Okay, okay,
I've been fairly slack with writing about comics because I've been pretty busy drawing them!
I hope none of you will fault me.
Met up with Toby Morris (some sample art below) at Hurley's Cantina a little over a week ago.
He and his inamorata are taking a leisurely jaunt through Southeast Asia. I hastily scribbled notes for Siem Reap and Battambang doings.
Great to get copies of his minis: anthology of comic strips Smoke VS Water (from various street press publications) and Sunken, a more personal meditation.
Want some? You may have to wait 'til he's back home, which the NZ-based illustrator calls Melbourne at the moment. http://del.icio.us/comicslifestyle/tobymorris
Tags: comics
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Hello Moto!
This was fun, referencing the neighborhood transportation options.
http://www.qdcomic.com/2008/01/daily-commute.html
Every cyclo driver wants to step up to a moto, and every moto driver aspires to own a tuk-tuk. After that? I guess you graduate to a perhaps being a tourist guide, or have another job you've built up skills for.
However, many cyclo and moto drivers are not Phnom Penhois, but migrant workers from the countryside. And literacy rates vary. So keep your map handy. Unlike other cities, you can't simply say 'Street 184' and sit back.
This is a re-post from 'Comic Rehab', if you're in a hurry to view all the comics and comments, take a look. http://comicrehab.wordpress.com/2008/01/08/round-three-day-eight/
Tags: Cambodia,comics
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Yes, I know New Years Resolutions are kind of hokey.
I don't care. In Cambodia we have three New Year celebrations to get it right. (International, Chinese, and Khmer!)
So:
1. Reconcile my bankbook, my computer files with my paper files, and with my friends that I've been out of touch with.
2. Spend more time at the drawing board and post office than at the keyboard surfing the internet. http://comicsrehab.wordpress.com
3. Umm.... try to reboot my own site, and get Comics Lifestyle to be more international. (Below, signups on our MySpace outpost.)
4. Make millions of dollars selling comics and retire to my own island of the coast of Dubai.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Leigh is a Poke-e-Monster.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Featuring cartoonists from 10 Asian nations, at the Cambodia-Japan Cooperation Center, from Sept 17 to 29.
More:
http://www.cjcc.jp/en/hottopic/10cartoonexhibition.html
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90782/6264883.html
http://www.cctv.com/program/cultureexpress/20070917/107889_2.shtml
Tags: Cambodia,comics
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Stray Cat
 I stumbled out of bed today, unshaven, in search of noodles. On the way hit the newsstand. Then did a double-take.Doraemon's in Cambodia.Doraemon's in Khmer. At 25 cents a pop. (1000 riel).For those unfamilar with the character, Doraemon is the embodiment of fun and adventure, star of manga and anime alike. With a 4th-dimensional wormhole pocket, he has no end of resources for his schoolboy pal Nobita. Kind of a neutered Hanuman, if you will.I bought four copies. One to read, one to give to Khmer friends to check the nuances, one for the archives, one for the Japanese Embassy. Because it didn't have a copyright.I also bought a few of the 1000 riel books that have a distinctly shojo look to them.It's definitely time to wake up and smell the cat food.Dropping chili paste and lime into my noodles, watching the ice sublimate off my coffee, I can see that the cheap joke books have slowly created a new market for cheap comics. Modern, well designed comics, not the 500 riel comics that are reprinted from 20 years ago. Unfortunately, if Cambodia goes the same route as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, it will be flooded with manga. Because it's much cheaper to translate than to create original material. And there's a field tested, proven back-catalogue. All ready for bootlegging.I have great affection for manga and great distaste for intellectual property theft. Not only are the Doraemon bootleggers stealing from Shogakukan and mangaka, they're taking potential shelf space from local creators.Cambodia's comics scene began in the 1960s with a largely French influence. I feel a little weird, as if the tectonic plates have shifted just a little bit to the East, and I'm the only witness. A tiny event, but with tremendous repercussions for local art and literacy.
Tags: Cambodia,comics,manga
Saturday, July 07, 2007
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