An independent bookstore jointly established by comic artists and the Taipei City Comic Artists Guild has opened for business. It is expected to become a popular spot for foreign visitors and a place for upcoming artists to exhibit their work.
The first independent bookstore to carry only manga and comics was launched on Wednesday at the Longshan Cultural and Creative Base in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華).
Union chairman Lai You-hsien (賴有賢) said that the store would help foster work by Taiwanese artists, adding that the store was named Manga Longshan, as manga is the Japanese word for comics and a near-homophone for how Wanhua is pronounced in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese).
Screen grab from Manga Longshan’s Facebook account
Wanhua attracts many foreign visitors, offering a chance to promote Taiwanese comics, Lai said.
Twelve comic artists were invited to attend the opening ceremony, and each presented an illustration linked to local sites, with Amin Lee (李勉之) presenting an illustration of a beautiful woman covered in snakes, alluding to the snake soup delicacy on Huaxi Street.
Artist Cola King (可樂王) presented an illustration of a airplane formed by all the seafood delicacies found in the district, against a backdrop of a fireworks show, for which Wanhua is also renowned.
Chang Chih-wei (張秩維) and his wife, Huang Li-jen (黃麗真), drew a healer character — named Jisheshih (雞舍師) — based on herbal drinks, which are claimed to have medicinal purposes.
Aside from carrying original works created by Taiwanese artists, the store would feature limited recreations of the original drawings, hand-painted pottery, T-shirts, coasters and cushions, the union said.
The store would also host comic-related courses, book-signing events and talks, it said.
It would provide legal consultation on copyright laws and would be a place for people to interact with comic artists from other countries, it added.
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
RSS