Paving the way for “Made in Vietnam” comics

Looking at the Vietnamese comic book market in recent years, we can see a positive and hopeful change. Not only are there many outstanding works and many private “playgrounds”, but also prestigious international awards have been paving the way for Vietnamese comics to develop strongly in the near future.

Fill the void

Originally a market that was not strong in comic books, in recent times, Vietnam has emerged as a “new star” with talented young authors and many interesting comic series loved by the international community. Besides the printed version, there are also a series of famous “made in Vietnam” comics online that are also well received by readers from other countries. Most recently, the comic series Son, Goal! (Kim Dong Publishing House) has released volume 2, after volume 1 “won big” with a circulation of 20 thousand copies. Son, Goal! is the first manga comic project in cooperation between Vietnam and Japan, revolving around the main character Son (mother is Vietnamese, born and raised in Brazil). Son returned to his hometown of Da Nang and joined the provincial football team, working side by side with his teammates on the field. The success of Son, Goal! has once again created a “stepping stone” for Vietnamese comics to prosper.

In general, besides the attractive topics that are familiar to readers, many authors have been trying to bring their country’s culture and life into “purely Vietnamese” comics, or redrawn from comics. famous domestic novels. Many works are well invested in content and thoroughly explore historical elements, national culture, costumes, cuisine…, thereby, we hope readers can both be entertained and explore. traditional cultural and historical values of the nation. These include: Van Nhan Ky – Noan by author couple Linh – Thach, Tu Phu Xet Gia by Rover Studio group about Vietnamese national heroes.

In fact, compared to the region, Vietnamese comics still have many gaps and have not really been exploited to their full potential. However, with the current team of young authors and artists, Vietnamese comics have more favorable conditions for development. In particular, the popular Internet and social networks have also helped young people have a good platform to bring their works closer to the public. Because, many comic authors started out as amateurs drawing comics online, then thanks to the love of readers, they developed into professionals and released printed comics.

Promote domestic creativity

Along with that, more and more domestic and foreign comic awards are being opened on a variety of scales, creating a catalyst for young authors and artists to show off their talents and reach the world. In 2022, the series Master Tuong, teacher Vu came to find him! (Published by Comicola and Dan Tri Publishing House) by artist Hoang Tuong Vy won the Bronze award at the 16th Japan International Manga Award. Vietnam also had two works that won Silver awards in this contest, Dragon Than Tuong. in 2016 and Hell Gate in 2017. In early 2023, Yoto Carnegie – the UK’s annual award given to outstanding works for children and young people – named artist Jeet Zdung ( Nguyen Tien Dung) in the Illustration category for the work Wild Chang – Bear. In addition, many Vietnamese comics have been copyrighted by foreign bookmakers, such as Endless Summer by author Lam Hoang Truc, copyrighted by Toshokan Publishing House (Italy) and released on shelves last May. ; or the publication released by Kim Dong Publishing House with the Vietnamese name Wild Chang – Bear has also sold copyright to Pan Macmillan and many other publishing houses in the US, Korea, China, Norway, Russia, Japan, Sweden. and Turkey…

Playgrounds at home and abroad have also “created momentum” for young authors and artists to confidently create. Recently, the second season of the COMINK comic creation contest officially ended with convincing award-winning works. COMINK is an annual comic creation competition, starting in 2022, founded by Australian filmmaker Paul Brenner and film director and producer Charlie Nguyen and friends. Director Charlie Nguyen said: “Vietnam is currently the place to consume and process many international comics and webtoons. We want to provide an attractive and practical playground for you to freely express yourself. We need to nurture our passion for storytelling and create unique entertainment products. It’s time for Vietnamese young people to be present as storytellers, not just consumers or processors. I believe that Vietnamese people are just lacking a playground, not lacking good stories.”

Meanwhile, filmmaker Paul Brenner said: “COMINK will search, discover, train and develop talented creative artists. COMINK’s advanced program will bring real job opportunities, real connections with the entertainment industry, which Vietnam is an attractive point in the region.” Paul Brenner also said that he has researched the comic book market in Vietnam for many years and knows that Vietnam has an art history spanning many centuries. The global webtoon market size increases each year and focuses more on the younger generation. “In Taiwan, 61% of webtoon audiences are under 24 years old; In the US this figure is 77%; in Thailand it is 59% and in Indonesia it is 71%. In Vietnam, this market is dominated by foreign content. COMINK is proud to be a platform for Vietnamese people and wants Vietnamese comics to lead the sales rankings in Asia,” founder Paul Brenner expressed.

From the existing advantages, Vietnamese comics have been facing a “golden” opportunity to become an export cultural resource. Vietnamese comics also have a development advantage, which is a young population structure and a very large audience of readers, especially in the context of a strongly promoted reading culture. If young authors and artists know how to take advantage of opportunities, Vietnamese comics will certainly make a strong breakthrough in the near future.

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