24 HOUR COMIC DAY, MALAYSIAN STYLE

[MattBrady]

by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean

Better late than never, right?

Slightly over two months after 24 Hour Comics Day 2006, a group of 20 creators/artists/cartoonists from Malaysia finally took up the challenge to write and draw 24 pages of comics in 24 hours.

Based on an original concept by Making Comics creator and the leading theoretician in the comics field Scott McCloud, the Malaysian challenge was first mooted by former Silver Surfer artist Milx two months before the international 24-Hour Comics Day event in October. Cedko Gan of Cedko, who’d organized the Cedko Cartoonist Conference in April, made it a reality this past weekend at the inaugural Sci-Fi & Fantasy Festival 2006.

Gan described the event as “super successful, [with a] mix of different levels of cartoonists - professionals (American comics & local comic houses) and non-professionals (newspaper reporters, home maker, food operator, students, lecturers. IT, etc)

“[The] quality of work [was], not surprisingly, above average. Cedko has always believed that Malaysians are a very talented bunch.”

“The 24-Hour Comic Day is something I wanted to do at least once in my lifetime,” grand prize winner Alan Quah told Newsarama after the event. “Before I started, I really wanted to make sure that I can throw in some integrity to the pages. That would mean not slacking too much in terms of quality. I'm glad I manage to do just that within the time frame. We started out quite well, the plan is to draw a page an hour but as pages passed, things got a little out of hand. [laughs] I think by the time I reached page 12, I'm already an hour behind. So there was a lot of chasing to do. In the end, I think me and my partner in crime, Sheldon Goh (who sat next to me) didn't sleep at all. Somehow, with his motivation I manage to make back the time loss and even have time for a quick breakfast with 20 minutes to spare in the end. This is an experience I will cherish forever. I'm sure I will be able to put it to good use when it comes to drawing for my paid gigs.

Hafidz Mahpar, who judged the event together with Hasnul Hadi Samsudin, a representative of Multimedia Development Corporation (MDec), the agency responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) in Malaysia; and Kinsun, who did three issues of Batman in 2004, said that "Alan has always, as far as I know, been known more for his art than for his story; but I was happy to discover he could also write a darn good story!

“His comic is about a fight to the death between two artists in a fantasy realm where things drawn such as guns -- become real. Darn symbolic of a comic drawing competition, don’t you think?

“Some parts of the art were intentionally left in pencil form (as per the story’s requirements),
which shows that Alan was thinking out of the box. It's not just ink. For a lot of the cartoonists, their way of thinking out of the box was to have a double-page spread (well, Alan had this as well).

“Alan’s art is so detailed and polished that it looks like it took a few days; at the very least -- to draw. It’s amazing that he did it in 24 hours. Shows great discipline. But my concern is whether Scott McCloud or [24-Hour Comics Day founder] Nat Gertler would believe that Alan’s stuff was done in under 24 hours!!”

“It's not typical to have any prizes for the top 3 comics at overseas 24-Hour Comics Day events. The goal was simply to finish within 24 hours, period. All who finish are winners. No losers. Indeed, all the 18 Malaysians who completed the 24 pages, in my view, are winners. You're the pioneers, and you did Malaysia proud!”

Rounding up the top three were Sheldon Goh (2nd) and Sarah Joan Mokhtar, the one of only two female cartoonists in the group.

Alan Quah said, “My dream is always, to be able to draw comics for a living and tell the world that this tiny nation called Malaysia has the talents to show. We already have a few to names that can make us proud really with the likes of Loh Kin Sun, Billy Tan, Sonny Liew, Tan Eng Huat, Chee, Baba Chuah, Milx, Sunder Raj and Adijin.

“The ultimate agenda is to one day draw locally, meaning, publish my own works right here, my own beloved country. The local comic scene is going the right direction with the government showing keen interest and creating grants to help artists publish their comics through MDeC. But before I can do that, I need to establish my name out there, I guess. There's still a long road ahead but I'm very stubborn man, I'll stay the course.”

