For a second year in a row, this year’s Taiwan-Malaysia International Comic Week 2021 will be held online from 15th to 19th September.
Malaysia Comicker Union president Liu Shaw Ming said the Taiwan-Malaysia International Comic Week 2021 will be held online due to the severity of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia.
“We are going to have a whole comic festival around the virtual space here. A lot of people might be a little disappointed but there’s still lot of excitement to be experienced on a virtual platform,” he said.
The online comic platform will display the unique comic art collection of talented artists from Taiwan and Malaysia, including works from popular Malaysian artists such as graffiti artist Kenji Chai, toys designer AH-B Blowwater, Jefferson Ng, Ah Guan and cartoonist Sky Yong.
Attendees can enter the comic exhibition areas for free via online video guides at www.klcomicweek.com.my.
The online exhibition is jointly organized by Malaysian Comicker Union, Taiwan Ministry of Culture, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia, Taipei Comic Artist Labor Union and National Museum of Taiwan Literature. The event is supported by Nippon Designers School Malaysia, the venue partner.
The exhibition is divided into four thematic exhibition areas, namely: POP UP! Designer Toys Tribute Exhibition, Asian Comic Artist One Page Horror Comic Essence Exhibition, Taiwan Malaysia Classic Comic Character Illustration Exhibition and Taiwan Ghost Literature Special Exhibition.
There will be also two online forums to be conducted: the Taiwan-Malaysia International Manga Forum and the Manga Master Class.
The first exhibition named POP UP! Designer Toys Tribute Exhibition will showcase 12 exquisite 3D artworks created by 12 Malaysian toy designers and comic artists, including Kenji Chai, AH-B Blowwater, Jefferson Ng, Ah Guan and Sky Yong. Viewers will get new experience and insights towards Taiwan comics characters.
If you are into horror and thriller comics, put your capes on as the second exhibition called Asian Comic Artist One Page Horror Comic Essence Exhibition showcase65 works of One Page Horror Comic paintings created by Taiwanese and Malaysian comic artists. Viewers will have the opportunity to experience horrific visual sensory stimulation from both Taiwan and Malaysia.
The third display section features 42 images that were selected as finalists in this year’s Taiwan-Malaysia Classic Comic Character Illustration Competition which was held in June this year. Viewers will get to see comic artists from both countries demonstrate their artistic, cultural and style of iconic characters.
The fourth exhibition section named Taiwan Ghost Literature Special Exhibition, is being held in conjunction with the National Museum of Taiwan Literature. Myths and ghost stories are popular culture in Malaysia and Taiwan. The organizers chose to integrate this exhibition with the second exhibition theme of Asian Comic Artist One Page Horror Comic Essence Exhibition in order to convey the spirit of Taiwanese Ghost Literature.
In recent years, Taiwan has seen a rise of interest in local ghost stories. The new generation of creators began with literature and history studies, novels, and collaborations with animation as well as comic drawing. Through cross-industry collaboration, these experiences may serve as a model for Malaysian animators to learn from and develop future Taiwan-Malaysia animation exchanges.
Leading comic creators will take part in the first of two sessions of the International Manga Forum, including Taipei Comic Labour Union chairman Max Lai, who is also the author of ‘Mr Right’ and ‘Little Monk’, as well as Comic Fiesta organizer Nerv Lim. They will have an in-depth sharing and exchanges session about the evolution of Taiwanese and Malaysian comics in the aftermath of the pandemic.
For the second session, Taiwanese senior cartoonist and author of the Savoury Formosa series Cheng Yen Yun, and Malaysia Comicker Union president Liu will share their experiences of local culture and comics combining, as well as provide participants a broad acquaintance with the food culture of the two countries.
The speaker for Manga Master Class will be Malaysian comic artist Fishball. She is best known for her hilarious Webtoon series ‘My Giant Geek Boyfriend’ which depicts her life as a geek, gamer and comic artist. She will share her creative experience and expertise in the world of online comics, as well as assess current trends in online comics and the submission channel.
Those interested in participating in the forums are required to make pre-registration.
For more information, visit the Malaysia Comicker Union website at www.klcomicweek.com.my or Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ComickerUnion/
