Chinese comics are making inroads into European countries where the
readers are interested in Asian cultures, publishers and authors
said at Hong Kong Book Fair yesterday.
Japanese comics have long been established in European markets,
but the interaction with Asia had pushed publishers to look for
books in other countries.
In France, about 4,000 new comics books are available in the
market each year. Among them, 1,000 are Asian comics, mostly from
Japan.
"Europeans have strong interest for Asian culture, probably
influenced by video games and movies. Japanese comics alone cannot
satisfy all needs. We need to look for productions from other
countries, such as China and Vietnam," said Nadia Gibert, editor of
Casterman Editions.
The Belgium-based publisher, Casterman had translated Japanese
and Korean comics into French.
The publisher had also selected six comics by mainland, Hong
Kong and Taiwan authors for French editions named under "Hua Shu"
series. Some of the selected titles have already been
published.
The publisher will also arrange French artists to work with Hong
Kong, Shanghai and Beijing authors for a comic book themed China.
The book is scheduled for publication in late 2008 or early
2009.
Three Hong Kong comics authors, Lee Chi-hoi, Lai Tat Tat Wing
and Ah Ko, would participate in the project.
Gibert said many mainland comics were strongly influenced by
Japanese, but there were still authors creating comics with
personalized style.
When asked whether the European readers preferred comics in
Oriental sense, Gibert said: "We stress personalized style, which
is very subjective. We need comics books the content of which have
never seen in the market. The comics should be different from the
available titles."
The publisher's associate editor, Nicolas Finet said he had
always been to bookshops in China, and found out the comics
authors.
Lee Chi-hoi, the Hong Kong author whose works had been
translated and published in Italy, Germany and Belgium since 1999,
said the mainland's accession to the World Trade Organization had
aroused Westerners' interest in the mainland.
But Lee did not think having his works published overseas was an
indication that his influence grows in other countries.
"Comics is a common visual art language. Readers will still be
moved by the pictures even though they do not know the words. So I
don't think I am going beyond my limit to some other places," he
said.
Lee said the comic works has to be unique as overseas readers
are curious and open-minded to appreciate different ideas.
"They want to understand more about different parts of the
world," he said. "It will not create positive result if the local
author attempts to pander to the Westerners' perception of Oriental
sense."
(China Daily HK Edition July 21, 2007)
