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

Buddy Buddy p27 + p28

After a month, the draft of Sir Fong 3 is completed. Now comes the arduous task of inking.

Inking is to commit a page of pencil sketch to black ink. It is labor-intensive, involving many hours of concentration and patience. There is little room for error, unless I want my inked pages to be full of smudges and correction tape trails!

So from now on, I will only be updating my blog once a week. Buddy Buddy is my first child, but at the moment, Sir Fong 3 - my fourth kid - needs me more! Also, a dear friend has been telling me I should re-publish Buddy Buddy - instead of putting it up fo free on this blog - and as I looked back on my firstborn, I am beginning to see how right my friend is. Afterall, Buddy Buddy is one of the very first Singaporean comic book to be published in Beijing, China - it's practically a historical document!

James Bonnet

Singaporeans don't like to read or buy local story books. Books on politicians and ghosts are the bestsellers. That's a fact.

Can't blame Singaporeans. In the pursuit of more wealth, our pragmatic little nation has neglected to buy some local Soul (and I'm not referring to those souls we burn lots of paper offerings for during the Ghost Festival). Tell a good story, and you bet Singaporeans will support (see, so many go see Royston Tan's 881!).

It's really up to the local artists to sharpen our skills.

I'm lucky my stories moved some modest book sales and plays, with, like, minimal dollars spent on publicity. But ask anybody on the street, and it's like, Otto who? Haha.

So, in the midst of setting End Of Year exam and preparing for a comic drawing workshop, I signed up for a one-day course in the Singapore International Storytelling Fest organised by National Book Development Council and The Arts House.

The seminar I attended is called The Creative Process and the Art of Storymaking. The speaker is James Bonnet, writer, teacher and story consultant.

He also wrote two editions of the book Stealing Fire From The Gods: The Complete Guide to Story for Writers & Filmmakers.

It's amazing how inspiring a short session with a master storyteller can be. I used Bonnet's creation the Storywheel and the Golden Paradigm to think deeper about my next comic project on the Monkey King. And here's some of my lecture notes:

So, my Monkey King is someone who never got approval. Budhha and the Heavens may have helped him in his Journey To The West, but nothing he did was ever good enough.

Er Lang, a formidable God, is like some privileaged kid with wealth, powerful parents and cool cars. Why, he even has more eyes than the Monkey King (like all the be-spectacled 'four- eyed' intellectuals). My Monkey King is the quintessential Chow Ah Beng (local version of the under-educated, low-class underdog).

So, I'd like to thank the Book Development Council and the Arts House for their wisdom to bring in James Bonnet. Thank my leaders in Raffles Institution for their foresight in allowing me to sign up for a course not directly related to my teaching subjects. Thank James Bonnet for generously imparting his knowledge.

Thank goodness for all your wisdom.

Teachers' Week Part 3

There are two kinds of people in this world: the Givers, and the Takers. Most of us are somewhere between the two ends of a spectrum. I'd like to highlight two guys who have given me more than I'd ever expect to receive: Eugene Gan and Samson Cheung. They are from my Monkey batch. Also, I'd like to show u the wonderful class of 2F, my Rooster batch. I am so grateful to be your teacher once. Thank you all.

Teachers' Week Part 2

Click on the above image for a larger greeting card and send it to ur fav teachers!

The following is probably every teacher's favorite strip from Sir Fong series:

Sunday Special! - Monkey Love Pt 1

This is my first baby, titled Buddy Buddy. I drew everything in 4 months, holed up in my dormitary in Beijing Film Academy. Surprisingly, I found a publisher and it was born in 1998! As you can see, every comic of mine has a monkey! I'll post the back cover page and another sample page two days later.

Ti Ger Deep Breath!

A school holiday! That's when I wake up at 8am, go to my window, and take a deep breath.

Below: a scene when Sir Fong 1 was launched in Raffles Institution. Can u identify four of my former form class students (Monkey batch!!!) and one Number One Fan(NOF)? NOF kept making fun of my signature during the book signing.

Sunday Special! - Sir Fong at the Zoo Pt 2

(click for larger images)

Winning the competition gave resolve for me to switch from playwrighting to cartooning. With the age of the internet and handphone messages, the Age of the Visual dawns. Also, when I completed my diploma in Beijing Film Academy in 1997, my first comic book "Buddy Buddy" was being prepped for printing.

This is really a Sunday Super Special: a brand new strip inspired by 1D's Mephistopholese!

Sunday Special! - Sir Fong at the Zoo Pt 1

I participated in the People's Association's comic drawing competition "Toon Craze Toon Grace" in 2000. Winning first and third in the Adult Category, Hup, a New Paper cartoonist, gave me a unique full page interview: I would draw my character and the background, and he would draw his regular Boy Boy character 'interviewing' mine.

2000 is also the year I changed directions from playwright to cartoonist. In 1999, my last and biggest play, Mr Beng, was staged in the old Victoria Theatre (every playwright's dream was to stage at Victoria Theatre) at the Arts Fest. The buzz was good and tickets sold out quickly.

This is the top half of the interview. As the file size is larger, I have split the page into halves and posting both today and tomorrow.

Sir Fong kena Black Eye

Stay tuned for the upcoming Sunday Special, where you will see Sir Fong's first appearance - as a nude monkey in da Zooooo.

You Can't Eat Your Classmate!

Often I go into classes and there's the neglected, abused whiteboard staring back forlornly at me. Sometimes I walk in, and something wonderful greets me. The above doodle belongs to Tingwei of 2F. The drawing is simple and simply beautiful, and I like what it meant to me: it must be so sweet to get to the top of the mountain and enjoy the view, especially if you are a slow-moving tortoise! The bird was added by (who huh can someone remind me?), but it adds a very nice touch to the whole picture.

Introducing Tiger

Tiger is a character inspired by a student. He was born in the year of - no prize for guessing - and he joined the school one year later than his peers, so he's this big Tiger in the midst of a bunch of Bunnies. He is the largest boy in class, and has a big personality to match. A really good cartoonist too.

So, the bunnies' illegal experimentation with chemicals (see "Bunny Bubble Tea" Pt 1 to 3) landed them in the hospital. One bunny experiences a greater side effect than others . . .