- Title: Sonny Liew's rewritten Singapore history wins top Eisner awards
- Date: 22nd July 2017
- Summary: SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JULY 21, 2017) (REUTERS) MAN POSING WITH DARTH VADER 'THOR' AND 'HELA' ON STREET VARIOUS COSPLAYERS CHATTING IN THE STREET 'SILVER SURFER' WITH FELLOW SILVER WOMAN 'SPAWN' WITH 'CAPTAIN AMERICA' 'SHE HULK' POSES FOR CAMERA A MAN DRESSED AS GAME OF THRONES' WHITE WALKER LOOKS AT CAMERA GIRL DRESSED IN YELLOW ANORAK HOLDING A RED BALLOON VARIOUS OF COMIC BOOK WRITER SONNY LIEW TALKING TO HIS SISTER PAGES OF COMIC BOOK COVER OF BOOK (SOUNDBITE) (English) COMIC BOOK WRITER, SONNY LIEW, SAYING: "Well I think it was mainly for Singaporeans to begin with. I always wanted people to read the book and get a sense of how rich our history was because I think the so-called official narrative Singapore story is part of our history but it's not the whole story and I wanted to tell a more inclusive version of our history and I hope that's what people reading the book will get from it." PAGES OF COMIC BOOK LIEW TURNING PAGES (SOUNDBITE) (English) COMIC BOOK WRITER, SONNY LIEW, SAYING: "When the book was first released in Singapore, the National Arts Council withdrew the grant for the book so that was a bit worrying at first because book publishing has really tight margins but as it turns out, the attention we got from the withdrawal of the grant raised awareness in Singapore so it's actually done really well in Singapore in terms of sales and people being aware of the book and it's been generally good, I think." LIEW (SOUNDBITE) (English) COMIC BOOK WRITER, SONNY LIEW, SAYING: "When I first started doing the book, I didn't think it would sell overseas. I didn't think people outside Singapore would be interested in it, but it's been translated into Spanish, French, Italian, Portugese so far and I'm just very glad that this book has found a wider readership not just in Singapore but everywhere else in the world." LIEU WITH RELATIVES
- Embargoed: 5th August 2017 05:43
- Keywords: Sonny Liew Comic Con Charlie Chan Hock Chye comic book book publishing Singapore National Arts Council withdrawal of grant
- Location: SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- City: SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Books,Arts / Culture / Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA0016QSS3EV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Comic book writer Sonny Liew swept the board at the annual Eisner Awards at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday night (July 21) with three wins including Best Writer/Artist, Best Publication Design and Best US Edition of International Material - Asia.
He won for his graphic novel "The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye," which has caused controversy in Singapore because of its view on the history of the island state.
"I always wanted people to read the book and get a sense of how rich our history was," Liew told Reuters before the awards. "I think the so-called official narrative Singapore story is part of our history but it's not the whole story and I wanted to tell a more inclusive version of our history and I hope that's what people reading the book will get from it."
"When the book was first released in Singapore, the National Arts Council withdrew the grant for the book so that was a bit worrying at first because book publishing has really tight margins but as it turns out, the attention we got from the withdrawal of the grant raised awareness in Singapore so it's actually done really well in Singapore in terms of sales and people being aware of the book and it's been generally good, I think."
Now, the graphic novel has been translated into Spanish, Portugese, Italian and French and has three Eisner awards behind it, it would seem that Liew is now an established part of the comic book community. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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