The Taiwanese manga artist known as “Monday Recover” (星期一回收日) was met with an enthusiastic response during an appearance at Foire du Livre, a French-language book fair that is being held in Brussels, Belgium.
With four comic books that have been translated into French, the selection of Monday Recover, whose given name is Shih Chia-yu (施佳妤), as a featured artist proved to be a hit at the book fair, attracting many visitors to her book-signing events and forums at the event from Thursday to Sunday.
At a forum she participated in, Shih, whose works fall into the “girls’ love” genre, received questions from five members of the audience about her sources of inspiration, ideas for her next work and how young comic artists can become successful in Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
Perhaps best known for her book Sea You There and Us (貓與海的彼端), Shih said that “girls’ love” is a niche genre with few creators, but it has always had a very dedicated following.
Earlier works depicting same-sex relationships often had sad endings, but times have changed, and “people need teen stories with a happy ending,” she said.
Shih said she would therefore continue creating works in this genre for now.
Shih’s appearance at the event marked the second consecutive year of a collaboration between the French online manga subscription service mangas.io and Taiwan’s government-funded Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA).
Nazca, a French publisher that has published more than 10 Taiwanese comics titles, have also joined mangas.io and TAICCA to promote their content at their table.
Damien Mercier, a representative for Nazca, said that about 200 titles hit the French market every month, and Taiwanese comics, characterized by their unconventional plots and diversity, tend to fit the taste of most French readers.
Yun Inada, chief content officer for mangas.io, said his platform had just added four Taiwanese comics titles earlier this month thanks to a collaboration with TAICCA.
Shih’s works touch on self-identity and feminism, which lend themselves well to works that the book fairs’ organizers wish to spotlight, Inada said.
The popularity of “shonen manga” — Japanese comic books whose target audience is young men and boys in their adolescence — in France has created a sizable following of Japanese manga, and demand for more manga genres is on the rise, Inada said.
This has presented an opportunity for Taiwanese comics to create an impact on the French market, he said.
Inada said that unlike male readers, who often share pirated content and read shonen manga almost exclusively, he found female readers are more likely to purchase comic books and explore different genres.
Therefore, offering a variety of titles is key to discovering fresh and interesting stories, Inada said.
He also said that Taiwanese comics stand out from Japanese works as they originate from a “hybrid culture” influenced by Dutch, Chinese and Japanese elements, making them particularly fascinating.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS