Comics and society

This is part of the NLB Mapping series. Do come if you can.
There will be an art demo too.

18 August 2012, Saturday
1pm – 4pm
Visitors Briefing Room, Level 1, National Library

Comics and Society - Lim Cheng Tju
Comics and cartoons reflect societal concerns and changes, and Singapore's historical and political narratives have been vividly documented in this visual format. By looking at the political cartoons and comic books in Singapore of the last 50 years, they reveal multiple facets and dimensions of the Singapore story.

Political Cartoons in newspapers and magazines - Morgan Chua
Political cartoons, sometimes referred to as editorial cartoons, are visual narratives published mostly in newspapers and magazines. Usually depicted within a single frame, they serve as commentaries reflecting upon political or social-economic issues of the day. Renowned Cartoonist Morgan Chua will share his life story and reflections on the importance of this medium.

'Gone Case'- From Print to Print. - Koh Hong Teng
This presentation is about the graphic adaptation of the novel 'Gone Case'. It highlights the inspiration behind the adaptation. The presentation will also touch on the creation process and the development of the drawing style.


* Morgan Chua is a Singapore-born cartoonist who started drawing for the Singapore Herald in 1970. In 1971, he moved to Hong Kong and joined The Asian. A year later, Morgan started work in the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER) where he stayed on for 24 years, rising up from editorial artist to eventually becoming its creative director. After he left FEER in 1997, he moved to Tanjong Pinang where he still resides today. Morgan’s publications include In memory of madam Kwa Geok Choo, 1920-2010 (2011), Divercity Singapore: a cartoon history of immigration (2010), My Singapore / sketches (2008), Tiananmen (1989).

* Koh Hong Teng is the illustrator of the graphic novel 01321. Self-published in 1996, the first page of 01321 won the Gold Award in the digital art category at the inaugural Siggraph Asia Pacific Animation and Digital Art Competition in 2001. Apart from short graphic stories, he also spends his time working on full-length graphic novels and paintings. He published the graphic novel 'Gone Case' Book 1 and 2 with writer Dave Chua in 2010 and 2011 respectively. In 2011, he was one of the recipient of Arts Creation Fund from National Arts and in the following year, he was commissioned by National Library Board to illustrate a 16-page comic story for the irememberSG project.