Editor’s Note: November 2018

It’s been two weeks since the start of our exhibition, and the response has been nothing short of amazing. We’d like to take this month’s Editor’s Note to thank all of you who took time out of your schedule to drop by, whether for our curated programmes or even just for a short bit while browsing at the library!

Here are a few photos we took along the way that we thought you’d like to look back upon:

Lim Li Kok, Managing Director of Asiapac Books, speaking to a lovely crowd at our opening party.

Comic artist Patrick Yee browsing through our original artwork archives at our opening party. These documents go a long way back!

Chairman of the Indonesia Comic Society Rizqi Rinaldy Mosmarth drawing on our doodle wall. Come see how it looks like today!

Comic artist Wee See Heng and a bubbly group of kids after his Kids Make Comics workshop!

The exhibition’s still going on until 9 December 2018, so make sure you don’t miss it! It’s easily located at the Level 8 Promenade of the National Library Building. Check out below for our upcoming events:

Saturday, 1 December 2018 — Book Discussion: Chinese Classics in Comics
We introduce readers to the rich legacy of classic Chinese literature and discuss two new comic books, Journey to the West and Hua Mulan.

Sunday, 2 December 2018 — Workshop: Kids Make Comics (Eng)
You can be a comic artist too! In this introductory workshop, comic artist Zaki Ragman will teach students the basic concepts and skills for creating comics. Recommended for children aged 7–16 years old.

Saturday, 8 December 2018 — How to Publish a Comic Book
Ever thought about publishing your own comic book? Curious as to what goes on behind the scenes of a publishing firm? Join us for an interactive seminar with veteran publisher Lim Li Kok to find out more. Recommended for creatives in art and media.

Sunday, 9 December 2018 — Launch of Asiapac Books Reading Circle
Readers young and old are welcome to join our monthly reading group on Asian culture, history, and philosophy. Bring your favourite comic book to talk about!

Full details on Facebook or Eventbrite.

As the exhibition draws near to its last week, we’re really hoping for this opportunity to meet all our loyal readers and supporters. Please do come by and say hello!

Editor’s Note: October/November 2018

October’s been pretty quiet on the front line, but rest assured that lots of things have been brewing on our end!

If you’ve been following us through the last couple of weeks, you’ll know that we have two exciting book launches coming up—which are exactly what we’ve been up to our necks with as the dates near.

Once Upon A Singapore… Traders is a light-hearted tale of the various trades that made old Singapore the bustling, vibrant town of the past, and how they built a foundation for the nation we live in today. It’s a graphic novel that’s brimming with fun trivia, beautiful illustrations and cheeky dialogue. Best of all, it’s suitable for all ages—whether you’re a young one curious about your grandparents’ childhood, or a grandparent yearning to relive the past.

It’s been a long journey from its conception in November 2017 (yes, this project took us a year to complete!). We hope that through the intense discussions about every nitty-gritty detail, constant revisions of the script and perfecting of the illustrations and colours, we’ve created a novel that you’ll enjoy not just once, but many times over!

Catch author Tina Sim and illustrator Alan Bay at the book launch at The Arts House on 10 November 2018, 2pm–3pm. You might even walk away with a free autographed copy of the book. Register here!

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In November, we’ll also be celebrating our 35th anniversary with a bang: a comics exhibition featuring original illustrations by our comic artists, past and new! Taking place from 17 November 2018 to 9 December 2018 at the Level 8 Promenade of the National Library Building, get ready to feast your eyes on some gorgeous pieces of art.

To prepare for this event, we’ve been running around frantically coordinating with our exhibition designers (and all the help we can get). As we have learnt, organising a huge event like this is not as straightforward as one might think. We had to work from scratch: designing the exhibition logo, deciding on the material of the panels, figuring out how best to display our original artwork collection, creating social media banners, drafting up a press release… and the list goes on and on.

Ultimately, we hope that through this comics exhibition, you’ll be able to better appreciate the books you bring home, and create new and lasting memories with your loved ones.

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Another publication we’re bouncing off the walls for is this lovely collection of comics by respected Chinese artist Feng Zikai. We have chosen Selected Comics of Feng Zikai to be our flagship publication for our 35th anniversary, reflecting the inspiration that the artist provides for our work. His pieces portray everyday situations in an idyllic yet thought-provoking manner, and serve as food for the soul.

We want to make these books an experience for you, by getting lost in the imagery and poetic descriptions that Feng Zikai has so tastefully crafted and left behind. From the colour of the books, to the position and size of the illustrations, to the alignment of text, everything has been carefully considered to ensure the greatest reading pleasure.

Look out for the book launch details soon!

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With so many events coming up, we really hope to see you there and to put a face to our fans and readers. If you do drop by, please come and say hello to the Asiapac team. Don’t worry, we won’t bite!

 

Editor’s Note: September 2018

It’s the first time ever we’re publishing an Editor’s Note! Through this monthly update, we hope that you’ll get a better glimpse into what we do here at Asiapac, and in turn we hope to get to know you a bit more too!

Anyway, it’s been a busy past week for us.

The Asian Festival of Children’s Content 2018 was held from Thursday to Saturday, and we’re extremely grateful for the overwhelming support we received. Amidst the vibrant book fair that took place at NLB Plaza and the jaw-dropping list of exciting programmes for festival goers, we launched the first two books of our latest children’s book series, Candy and Friends. Authors Bessie Chua and Linda Yan, and illustrator Patrick Yee went on stage to share all about the new lift-the-flap books to family, friends and fans – we definitely felt the love from the large crowd!

If you were at the Singapore Toy, Game & Comic Convention 2018 during the weekend, we probably crossed paths. Just sitting at our booth, we were amazed by the goings-on around us, especially the energy at the convention – nothing short of electrifying! There were cosplayers, gaming battles and even Japanese electronic dance music performances, complete with flashing coloured lights.

Most of all, we were extremely touched by the sincere fans who specially made their way down to our booth on Saturday to get their books signed by Evangeline (Evacomics), Zaki and Danny (Lieutenant Adnan and the Last Regiment). We’re also very happy to have had the opportunity to introduce our books to new readers. We really hope you guys had a blast too.

Being Asiapac’s 35th anniversary this year, we’ve decided to hold a month-long event at the end of the year to celebrate our past achievements and future projects. This means that, even though two book fairs have just passed, the work doesn’t stop. In fact, in the upcoming weeks, we’re going to be working even harder in preparation for this event – we want to make sure we bring only the best experience to all our loyal fans. Get excited for never-before-seen artwork, old publications and more. Keep your eyes peeled for more details that we’ll be releasing soon!

Lastly, don’t forget to vote in our very first comic book poll! Basically, you as a reader get to choose our next project. We’ve teamed up with comic artist Zaki Ragman to bring you two ashcan comics to choose from. Click on either image below to read.

   

Once you’re done, head over to https://goo.gl/forms/jk8sem8M6WdkJwoU2 to select a winner! The poll closes 31 December 2018, so you’ll have lots of time to weigh your options.