My interview in comic newsletter 14:59

14:59 is a monthly newsletter published by Monsters Under The Bed, partnered by the Singapore Association of Comic Artists. In the June Holiday Issue, 14:59 carries an interview of myself, conducted by Jerry Hinds (President of ACAS) and edited by Ryan Ong.

You can click on the images to read the interview clearly:

 Click on image below to read second page of interview!

 

Regulate, not Censor! PART 2 (So you know this is very important)

 PLEASE SIGN THE PAPER ONLINE:
http://sites.google.com/site/artsengagesg/signpaper

 Here is another comic I did in support of Arts Engage, the group making a stand about Regulate Not Censorship in Singapore.

We need all kinds of artists. Some artists produce works that are good for young people and families. Other artists are like a scout inside an army unit: they sniff out the latest trend, and by their example, the rest of us can either choose to follow or take a different path.

In a way, these artists are like hunting dogs. They lead us to our targets. By censoring them, we will lose our chances to compete. We will always be following (poorly) in other country's footsteps.

Local artists are like our own hunting dogs. They take the lead in sniffing out what a society wants and feels. When censorship is used to stop artists, we lose the chance to become like a culturally-vibrant first-world country.

I have seen local artworks in books and theater that inspired me like no foreign art can. I am committed to creating comic books for my young readers, but I look to some of my friends in theater, comics and literature to show me different perspectives. Artists like playwright Alfian S'aat, Haresh Sharma, musician Stefanie Sun, Theater practitioners Alvin Tan, Kok Heng Luen, Ivan Heng, Tan Kheng Hua, writers like Ng Yi-Sheng, Johann S Lee, performers Kumar and Hossan Leong, filmmakers Boo Junfeng, Royston Tan, Loo Zihan etc etc etc. My own comic works are made richer by me learning from comic artists like Miel, Heng Kim Song, Morgan Chua, Troy Chin, Sonny Liew etc etc etc. 

At one point or the other, each of these artists have made something that I don't totally agree with, but if they were censored, I would never have the opportunity to make my own choice.

Some of our civil servants may still be operating as if this is the 20th Century. They see local artists as irresponsible kids who will say anything. But local artists have grown up, and we continue to be relevant and we continue to contribute to Singapore positively.

This is the 21st Century, and with the Internet, censorship does not work. Local art plays an important role in shaping competitive, intelligent citizens by giving us a voice of our own. So that the world knows what we stand for and respect us.

The Singapore government has a choice to either damage cutting-edge local art by censorship, or nurture it by properly regulating the arts (eg. ratings such as PG, R, NC16). 

And you have a voice in how our government chooses. 

Please sign the Position Paper by Arts Engage, and thank you for making a difference in our Singapore!

 PLEASE SIGN THE PAPER ONLINE:
http://sites.google.com/site/artsengagesg/signpaper

Say NO to Censorship. YES to Regulation in Singapore!

Please signing the petition on this link:

http://sites.google.com/site/artsengagesg/signpaper

Growing older is like moving into a higher condominium with a better view.

Today, I met up with a few old acquaintances and friends from the theater circle. They included T Sasitharan (Theatre Training and Research Programme), Tan Tarn How (who wrote "The Lady of Soul and the Ultimate S Machine"), Alvin Tan (The Necessary Stage) and Ivan Heng (W!ld Rice Productions). 

Sasitharan and friends are part of Arts Engage, an independent group formed by artists from different fields. The purpose is to get Singapore governing bodies and Singaporeans to understand that Blanket Censorship is bad for us.

Blanket Censorship means that, as long as a piece of Art is disagreeable to anyone, that piece of Art will be cut from all Singaporeans! 

I grew up in an era of Blanket Censorship. I know the effects of it. Since a lot of important ideas and concepts are shielded from local citizens, many of us do not know how to express ourselves properly. From simple things like saying 'Thank you' to the bus drivers, to more complicated stuff like talking about racial and religious issues respectfully but openly. 

Even at home, many of us do not know how to carry out a meaningful conversation with our family members. Many of us cannot relate to our colleagues other than about basic "you do this" stuff. And most of us are tongue-tied in front of strangers. 

That is the Big Issue I have with Blanket Censorship. We created a nation of Hello Kitties!

We are fortunate to have the Internet. The Internet made censorship impossible. But local artists continue to be censored. That means that you and me, even when we become adults, do not have access to the cutting edge ideas of our local artists. If Singaporeans cannot express ourselves adequately, we lose out when we have to engage internationally with foreign talents, businesses and politicians. We simply do not know how express ourselves, to speak our minds and state our case!

I know, what's this got to do with Sir Fong comics? Afterall, I made sure the comics are safe for younger readers and will not likely have to face censorship. BUT as a fellow artist, a fellow Singaporean, I understand the value of having proper regulation rather than blanket censorship. Having grown up and matured as a person and artist, I saw a larger perspective. I got a pretty good view of the ills of censorship. So I support Arts Engage!

Please support them by signing the petition on this link:

http://sites.google.com/site/artsengagesg/signpaper

Thank you!

Sold Out: "Fur-o-cious"

Amidst the flurry of promotions and school visits, my distributor called me: "are you reprinting Sir Fong 2: Fur-ocious?"

"Fur-o-cious" is one of two original Sir Fong comics.  Following the success of Sir Fong (first book), another publisher approached me to print a second book. Fur-o-cious was published in 2006.

 I have a lot of fond memories of "Fur" being published: a week after my students read it, the teachers were instructed to remind students that the classroom game called "Tau-pok" was banned. Apparently, my comic had something to do with the fresh outbreak of the game.

