Hong Kong Comics

Asian comics are increasingly popular in the West, where comic and illustration enthusiasts prize them as objects of cult-like devotion. Wendy Siuyi Wong's voluminously illustrated book examines the history of this genre from its beginnings to its most influential contemporary practitioners. Over 1,000 color manhua, each with an English annotation.

This book examines Hong Kong’s struggle against the disappearance of its unique identity under the historical challenges of colonialism, in addition to the more recent reimposition of Chinese authoritarian government control, as reflected in three under-researched forms of visual media: comics, advertising and graphic design. Each section of the book focuses on one of these three forms, and each chapter focuses on one stage of Hong Kong’s changing cultural identity. The articulative position of this book is on studies of visual cultural history and media communication. Its case studies will broaden readers’ own cultural knowledge for a more international understanding. The Disappearance of Hong Kong in Comics, Advertising and Graphic Design advances the development of its three key subjects in terms of identity, communication and cultural politics, aiming to reach a wide range of multidisciplinary readers.

Back from Viet Nam, kung fu master Hong Kong Phooey has set up his own detective agency in the inner city. Meanwhile, Jefferson Pierce (a.k.a. Black Lightning) has uncovered a plot by three assassins to collect the components of a sacred text revealing the darkest secrets of Martial Arts magic, and theyÕll kill anyone who owns themÑincluding the dog who holds the last chapter of the book, Hong Kong Phooey. Plus, a tale of the Funky Phantom as he goes toe-to-toe with the Spectre in a tale by Jeff Parker and Scott Kolins.

The Dark Knight meets Hong Kong ultra-action in this dazzling new graphic novel. When the Dark Knight discovers that a serial killer has been downloading his murders onto the internet, he vows to track him down!

Grand in its scope, Asian Comics dispels the myth that, outside of Japan, the continent is nearly devoid of comic strips and comic books. Relying on his fifty years of Asian mass communication and comic art research, during which he traveled to Asia at least seventy-eight times and visited many studios and workplaces, John A. Lent shows that nearly every country had a golden age of cartooning and has experienced a recent rejuvenation of the art form. As only Japanese comics output has received close and by now voluminous scrutiny, Asian Comics tells the story of the major comics creators outside of Japan. Lent covers the nations and regions of Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Organized by regions of East, Southeast, and South Asia, Asian Comics provides 178 black-and-white illustrations and detailed information on comics of sixteen countries and regions—their histories, key creators, characters, contemporary status, problems, trends, and issues. One chapter harkens back to predecessors of comics in Asia, describing scrolls, paintings, books, and puppetry with humorous tinges, primarily in China, India, Indonesia, and Japan. The first overview of Asian comic books and magazines (both mainstream and alternative), graphic novels, newspaper comic strips and gag panels, plus cartoon/humor magazines, Asian Comics brims with facts, fascinating anecdotes, and interview quotes from many pioneering masters, as well as younger artists.

In this graphic novel by a cult cartoonist, orphaned siblings grapple with survival, sex, and mortality in a stylized world. Zegas details the surreal urban adventures of the recently orphaned Zegas siblings. The ambitious Emily and her moody brother, Boston, are young adults who confront their new relationship dynamic in the face of a family tragedy that never gets talked about.

With its stylistic characters and vivid colors, manga has captured the imagination of millions. Now, Manga: Masters of the Art goes straight to the source -- the artists themselves -- for the ultimate insider's look at this global phenomenon. Each section includes a question-and-answer session, allowing the reader first-hand access to the artist's thoughts and ideas. They discuss how they became interested in manga, their first published work, where they get their ideas, the creative process, tips and techniques, artistic influences, the genre itself, and much more. Illustrations and photographs of each artist's most seminal works are accompanied by extensive, explanatory captions. Manga: Masters of the Art is a practical reference book, a fascinating look at how this incredible artwork makes it from concept to reality, and a thoughtful commentary on the genre -- perfect for the growing legions of manga fans. The artists featured are: Kia Asamiya (Silent Möbius, Batman: Child of Dreams) CLAMP (Chobits, Tsubasa) Takehiko Inoue (Vagabond, Slam Dunk) Erica Sakurazawa (Between the Sheets, The Aromatic Bitters) Jiro Taniguchi (Icaro, The Walking Man) Yuko Tsuno (Swing Shell) Tatsuya Egawa (Golden Boy, Tokyo University Story) Suehiro Maruo (Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show) Reiko Okano (Onmyoji, Fancy Dance) Mafuyu Hiroki (Apples) Miou Takaya (Crazy Heaven, Map of Sacred Pain) Usamaru Furuya (Short Cuts, Palepoli)

**NOW IN PAPERBACK, WITH COLOR AND BLACK-AND-WHITE DRAWINGS THROUGHOUT** Alex Ross opens his private sketchbooks to reveal his astonishing pencil and ink drawings of DC Comics characters, nearly all of them appearing in print here for the first time in paperback. Thousands of fans from around the world have thrilled to Alex’s fully rendered photo-realistic paintings of their favorite heroes, but, as they may not realize, all of those works start as pencil on paper, and the origins of the finished images are rarely seen—until now. From deleted scenes and altered panels for the epic Kingdom Come saga to proposals for revamping such classic properties as Batgirl, Captain Marvel, and an imagined son of Batman named Batboy, to unused alternate comic book cover ideas for the monthly Superman and Batman comics of 2008–2009, there is much to surprise and delight those who thought they already knew all of Alex’s DC Comics work. Illuminating everything is the artist’s own commentary, written expressly for this book, explaining his thought processes and stylistic approaches for the various riffs and reimaginings of characters we thought we knew everything about but whose possibilities we didn’t fully understand. As a record of a pivotal era in comics history, Rough Justice is a must-have for Alex’s legion of fans, as well as for anyone interested in masterly comic book imagination and illustration.