Hong Kong Comic Master

"Crackle, crackle..."

The old building at 13A Caine Road, which was originally deserted at the foot of Victoria Peak, is very lively today.

Caine Road is a road in the Mid-Levels of Hong Kong Island, located at the foot of Victoria Peak. It connects Albert Road, Arbuthnot Road and the Hong Kong Island Zoological and Botanical Gardens in the east, and the intersection of Bonham Road, Hospital Road and Seymour Road in the west. The Hop Yit Church Hong Kong Island Hall is named after William Caine, the first magistrate of Hong Kong Island.

Amid the noisy sound of firecrackers, under the gaze of a group of reporters and cameras, and amid the applause of the crowd, seven cartoonists including Li Wannian completed the cutting.

The reason why it is so lively is that today is the day when the Hong Kong Island Cartoon Association was established.

From the time Li Wannian proposed the idea of ​​the association to the official establishment of the Cartoon Association, it took less than a month, which can be called fast.

This is mainly because when Li Wannian joined forces with Huang Yulang and Shangguan Xiaobao, the three of them had already controlled 80% of the comics industry in Hong Kong Island. It can almost be said that other comic forces in Hong Kong Island cannot compare with them.

At this time, the seven members of the Hong Kong Island Comics Association, including Li Wannian, Huang Yulang and Shangguan Xiaobao, were standing on the stage to complete the cutting. In addition, there were Wang Ze, Li Huizhen and Guan Shanmei.

However, these comics with works and reputations did not stand in the C position. The one standing there was an old man over 70 years old with white hair.

Although the old man looked vicissitudes, he exuded a spirit of experience.

This person is called Li Fanfu, a famous Chinese cartoonist. His original name was Li He and Li Dezun, and his pen names were Gu Jiyan and Chen Fuxing. He had a studio called "Changchun Studio" and also called himself "Changchun Layman".

Li Fanfu was originally from Lingnan. In 1940, due to the outbreak of war and the tense situation, he moved to Hong Kong Island for refuge. At that time, he and a large number of leading cartoonists in China established the famous "Hong Kong Branch of the National Cartoon Writers Association" in Hong Kong Island.

The branch once hosted the "Modern Chinese Cartoon Exhibition", which was the first cartoon exhibition in Hong Kong Island's history.

The exhibition was themed on the War of Resistance Against Japan. More than 30 painters participated in the exhibition, all of whom were first-class cartoonists in China. The exhibition lasted less than four days and attracted more than 30,000 visitors.

It can be said that it was the first time that the people of Hong Kong Island ignited their love for cartoons.

And the location of their branch is the small building behind them.

Now that time has passed, if it were not for Li Fanfu, others would not know this place, let alone the glorious deeds that happened here.

In 1959, after many cartoonists returned to the mainland, Li Fanfu did not leave, but co-published the bimonthly "Comic World" with many cartoonists, which once again set off a wave of Hong Kong Island's cartoon industry.

It can be said that Li Fanfu represents the first generation of Hong Kong Island comics and is the founder of Hong Kong Island comics.

Therefore, it is most appropriate for him to serve as the president of the Hong Kong Island Comics Association!

Li Wanshui spent a lot of effort to invite this old man out of retirement.

"Mr. Li, why do you want to come out of retirement to serve as the president of the Hong Kong Island Comics Association this time?"

Needless to say, the person who asked the question was a reporter from Phoenix TV.

"When Mr. Li approached me, I refused. However, when he told me about the development of Hong Kong Island comics, I felt that if Hong Kong Island comics needed me, I, an old man, could still stand up and do this last shift!"

During the interview, Li Fanfu smiled and looked very pleased. Obviously, he was very satisfied with the establishment of the Hong Kong Island Comics Association and was willing to take the initiative to stand up.

In addition to interviewing Li Fanfu, several other committee members were also interviewed.

"Mr. Huang, may I ask why you chose to join this association this time?"

"I am also a member of Hong Kong Island comics. It is my duty to do things that are beneficial to the development of Hong Kong Island comics!"

"Mr. Shangguan, do you have any expectations for the comics association?"

"Although there are many comics practitioners in Hong Kong Island now, there are very few truly high-level practitioners. I hope to help young cartoonists grow up early and become the mainstay of Hong Kong Island comics."

There are more or less reporters standing around several committee members, but the real focus is still on Li Wannian.

In terms of current achievements and popularity, he is a standout among the crowd. It's a pity that he is too young and is not even an adult now. Otherwise, Li Wannian is definitely qualified to be the president.

"Mr. Wansui, what is the purpose of establishing this comics association?"

"Of course, it is to help the development of Hong Kong's comics industry. Although the Hong Kong comics industry seems to be very prosperous, there are various problems, such as unfair competition, piracy, and lack of formal training. I hope that the association can play a regulatory role and help Hong Kong comics develop healthily and rapidly!"

"Mr. Wansui, I heard that your "Dragon Ball" comics have received good responses in Japan recently. Can you tell us about it?"

"Sorry, today is the day when the comics association was established. We won't talk about anything else."

The reporters were obviously more concerned about the sensation caused by "Dragon Ball" in Japan, but seeing that Li Wannian avoided talking about his own affairs and couldn't force him, they had to continue asking about the association.

"Then what is the first thing to do after the association is established?"

"Of course, it is to help cultivate young cartoonists. The association is ready to cooperate with five universities including the University of Hong Kong and more than ten primary and secondary schools including the Gezhi Academy to cultivate young painting enthusiasts..."

In general, although the day when the comic association was established was crowded with people and there was a lot of fanfare, it did not cause much commotion among ordinary people in Hong Kong Island.

For ordinary people, they only pay attention to the content of the comics at most. Who would pay attention to the author behind the comics?

As for the comic association composed of comic authors, no one cares about it.

However, the news of the establishment of the association was like a bombshell to the inner circle of Hong Kong Island comics.

It was very simple, because on the day the association was established, more than 50 cartoonists applied to join the association.

Including three two-dimensional magazines, "Yuhuangchao" and other Hong Kong Island comic magazines, daily serial authors, are among them.

Its momentum is so huge that some wandering cartoonists are terrified.

It seems that in the future, as long as the cartoonists are not members of this association, they are afraid that they will not be qualified to serialize in Hong Kong Island.

That is, on the same day, the Hong Kong Island Comic Association also announced the membership standards.

In addition to paying a 50 yuan membership fee, the following three requirements must be met:

First, an adult of Chinese descent who is 18 years old or older;

Second, a person with no criminal record or social background;

Third, an author who must have serialized works for at least one month in three magazines of the Second Dimension Magazine, "Yuhuangchao" and a total of 13 comic magazines, newspapers and other publications.

This condition is not aimed at cartoonists, but at the publication production organization that serializes comics.

In other words, cartoonists are only eligible to become members of the association if they serialize in publications recognized by the association.

In this way, over time, new cartoonists will definitely take these publications as their primary target when submitting their works, and the publications that are not on the list will have a predictable ending, and will only become more and more decadent until they are eliminated by society.

In the long run, the Hong Kong Island Comics Association will inevitably dominate Hong Kong Island. A behemoth has grown rapidly and bared its fangs to the entire society.