Through a collaboration between Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) and Mangas.io, a subscription-based manga reading platform in Europe, the Brussels Book Fair (Foire du Livre de Bruxelles), held from Mar. 13 to 16 in Belgium, featured Taiwanese comics. This year, manga artist Monday Recover (星期一回收日), whose four works have been translated from Mandarin into French, was invited to participate in the French-language book fair.
Having attended comics festivals in Europe many times, Monday Recover is known for her young adult comics, including the notable works “The Pink Ribbon (粉紅緞帶)” and “Sea You There and Us (貓與海的彼端),” which vividly portray feminine emotions and affections. The former is regarded as one of the first comic books in Taiwan to focus on girls’ love.
Yun Inada, chief content officer at Mangas.io, said that the popularity of Taiwanese comics has been growing in the French-language market. Influenced by cultures of the Netherlands, China, and Japan, Taiwan offers a variety of stories for comic artists to tell, Inada noted, adding that this cultural diversity is the strongest selling point of Taiwanese comics.