Comics Around The World Part 1
The show stopping number “Put On Your Sunday Clothes” from Hello, Dolly! opens with the adventure seeking Cornelius Hackl finally getting the gumption to leave his comfort zone. That applies to comics, too. Often, we only focus on American comics in our analyses and forget that there is a “world outside of Yonkers.” In a series of interviews, we will spotlight creators from around the world and attempt to get a glimpse in the local comics scene. Our first stop on our world tour? Malaysia!
Sandra Khoo will be a name you will know soon. The Malaysian animation designer’s work already can be seen in Flash games and an International Emmy nominated television series. Her latest endeavor? Comics!
Bob Francis: You come from an animation background, working as the character designer for the International Emmy nominated series “Saladin”, what brings you to comics?
Sandra Khoo: Curiosity to begin with. It’s something I’ve always wanted to delve into which I find very rewarding. It’s a lot faster to churn out compared to animation…at a much smaller budget and the timeline def much faster. Plus [I] have been cooking up all sorts of ideas for storylines and plots since my school days which begs to be drawn and released. So comics and graphic novels is one of the best ways to go.
I grew up with a lot of British comics. The usual suspects being Dandy, Beano, The Bash Street Kids,etc. But over the years I’ve been exposed to more and more titles, like Tarzan and Conan the Barbarian, love Frazetta’s and Buscema’s art in there, and the likes of Marvel and DC comcis.
The only local comic artist at the time I grew up with, and there were very, very few at the time, was Lat. He did have a charming way of rendering his comics in a very basic,yet simple and charming style that is all his own that sets him apart from the rest of them that I’ve been exposed to. And also gave me the knowing that creating comics was not exclusively for huge comic moguls out there, but it was possible to achieve locally.
BF: So, what’s on your art table now, comics wise?
SK: Have a few titles I’ve been generating periodically…one thats been established is my lil’ comic series called Claude and Chunkie. I started developing the idea in Sept 2007. Been wanting to create a simple story meant for a 4 panel comic like in the newspapers. I’ve played around with several ideas and drafted them out in my sketch journal. So what stood out was the concept art I did for a story plot revolving around the relationship between an orphaned albino cougar cub and a lone, hungry wolf.
Another project thats in the works has the working title of Flight Captain Hurricane. And another working title project I’m calling The Sojourner for now.
BF: Where can we find Claude and Chunkie?
SK: Currently in our MnU art books and in the Holland based P@per magazine, NR 10-13.
BF: MnU?
SK: Short for Mars and Uranus. My group of animation friends wanted to create a team whereby they could create art and publish together in order to maintain a constant communication amongst the team members throughout our careers. MnU has been planning on building up an art site for the group and book sales. That’s still in the works, we can easily be contacted in our MnU site in deviantART or any of the members by email for it.
BF: What’s the Comics Scene in Southeast Asia like?
SK: Malaysia is growing by leaps and bounds each year. The Manga and Anime scene is very widespread as with American comics. Also with the advent of our Local Comic Fiesta a smaller but growing comic appreciation scene very much like the State’s Comic Cons. It helps to boost the local comic industry immensely.
BF: Singapore is a hop, skip, and a jump from where you are. Is Singapore a hotbed of comics regionally?
SK: I’m guessing most definitely. Singapore is def a big player in the industry with their own annual comic conventions coupled with cos-play events in quite a grand scale. This week, I believe Singapore will be playing host to another Manga/Anime convention. They will be hosting some very high profiles artists from Japan.
Both regions hosting major book fairs plays a big role in identifying local comic talents and studios.
Besides the growing regional conventions and show, the Internet, through sites like Tumblr and deviantART, the rest of the world can find these local talents. Out there. Full of shine and full of sparkle.