Comic books for a new generation
Print Edition
COMIC books were popular in China for several decades since the 1920s with Shanghai the home of many great authors. As a Jiading native, Wang Wanchun grew up reading their work.
However, the golden age of comics seemed in the 1980s as the economy improved and more families were able to afford televisions or go to the movies.
New varieties of media grabbed the public’s attention and took over the place once held by comic books.
It looked like they were well on their way to becoming a thing of the past.
“Many young people today don’t have the emotional connection to traditional Chinese comic books. They grew up watching TV and playing video games. But for the older generation including myself, the influence of our favorite comic books are forever imprinted on our lives,” Wang says.
To regular readers, comic books were easily accessible entertainment; but for him, it was a unique art form that couldn’t be replaced. Wang’s enthusiasm extends beyond reading them; he wants to create comic books of his own.
Wang started to learn Chinese ink-wash painting and classic literature at the age of 5, laying a solid foundation for his dream. “When I was a teenager, there was no other entertainment except comic books. So I read them repeatedly and learned to draw sketches.”
In 1978, Wang, then 19, graduated from high school and was assigned to work at Xinghuo Farm Movie Station in Fengxian District.
During his spare time, he had several ideas for comic books and tried to develop them on paper. An editor from Shanghai People’s Fine Arts Publishing House came across his work and thought he had potential.
“My first published work was a short comic strip adapted from a story written in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It only included 20 pictures, but it took me more than three months to finish it. I revised it five times.”
That was when he realized the job of professional comic book writer was not an easy one.
“This job is like being a director, I have to think about a series of issues — the arc of the characters, plot development and composition of the pictures,” says Wang. It is a comprehensive and difficult process, he adds.
The young comic book writer felt that he lacked the confidence and skill to continue, and that his abilities did not match his ambition.
Therefore, as painful as it was, Wang decided to stop drawing comic books for a while and try other lines of work.
During the nest two decades, he was an art designer at a theater, a film company manager, and an artistic director for an animation film studio.
“Theater and film both have something in common with comic books,” Wang says.
The experience gained from these art-related jobs enabled him to better understand story structure and dramatic conflict in comic books. He began to pay attention to details like characters’ facial expressions and costumes to depict more vivid images.
About midway through the 1990s, he finally felt ready to pick up his old dream. However, the era of comic books had passed.
Wang thought his childhood dream might never come true. Becoming a comic book author was his true calling, but unfortunately, the timing just wasn’t right.
However, 2008 saw an unexpected turn of events.
In the autumn of that year, Shanghai People’s Fine Arts Publishing House got in touch, seeking his participation in a project to repair and revise old comic books.
He seized the opportunity. While he was doing the repairing work, he also talked to the editors at the publishing house and presented his original work — a comic book version of the classical novel “Journey to the West.” The quality of the work impressed the editors and they agreed to publish it.
This relaunched Wang’s comic book career. During the following year, he completed 15 books in a row. “I felt that all these years’ effort and anticipation didn’t go to waste. I was bursting with inspiration and ideas and I poured them all into my work.”
“A Journey to the West” sold out its 3,500 copies as soon as they came out.
“By then, I realized that my main priority is to make use of the time I still have and dedicate it to my dream,” Wang says.
In 2011, Wang quit his day job as a graphic designer at a local newspaper called News Times to become a full-time comic book author. He is now one of less than 30 remaining traditional Chinese comic book writers who do original work.
His 36-volume “Outlaws of the Marsh” series, which he created between 2011 and 2014 is a groundbreaking work that started the trend of big serial books by a single author.
In 2014, he became a member of the Shanghai Artists Association.
“I want to keep on creating great works,” says Wang, who firmly believes that the cultural and historical value of comic books is worth preserving.
“A good comic book is like a mirror in that it reflects the culture of a generation. I have the responsibility to make sure that the younger generation at least get a chance to get familiar with this cultural format.”
He also wants to make some explorations and innovations in the content and artistic form of Chinese comic books, and hopefully to eventually see them become an integral part of modern urban lifestyles.
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