My Way

Alternative comic writers explain road to success

By Caroline Wong

Mr. Craig Au Yeung and Mr. Lai Tat Wing are two of the better-known artists in the local market.

Craig, 33, creative director of Hong Kong Commercial Radio, is a comics fanatic. He has been publishing his works in magazines since 1989, both in Hong Kong and Taipei.

He said alternative comics are different from traditional ones in the sense that they are more individualistic and raw in nature.

“Traditional comics will usually follow a story line, while alternative comics have their more daring

way to tell a story,” said Craig.

“I feel that alternative comics are more touching and soul-searching,” he said.

He has two comic books, My Own Private Heaven and Three Times Seven Equals Twenty-One.

Images in these publications were created five or six years ago. They were disproportionate figures. And many things became distorted images under his pencil.

He said he is still finding the best form of drawing. Right now, he is not very satisfied.

Most of his stories have a series of four pictures, with a few lines of English and Chinese intertwined alongside with the images.

“My greatest wish is to make the drawings and the captions independent from one another. In other words, they can be appreciated separately by themselves.

“Such a relationship between pictures and captions created is interesting,” Craig said.

Craig got the gift of drawing from his father, Mr. Au Yeung Nai Chim, who is an artist. He draws both Western and Chinese drawings.

However, Craig said he did not model his drawing on anyone.

He said that to create comics is a way to identify one’s position in life. It is a way to communicate one’s ideas to readers, instead of “educating” them.

The themes of his comics concentrate on relationships among people and between people and things. Stories were taken straight from real life.

Through his comics, he provided new angles for readers to look at things they meet every day.

At the same time, he leaves room for readers to think and imagine.

“Some people will have difficulties in reading this type of comic. One needs to open himself up to appreciate it. At least, to be open enough to accept its existence,” he said.

To him, comics are life.

“They are a therapy for pains and pressures in daily life. And someday, I’ll give up my job and totally concentrate on them,” he said.

Craig’s friend, Mr. Lai Tat Wing, prefers to be called “Tat Tat Wing”. Like his name, he has an interesting personality — a body full of energy and a mind full of strange ideas.

He started his comic book creations as early as Primary 3, binding a comic book for his schoolmates. And he published his first comic book, Just Relax, two years ago.

The comics of Tat Tat Wing are very different from those of Craig Au Yang. He draws everything that comes to mind — including comics, posters, book covers and various illustrations.

“As long as I’m drawing what I want, I don’t care much about whether it is conventional or alternative,” he said.

He always wants to bring out messages through his comics.

“I don’t want to tell people what to think.

“Most Hong Kong people like to follow fads and lack independent thinking. I want to show them that there is usually more than one way to thinking,” he said.

One of the characteristics of Tat Tat Wing’s comics is the great diversity in comic format and style of drawings.

To visualize his pictures depends not only on his drawing ability, but also readers’ imaginations as well. He said that he did not really like his comics to be called “alternative comics”.

“My comics is just ‘another’ kind of comics, more or less like the others.

“When the media termed it ‘alternative’, it’s likely to make the readers wary and restrict them from really understanding it,” he said.

He said that the term made it harder for the readers to appreciate the comics themselves.

Unlike Craig, Tat Tat Wing does not wish to make drawing comics a full time job, as he believes he will run out of ideas some time.

He also does not want to confine himself to drawing alternative comics, though he is optimistic about their future.

“There is room for alternative comics to grow. The real problem may be that few people create in this unique format,” said Tat Tat Wing.

To promote alternative comics, a new quarterly magazine, Homework, will be released next month as a regular medium for readers.

June 1996

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