New Macao comic book set to go uphill

By Mancy, Meng Nan

"There are no professional cartoonists in Macao, nor is there a cartoon industry," Jack Wong Wai Chong, head of UM Animate Comic Association, said.
"It is not mature enough and still under construction," Momiji Jia, a comic lover and cosplayer from Beijing who is studying in University of Macau (UM) now, responded when was asked about the Macao cartoon market.
"Is there any Macao's comic?" Sioamy Cheong, staff in a casino publicity department asked.

Chun Man Publishing Co. Ltd (CMPC), a cartoon magazine company in Macao,
injected fresh blood and ideas into the local cartoon market with its newborn
baby, Panda Children Magazine Monthly (Panda) published on September 20,
2010.
Panda first came with many educational stories and games in full-color 64 pages.
The two main stories are "Lotus's Tour in World Heritage", which brings children
a different view on Macao's history with the main character - Baby Lotus, and "Fantastic Adventure" which teaches children about correct senses of life and value. In order to widen the popularity, the first issue of Panda was available in many primary schools in Macao for free.
"Now I can confidently say that Macao has its own full-time professional manga artists and opened a new page in the establishment of the Animation, Comic and Game (ACG) industry, because we are here," said Matthew Fong Man
Him, general manager of CMPC, and president of the Macao Creative Comic
Culture Association.
Aiming at catching more public attention to Macao's cartoon industry and providing a platform for local cartoonists, CMPC was established in May 2010 under the leadership of Fong. With staff -- Aya Lei and Sam Cheong, they could be considered the first generation of fulltime manga artists in Macao. All of them
quit their previous good jobs in casinos, and chose comics as their careers.
Till now, CMCP has released two publications for different readers -- Panda is the first comic magazine in Macao for children aged between 4 to 12, and Bravo Magazine which was the first biweekly ACG magazine. However, it has
suspended the publication of Bravo after releasing its first episode at the ACG
Carnival Macao 2010 in the Venetian.
Fong added, "I believe this is an industry that has potential, but in Macao, opening
a unique comic company is full of adventures and obstacles."
According to a conservative estimate by the Macao Animation & Comic Culture
Industrial Association, Macao has over 70 ACG related stores and around 200,000
ACG fans.
Yet, although Macao's cartoon business did receive some financial support from the
government, many local ACG magazines disappeared quickly with one or two
publications except a free animation and comic magazine called MIND, which is
released every two months.
Fong pointed out that one key factor is that Macao residents hold a deep-seated
opinion about things made in Macao -- they are low-quality and should be free of
charge.
Panda was born with the mission to combat this view and to cultivate Macao
children's interest in cartoon characters and comic magazines made in Macao
because children had the least bias and prejudges. Also for that reason, Bravo
Magazine was suspended as the publisher thought that such a magazine could only
become successful after Macao has its own group of readers.
Based on a well-organized platform, Macao's ACG industry can be promoted to strengthen cooperation and communication with counterparts in neighboring Hong Kong and mainland China through some discussion forums, said Fong.
Fong wished someday people could
witness the future of the booming ACG
market and that would be hilarious.