we also talk aboutpolitical and social problems through manga. In my country onlyteenagers would read the Western comics like Batman,” said Marine, anexhibition visitor from France.
The project aims to raise the public’s appreciation of the art form andthe creativity of comics but Miss So and Professor Chow said theproject suffered from lack of publicity.
However, Lo Fung-yee, the project organizer, said the feedback issatisfying. “The project get varied level of responses including thosefrom foreign media and local authorities are asking for co-operation,that is what I haven’t expected.”
“We are glad to see our target students enjoy doing the workshopsbecause they could hardly learn about comics even in visual artlessons, especially the making of comic and its development.”
Stella So, a participating artist in the project said the market for traditional comics is shrinking.
But Tamshui, a guest lecturer in the exhibition believed that there isstill space for the survival of traditional comics, “the only questionis how far it can go further and if there is any help to bring thosecomics to another level,”
Professor Chow said the well-known comic artist, Wong Yuk-long, plansto open the China market where the traditional comics are getting morepopular, just like what happened to Hong Kong decades ago.
Edited By
MANDY LO KIN-MAN
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 19 March 2008 )
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