Manga & Makiko
Art from Ms. Makiko, who draws manga for Japanese magazine Nyoyum. She comes twice yearly to get her Cambodia time. She's done two books already about her Cambodian experiences!
Interview yesterday with local illustrator and teacher Y Lida.
Also, click for miscellaneous comics tibits.
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Kami-Shibai in Battambang
What are these people doing?
‘Kami-Shibai’ at Phare Ponleu Salapak Art School.
More details
http://www.qdcomic.com/battambang/kami-shibai/
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Hello all:
SCHEDULE CHANGE
Exposition: October 24 - November 01
Children's Workshop: To be announced (October)
Symposium: To be announced (October)
More time to plan and prepare!
Here's a picture by Soeung Makara, who is doing storyboards and animation.
Yesterday, a meeting with Damrey Saa, a nonprofit children's book publisher.
Some interesting stories, some translated into French, Japanese and English.
Today, some new art from Ms. Phyrun, a self-publisher from the 1980s.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Grit, Comics, Crises, Thumbs, Golems
Running around town, meeting artists and publishers. The biggest publishers of new comics nowadays are nonprofits, I'm starting to conclude.
Two job offers in the last two days. While I hit crunch time for the Exhibition I expect the Law of Irony to be in full effect, providing both distractions good and bad.
Uth Roeun has provided us with samples of his two unpublished stories. One grittily realistic, the other a legend fable that has great style and pacing.
Awed and envious, what skill!
"Comics aren't just for kids" department: officemate Jane Martin provides a new comic by Cambodian Women's Crisis Centre.
(Below). It focuses on the exploitation of economically vulnerable young women, and foreigners seem to be the bad guys in all the cases. This is the fourth CWCC comic I've seen so far.
Email from States - Justin from All Thumbs press may be in Phnom Penh around Christmas time. http://www.allthumbspress.com.
Also on the comics front, have finished the Pulitzer prizewinning "Adventures of Kavalier and Clay". Holy Golems! A fine read.
http://www.sugarbombs.com/kavalier/interviews.html
Meanwhile, back in Oz, Laura Anne Seabrook is creating a zines/comics database.
http://lists.octapod.org/archives/zines/2004-September/000308.html
And on a much more serious note: Sudan - ways to help. Please check this one out.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3793577.stm
Monday, September 20, 2004
Comix Chat
A lunch today with Soeung Makara (animator), Neth Sokunthea (Cambodia Book Sector Federation) and Em Satya (comic artist). We chat a bit about the plans for the Symposium. Piseth and I hand out some comics so people can 'skoal knea' - know each other.(Getting them at wholesale price now, 350 riel each!)
Halfway through lunch Em Satya picks up one of the comics and notes that they've taken a lot of the art in one of the comics from his work. I look and sure enough, the style is quite similar.
We've got to get our database cooking, there are a lot of comics and details
to note and arrange.
+ + +
An intriguing article polling science fiction writers on the way things
are going.
http://www.locusmag.com/2004/Features/09_ShirleySocialFuture.html
Saturday, September 18, 2004
Hul Sophon
A visit to Hul Sophon's house finds an energetic and prolific artist, hard at work.
If you've gazed at a rack of novel covers in a book stall you've seen one of his paintings. He's also done 'Rose of Pailin' as a line art comic for Reyum.
He's got some unpublished painted work, a legend story.
(It's got narration, is it a comic or a storybook?)
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Flappie...
Image above from Merilee Challiss, who recently exhibited at Java. She, Chris Lawson and others have used comics for collage art along with Cambodian artist Leang Seckon.
http://www.collarmoth.com
http://www.craneorchard.com/
http://www.machinewithnoname.com
http://www.merrileechalliss.com/
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Nhek Sokhaleap
A visit to publishing NGO SIPAR yields a wealth of names and in particular some new painted comics by Nhek Sokhaleap. Above is a Hanuman picture he has done for a series of cards.
Also pleased to hear that the Cambodia Book Sector Federation is picking up steam.
Off to see Hul Sophon soon.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Books and pictures
Some discussion with librarian Thonevath Pou at the weekend, who is working on efforts at the National Library.
Khmer has a number of words we use in the discussion of comic books:
cipau (book)
roop (picture)
roopheap (picture-ness)
roong (story)
komplaing (funny)
Sometimes people say 'cipau roop' or 'cipau roong komplaing'.
The term I've been using lately (after some discussion with friends) has been
'cipau roong roopheap'.
T.P. is compiling a dictionary of bibliographic terms and this may just become
the official term for comic book! I'll have to see what other people say colloquially.
And as regards 'roop' some of Thonevath Pou's art can be seen on sale at Reyum gallery.
Monday, September 13, 2004
Mail Moment
Sent mail off to Korea today, hope to do a long distance jam strip with the Bucheon Cartoon Festival.
An enthusiastic late night call from Ms. Pirom - she's finished her autobiographical page! This may be the first story she's done about herself. Autobiographical comics are a relatively new genre in Cambodia, though not unknown.
Ung Bunhean published cartoons in his book with Martin Stuart-Fox, 'The Murderous Revolution'.
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
Uth Roeun
Above: 1966 comic.
A meeting with Uth Roeun today, at the Association of Cambodian Artist Friends. Hopefully we can exhibit some of his masterful art. He has two major unpublished works that he would like to print.
Most people know his art but not his name from his adapted cassics Tum Teav and Torn Chey, which are still copied today - illegally.
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Em Satya
Met with famed comics artist Em Satya yesterday, who has some amazing comics hidden away. Why is he not publishing them? The state of the market is not the best. Publishers print his old stories over and over again, he is in competition with himself. And commercial art pays better. The art below is part of a three part story that may someday see the light.
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Spent some time recently with retired artist Sin Yun Phyrum. She did about 80 comics during the 1980s and 1990s. She hasn't retired voluntarily, market conditions led her to work at a food stall instead to support her growing family.
What is impressive is that once she received approval from the Ministry of Culture, she would have her comics printed and distribute them personally, cutting out the middleman. Years later, comics are still on the newsstand - reprinted by the same middlemen.
Publishing sometimes ain't a pretty picture here. Stay tooned for more news.
Saturday, September 04, 2004
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