At present, Quah is working on Anywhere with Tom Akel of Heroverse, “a funny book about the life of a bunch of heroes staying in NY City”; Will Hawk, Fortune and Prophet, which is “a mini-series I'm working on for Everett Fitzgerald, the executive director of Abacus. It's about angels and demons slugging it out for the possession of a man who have the seed to birth a child that will save the world or otherwise. A project I'm really excited about also,” and “an ongoing series for [Devil’s Due’s] Joshua Blaylock.”

“I think it is a good representation of the Malaysian artistic strength both independent and professional,” MDeC’s Hasnul Hadi Samsudin added. “It is key to understand that the first layer of digital content creation comes from the content creator. The basics of creation is the hand-drawn artistry – this is core to any of the digital content that is created. What I saw during the Challenge, gave me a renewed sense of pride that Malaysia has what it takes to get our content the next level. Both storytelling and art were important in my decision; in the comics I saw both.

He described the judging process as “very difficult. We actually whittled down to 5 top comics before a real decision was made. I think you may have heard that [one of the judges had] wanted another comic to win but I was a bit adamant on a few key things, which were you must finish within 24 hours, work within what you have. I think I looked at it very much as a project manager who usually looks at timeliness and within budget... I think what was clear is that all three winners were very experienced/mature in their story and artwork. Again to repeat myself, they all looked finished and ready for market, which in my books are very important. Actually if I had the chance I would have nominated each hopeful with different categories, some had really good stories while there are may not be that great. Some had really good art but lacked the extra oomph for a good comic.

“I think the current comic industry is very much underground. Gone were the days of Gila Gila – but it is slowly resurging. This is because of the advent of digital content which has somewhat diminished comic’s role in distributing stories and content. That is why the MDeC started the digital comic competition which essentially allows traditional artists to work with digital content creators to create digital comics. My hope for the future is that more and more artists will start coming out of the woodworks participating with the many programs that are around and what MDeC will be doing under the auspices of the MSC Malaysia and MSC Malaysia Creative Multimedia Initiative.”

Other newsworthy buzz from the floor included:

- Tan Eng Huat: Fresh from his work on the 12-part Batman: Journey Into Knight maxi-series, the Russ Manning award winning artist’s upcoming project is a Judge Dredd short story for 2000AD

- Milx: He’s completed two issues of Steve Niles’ Frankenstein: Overdrive. For more details about the project, check out our earlier interview with the artist by clicking here.

- Chee: Still keeping himself busy with more Boom! Studios projects.

- Aadi Salman (Adijin): He’s signed a deal with “the Devil.”

- Kinsun: He’s working on a creator-owned project that he’s hoping to bring to the attention of prospective publishers in the near future.

- Up and coming talent Eisu’s working on a "super-villain project".

- Fellow up and coming creator Aimo is part of the team of Saladin, Malaysia’s first high-tech television animation series based on the life of Salah al-Din Yusuf, a revered Islamic leader from the 12th Century who drove the Crusaders from Jerusalem during the Crusades.

Finally, when asked if the entries would be compiled and published at some point in the future, Cedko’s Gan said, “Most definitely and we expect it to be within the next 3 months. As we speak, we are drafting a proposal for a hopeful sponsor!

“For all cartoonists to be able to generate passive income and have time flexibility to pursue their passion for cartooning. for a good start, we need a shared vision.

“Malaysian cartoonists, unite!”

Not bad for a country with a population of almost 27 million.

[Kolimar]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

Not bad for a country with a population of almost 27 million.

Agreed.

[Nat Gertler]

A big "way to go!" to the Malaysian crew. When I saw the enthusiasm they were coming at this event with, I knew they'd have a good time and expected some quality work out of them - and the samples here certainly don't disappoint.

But my concern is whether Scott McCloud (24-Hour Comics Day founder) or Nat Gertler would believe that Alan’s stuff was done in under 24 hours!

Just to clarify, I'm the founder of 24 Hour Comics Day. Scott did the much more seminal effort - inventing the 24 hour comics challenge. I'm just the guy who, over a decade later, said "hey! Let's all do it on the same day!"

[Kolimar]

Europeans, Asians and Latin Americans in Marvel and DC

[Mike Hayden]

Yep Asia is the comicbook frontier. America should poke their noses into European Comics, They are quit good. Try Okko and Secret History