Yan Cong is a Beijing-based illustrator and comic book artist who recently took part in Beijing 798′s exhibit Imaginary Politics and Newcomers: A New Generation of Chinese Experimental Comics.
Mainstream Chinese magazines and comic books rarely include Chinese artists, choosing mostly to feature Japanese work. It is this environment that has pushed more and more Chinese comic book artists to look for new opportunities to publish their work. Cult Youth, