Meet the new Guest Stars for Sir Fong's Adventures Book 4!

These two lovable characters are mascots for Gardenasia, a collective of Singapore modern farmers.

The green guy with a water droplet on his head is Titoy, and the pink girl is Morchoo. When they first appeared yesterday, the kindergarten kids went wild and couldn't stop pawing their faces!

In the first Sir Fong trilogy, real-life scientists are featured. In the new book, Sir Fong will be featuring Titoy and Morchoo in a new adventure, and Totto, Abby and Izak will definitely be on the greatest ride of their lives so far with these two guest stars!

Sir Fong Book 3 Launches at STGCC Dec 2010

Book 3 Launches Officially in STGCC
It's official!

Sir Fong Book 3 will launch at Singapore Toy Games & Comics Convention! (STGCC, Dec 10th, 11th and 12th).

About STGCC

Since STGCC has been bought over by American Events giant Reeds Exhibitions, this means that our STGCC is now affiliated to international events like New York Comic Con and  Chicago Comic & Entertainment. It's a great opportunity for Singaporean and regional artists to network. Business Times did a full-page coverage on August 20th.

Book 3 also available in Bookstores After School Exams
 For those who can't wait for Book 3, you can also find the book in most bookstores by October. But the promo price of $10 is only for STGCC and direct sales to schools. Also,  at STGCC, there will be a special gift for the first 200 people who buy 2 Sir Fong comic books! So do book your tickets to STGCC soon:

http://www.singaporetgcc.com/stgcc-ticket-registration

More details coming soon at this bloggie!

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".

The Straits Times, Friday, March 5 2010 Page B11

"Your destiny is in your own hands and you can make good one day . . . Singapore remains the land of meritocracy and opportunities."

Mr Sam Tan Chin Siong
(Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Trade and Industry & Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts)

 

(Click on image above to see the article)

It's a proud and humbling moment for me. Thank you, Mr Tan!

January's Lifestyle Magazine from NTUC - Have a Great School Year!

All of Singapore's students will be returning to school this coming Monday. May your 2010 school year be full of great friends and really useful education! May teachers find new ways to help our kids fall in love with learning all over again!

Here's a review from NTUC's Lifestyle Magazine!

There is also an article I wrote - a more detailed version of my earlier blog entry thanking  

MM Lee Kuan Yew - here's a great suggestion: why not do it as a school project? As the magazine is on sale now, I'll just post a small, low-res version here:

Sir Fong's first appearance in Malaysia's newspaper!

"Singaporean Comic Artist Otto Fong: Giving Out Light at Every Turn of His Life" - Kum Ying Zi, Oriental Daily News, Malaysia

On 18th December 2009, Friday, Sir Fong and Totto the bunny made it to a newspaper in Malaysia.

This marks another milestone in the journey of my comic book series. Reporter Kum Ying Zi spent several hours interviewing me in Kuala Lumpur, and the headline she chose was poetic and beautiful. I never saw my life in that light - all I knew was I made some strange turns in life. I was an engineer, teacher and video editor. I worked in film and theatre, before I finally became a full-time publisher and comic artist.

Ms Kum generously saw it as my contributions. She gave me a great new point of view!

Indeed, in life, we take turns which were sometimes necessary and unexpected. In these twists and turns, our plans were often thrown into disarray. But wherever life puts us (or our own decisions land ourselves), we have a choice: a choice to shine or shrink into our shells feeling sorry for ourselves.

Take the example of a great scientist Stephen Hawking:

Hawkings have Lou Gehrig's disease. The disease took away most of his motor skills, including the use of his hands, his body and most of his speech. It did not stop him from writing one of the most popular bestseller in science "A Brief History of Time", and being hailed as the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein.

As 2010 comes closer, it marks the end of the first decade of the 21st Century. For you, my readers, and for myself, it is simply the beginning of our choice to shine. Or shrink. The choice is always ours. May we all choose powerfully!

Star Wars in RI - new, improved audio track!

This video was made during English Day 2005 in Raffles Institution. It's always a hit with the viewers whenever I showed it during assembly talks and workshops. The feedback was always the same: the voices were distorted by the soundtrack.

Finally, I found the time to sit down and re-record a new audio track. I used a free software - Power Sound Editor - to record the voices, and used a simple modulation effect to make my voice sound like Darth Vader.

Here it is! Enjoy it!

Visiting my new baby! (Video)

Recommendation: "Lament" by Hu Jingxuan

Hello friends! I will soon be printing

"Sir Fong's Adventures In Science BOOK 2"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will update you on this site mid-July!

In the meantime, I would like to recommend a new comic book from a very exciting comic artist. I found her work to be unique, and I see she can contribute to Singapore's comic art scene significantly. Her name is Hu Jingxuan, aka Pinkjellyo.

Her new book is called "Lament", and you can read more about it at her link here:

http://pinkjellyo.deviantart.com/art/official-release-126211350

Busy busy busy!

So sorry I've not updated this blog for a while! Still in the midst of drawing "Sir Fong's Adventures . . . Book 2".

There will be more updates soon! In the meantime, here's a hand-drawn, hand-coloured Totto I did using some very good Lyra colour pencils and pens!

Sir Fong in China Computer Arts Magazine

It's been a while since I was interviewed/filmed by some press in China (I can count them with my fingers), haha. So when China's Computer Arts conducted an interview via email for Liquid City, I was delighted and flattered.

Otto's animation for i-Seek

This is the animation I created for i-Seek, a company specialising in bluetooth advertising. It appeared in Vivo City's digital directory screens over the weekend of 28th and 29th March.

Sir Fong in Vivo City 27 - 28th March!

If you are visiting Vivo City, Singapore's coolest and largest shopping city, this Saturday and Sunday (27th and 28th March 2009), watch out for a colourful and fun advertisement appearing on all the video directory posts within the shopping centre. My first 30-second animated comic is being used to promote an innovative new way to add to shopping fun - bluetoothing!

It features two new characters I created: My Bluetooth Princess and the Reluctant Handbag Boy!

It should appear every ten minutes. Watch out for it!

Popular Book Fair at Singapore Expo

Popular Bookstore held its March school holiday book fair at the Singapore Expo over the weekend. I was invited to participate, which is a great honour because my book and publishing company Ottonium are less than a year old!


I went for two days of the 3-day exhibition. Reaching out to the regular Popular customers is a great experience for myself. Kids as usual are amongst the most enthusiastic and open to new ideas, but so are the parents! Once the announcement about my book is made, my team got ready to field questions from families flocking to our location! Everytime I spoke to a parent, my heart went "wow!" at his/her dedication towards the child/children's education, happiness and improvement.

Being at the fair also brought unexpected insight and delight . . . from Mr Midnight!


I was buying myself a frappucino after the first day, when this cool Ang Moh guy standing next to me asked, "how was your day?" Looking at his exhibitor's tag, I figured he was an exhibitor but didn't know what was he exhibiting. It was only after we chatted a bit that I realised he was from Flame of The Forest, a successful local publisher with household titles such as "Singapore Ghost Stories" and "Mr Midnight". These books not only sold incredibly well, but changed the local publishing landscape. "It was hard at first - some bookstores would not even stock our books!" he shared, "but after a few years of persistence, things took off in a big way."

I was so bowled over by his generous sharing that I did not even ask his name. Later, when my mind cleared, I realised I must be talking to Alex Chacko - founder of Flame of the Forest!



Another great occasion was meeting Gary Goh. I'd mentioned his comic books in this blog previously, but never got to meet him. Well, that weekend we joined forces! He invited me to his location, and as I started drawing to entertain the kids, he walked up and down the exhibition hall with his trusty loud speaker.

While I was at the exhibition for only a few hours, Gary was there throughout. He talked and talked and talked, and we even went to make general broadcasts together - he in Mandarin, I in English. His dedication and conviction inspired me! Now this is the guy who quit his teaching job before I did, and started his comic studio dream years before me, so in some ways I'm walking in his footsteps!


On the last hour before I wrapped up my time at the Expo, a boy called Marcus came by. He is very independent, and has been well-trained by his parents to handle situations by himself. So he started making suggestions - "why don't you draw this?" - and even helped in my drawing. Moved by his can-do spirit, I drew him a cover of my book. Given that my book was entirely drawn in the computer, there were no hard copy of my own drawing on paper on Sir Fong's Adventures . . . until now. And Marcus owns it!



Two beautiful ladies are responsible for making this a great weekend for Sir Fong: Dorothea Lee, Operations Manager for this event and Amy Woo from my distributor Marketasia. They're the ones whose leadership made me one step towards the kind of publishers that Alex Chacko and Gary Goh are.


Again, to Singapore parents and Singapore kids. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Announcing a new Ottonium project!

I started my little publishing company out of necessity. Ottonium Comics was started because I did not want to follow the rules and schedules of other publishers. From the mouths of my fellow comic artists, some publishers publicized my friends' works poorly, others did not pay the artists their dues. "I was made to think that my work was bad, even though the books were sold out," said one of my friends, "and up till today (the publisher) did not pay me a cent."

We move forward on our journeys with only our hearts and passions as guide. We often do not understand why we have to take these paths in life. But as I am finding out gradually, if we follow our hearts and learn from our experiences, life helps in mysterious ways. When we are ready, life will take our hands and lead us to our dreams.

After publishing Sir Fong's Adventures In Science Book 1 with Ottonium Comics, I realised that the little company has some really exciting potential. So, without further delay, i decided my company will take on a different kind of project: MONKEY KING BLACK + WHITE.


The seeds of this project was planted more than ten years ago. See the picture above? A grand set inside Beijing Film Studio! The gorgeous palace interior was built for a planned movie Uproar In Heaven, an adaptation of a Monkey King story. I was assistant to the director.


Hundreds of beautiful storyboards were drawn - a sample is shown above, as drawn by my ex-colleague Ye Feng. Hundreds of costumes made. An army of artists worked for a year to prepare the filming of the most ambitious and expensive live action China movie in to be released in 1998.


The director, Zhang Jianya, was a classmate of Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige. His vision was great, and he lead us into the studios week after week, month after month. We were all happy to follow, because we believed that this movie would make film history.


It was during the filming that I rediscovered my love for drawing comics. Simply by participating in the project, life gifted me with the reawakening of my passion. It also gifted me with the publication of my first comic book Buddy Buddy (pictured above).


But life also said, "you are not ready to do the Monkey King." For after a year and a half of hard work, our hopes were dashed when the investor went bankrupt. The movie folded before filming could go into full swing, and the crew went on to other projects. I returned to Singapore, and would languish in an uncertain future for quite a few years during the Economic Storms of 1997. I shelved my Monkey King dreams, and told myself over and over, "I am not ready!"


In 2007, exactly ten years since coming home to Singapore, I put my foot down and decided to fear no more. I imagined myself as the Monkey King - like so many fans of the Asian mythical hero - and he has just been freed from Buddha's imprisonment for 500 years.

So, without further delay, I declare to you all I am ready. My dear friends, announcing the brand new project by Ottonium Comics. Thank you all for reading!

Happy Chinese New Year + Monkey King!

Earlier last week I sent out a digital CNY greeting card. Zaobao (our main Chinese newspaper) columnist Lim Fangwei received it and included it in his Zbnow comics page on the 21st Jan (Wed), titled "Anime/comics greeting cards welcome the Year of the Ox".

Why use the Monkey King for the card? In Chinese folklore, the Monkey King (Sun Wukong) is the sworn-brother of The Ox Demon King (Niu Mowang). As economists forecast a gloomy picture of negative economic growth around the world, I hope that everyone can be as resourceful and powerful as the Monkey King in dealing with this new year's challenges.

"Fear Not The Ox!"

Just click on the pictures below for a full-sized ecard and send it as an encouragement to all your friends!

Another reason why I am invoking the Monkey King this year is because I am thinking of publishing a comic anthology of the Monkey King. But I'll talk about that in a later blog post. Instead, I'd like to share with you a most wonderful comic book I just read:

"American Born Chinese" is a comic book by Asian American artist/high school teacher Gene Luen Yang. Yang skillfully weaves the Monkey King story into his personal experience as an Asian American.

I studied in America, so I can appreciate what it feels like to be a minority race: you try so hard to fit in and be accepted into that society, and yet there are many road blocks you must overcome along the way. I won't spoil the powerful message it delivers in the end, but I am just delighted that there are still fresh ideas that spring from such a classic character. To see the Monkey King from Yang's comics is a joy, and an inspiration.

Highly recommended!

Of Exercise Bands and Childhood Heroes

In the January issue of What's Up, Singapore's Newspaper for Students, you can catch Sir Fong and a few bunnies talking about the science of exercising. This is a health ad sponsored by Coca Cola about a kind of exercise band! Yes, only if you exercise correctly, you will get the benefit of health and strong strength!

Special thanks to Grace Tang of Pei Chun Public. She wrote in the paper, "I hope Mr Otto Fong will create more comic books about science to encourage students to love this subject more."

Dear Grace, I am now working on Sir Fong's Adventures In Science Book 2. Thank you for your encouraging words. I will keep it in my heart when I work, so i will do my very best!

In the same issue, you can read about Singapore's history in a comic series by a person whose comic work once made me happy as a kid myself: Morgan Chua.

When I was young, Mr Chua's personal icon (it is a cute little bull, I think) - shown below - accompanied his every comic drawing in the Far Eastern Economic Review. I don't understand politics when I was a kid, but I always loved his little bull making funny remarks.

If you want to learn about Singapore's history in a fun, pictorial way, you can read Mr Morgan Chua's comic book collection of his best works in "My Singapore - sketches by Morgan Chua".

Ask your history teachers to go buy!

Back to School!

A Happy Back 2 School to all u anxious kids and parents out there!

Those of you at Telok Kurau has a special treat in store. A little comic booklet drawn by myself that lets you know you're in a very special school, and that you can be sure to have a great learning environment. This primary school has a great tradition to uphold: the great MM Lee Kuan Yew got his start there (you'll see him as a young student in the booklet)!

While I am no longer teaching in school, I am convinced that the key to a great Singapore - a country we can be proud of - lies in a great education system. That is why I will be starting the planning of Sir Fong's Adventures In Science Book 2.