Taiwan and Malaysia have jointly launched an online comic platform that features a 3D gallery containing up to 250 comic works by artists from the two countries, with information available in Chinese and English.
The virtual comic platform, the first joint venture of the kind between the two countries, was co-organized by Taipei-based Ministry of Culture, the Cultural Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in Malaysia, the Taipei Comic Artist Labor Union, and Malaysia Comicker Union. It was officially launched on July 15 to target the Malaysian and global comic markets, the culture ministry said.
Titled "Taiwan-Malaysia International Comic Week 2020," the platform presents three themed exhibitions -- "Taiwan Township 368 Postcard Exhibition," "100 Superheroes," and "Taiwan-Malaysia Anti-Epidemic Comics Exhibition."
While the "postcard exhibition" displays 100 exquisite illustrations of the country’s 368 villages and townships by Taiwanese cartoonists, the "100 Superheroes" series, created by 20 artists from Taiwan and Malaysia, showcases works exhibited at the third edition of the Taiwan Comics Festival in 2019.
The "Taiwan-Malaysia Anti-Epidemic Comics Exhibition," meanwhile, displays 50 works by Taiwanese and Malaysian artists to pay tribute to the medical staff fighting the COVID-19 pandemic on the frontline in both countries.
Prior to the official launch of the platform, a series of online events and drawing tutorials was held from July 1 to July 14. Acclaimed figures, such as Taipei Comics Union President Lai Yu-hsien (賴有賢), Taiwanese comic artists Ruan Guang-min (阮光民) and Bankota Cheng (鄭硯允), as well as their counterparts from Malaysia, Mïïn (敏), Fishball (啊魚丸), and Michael Chuah (蔡詩中), shared stories behind their creations and shed light on the current comic industry.
Chen Kuan-Fu (陳冠甫), chief of the Cultural Division of the TECRO in Malaysia, said that the "Taiwan-Malaysia International Comic Week 2020" was originally slated to take part in Malaysia-based comic convention "Toy, Anime & Game and Comic Con" in late June, which was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. To maintain the momentum of the comic communities of these two countries, events previously planned for the convention have been moved online, Chen said.
Visit here for more information or event registration. Additionally, video of online events are available with English subtitles on the platform, and two more sections have been added to the website to provide viewers up-to-date information on the comic communities of Taiwan and Malaysia.