"Tau-pok" is a game where students push a victim onto the ground and proceed to pile up on top of him. Adults are concerned that the victim may sustain injuries by having too much body weight on top. I drew it because the game was real, and happened often.

 

"Fur" was also the book which birthed the idea of using the bunnies to teach Science. I first thought of the idea in 2005, and spent a whole December drawing a short story on the topic of Electricity. After I printed the comic for my classes, students from other classes started to request for them. And a few told me they studied it before the exams because they had trouble understanding the concepts from the textbooks.

At first, I wasn't sure I should include the Electricity portion into "Fur", but I took a risk and it paid off!

Finally, after my nephew first read "Fur-o-cious", his comment was just two words: "it sucks!"

I was very hurt by his comment, and stopped drawing for a year. Also, neither my publisher nor myself had done much to publicise the comic book. For a couple of years, the title did not move many copies. A lot of stock was returned in 2007. Only after I quit my job to focus on my comics fulltime did the title start to gain popularity.

Years later, after I took a Landmark Education course, I decided to ask his mother about his comment.

It turned out that he was upset. In "Fur", I created a character for his sister, but did not create one for him! This little episode taught me to be more confident of what I draw, and reminded me to remain fresh by taking the occasional new approach with each book.

"Fur-o-cious" taught me a lot about creating and publishing comic books. After that, I started the "Adventures In Science" series. "Fur" started gaining popularity by word-of-mouth. By 2009, it became a top ten Most Borrowed book in our national libraries. That showed me that my hard work of promoting the Sir Fong name is starting bear fruits.

So, as some bookstores called my distributor asking for more of "Fur", I made a decision: "retire it for the time being. I need to focus on the Adventures In Science series."

The good news is that it will always be available in the libraries. The good news is that I have another Sir Fong title sold out its print! The good news is that after 2010, I can reprint the two original titles in my own format properly.

For now, you can borrow "Sir Fong 2: Fur-o-cious" at most National Library branches - if they're not borrowed already! Thank you again for reading the book! I look forward to reprinting it after I work on "Adventures In Science Book 3".

Sir Fong listed in Straits Times as a "Bestseller for Children"!

Good news! I just found this online! "Sir Fong's Adventures" is now listed as a Bestseller for Children. 

I was busy preparing for a talk at the Arts House, and I'd missed the article. Still, better late than never! Of course, I have all of you to thank for your support. This piece of good news will definitely encourage me to do better for the upcoming Book 3! 

http://news.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20100503-213915.html

Singapore Success Stories + Sneak Preview of Sir Fong's Book 3!

 Here's two pages of the upcoming Sir Fong's Adventures In Science Book 3: CELLS!

From 6 - 9th May at the Arts House, the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) organised the Asian Festival of Children's Content.

Alex Chacko, publisher for Mr Midnight

I gave a short talk about Sir Fong as part of the "Singapore Success Stories" session on Friday.

It's very cool to be in the same session as Alex Chacko, talking about Mr Midnight's success. I sat there transfixed as Mr Chacko spoke with the gravity of someone who's really helped turn the tide. By his success, he inspires all of us to see new possibilities in publishing and writing in Singapore.

It is also very cool to share the space with Emily Lim and Shekinah Lim. Emily won praises and awards for her children's book "Prince Bear and Pauper Bear". Shekinah won MDA's first-time writer's initiative to publish her book "The Watchtower Warrior".

Prince Bear & Pauper Bear                                          The Watchtower Warrior

by Emily Lim                                                                   by Shekinah Lim

Can a Singaporean comic artist break into a foreign market?

Last weekend, two Singaporean companies made their first foray into Malaysia together.

Doby Studio, headed by Gary Goh - with his now-famous Little White Dragon education comic series - joined Ottonium Comics to participate in Kuala Lumpur's annual Smart Kids Education Fair 2010.

Before a new comic brand breaks into the mass market, years of sound strategy preceeded it. To consumers, a Naruto or Pokemon seemed to come out of nowhere suddenly to make it big. To the creators, they'd already put in years of undying passion and hard work.

In the short video I made, you can see some of the hard work come to fruition. Gary and I had to deal with PR (public relations), HR (human resource) and business. There were light moments (us struggling to understand the GPS system) and valuable ones (my dad came along, and shared his experience of doing business in Malaysia when he was young).

The first obstacle we faced was traffic flow. For some reasons, traffic did not come to our alley! Once we identified the problem, we worked with the organisers of Expomal to set up our booth in a make-shift location. That made a big difference. It is also a testament to the organisers that they took immediate actions to assist newbies like us!

With that issue out of the way, I started to see, for the first time, the faces of my Malaysian customers. They came from all races, in all languages. Thank goodness for our good local friends who gave their weekends to help us! My KL friends were able to speak to parents in Cantonese and Malay, while I spoke to them in English and Mandarin. Gary Goh, ever the tireless crowd drawer, stood on a stool. Using his loudspeaker, he announced to passerbys our presence.

Because we were virtual unknowns in Malaysia and a majority of the parents have very young kids, sales were moderate but encouraging. I got a great sense of pride that some of my Sir Fong books are now in Malaysian homes. I have no doubt those who bought the books loved them! 

I learnt a lot from the Fair: 1. with sincere and good partners, we can make changes on the spot to correct unforeseeable situations, 2. don't go anywhere without good friends and careful research, 3. don't give up when things seemed difficult. Stick it out to the end and the rewards will be totally unexpected and surprising. 4. Get your family behind you. They will lift you up so that you can focus on the essence of your business.

This is just the first step in Sir Fong going international, but it is a solid first step!