The shortlist for the 7th Golden Comic Awards was announced on June 14 - a total of 24 submissions out of 118 competing entries was nominated for the awards after initial review by the jury panel. The Ministry of Culture noted that the honor was established to encourage original comic materials and to discover a new generation of comic artists.
This year's Lifetime Achievement Award will go to Zhu Deyong (朱德庸), an artist whose highly stylized cartoons have swept the Chinese-speaking community since his debut over three decades ago. His works have often been adapted for television, stage, and the silver screen, and several public welfare campaigns such as anti-smoking and earthquake disaster relief are fronted by his fictional characters.
As a pioneer in cross-sector cooperation, Zhu has successfully led Taiwan's comics to shine on the world stage and his enduring attitude towards comics creation serves as an inspiration for those who seek to follow in his footsteps.
The Golden Comic Awards has had no fixed trophy since its launch in 2010. The Ministry organized a trophy design competition this year to strengthen the award's identity and five winning entries were selected from a total of 84 submissions to receive the gold, silver, bronze, and honorable prizes. The gold went to Ge Yu-hong (葛郁弘), who received a cash prize of NT$200,000 for his winning trophy design.
Ge, a sophomore at the master's program for industrial design at Shih Chien University, cited inspiration from the Chinese character of "man (漫),” which means "to overflow” or "to roam.” He used the character as the main body of the trophy and integrated fountain pen elements and cartoon strokes, while the text is laser-engraved on the rear of the trophy, displaying a simple and magnanimous quality.
This year's competition remains fierce because only one winner is selected for each category of the Golden Comic Awards. The list of winners - and recipients of a total cash prize of NT$1.95 million - will be announced at the awards ceremony on Aug. 2.
Artist Zhu Deyong is known for works such as "Uptown Singles (澀女郎)," which discusses romance, work, and relations through the eyes of four heroines.
Ge Yu-hong (葛郁弘), winner of the trophy design competition, is pictured second to the right, next to Vice Culture Minister George Hsu (許秋煌).
The winning trophy design.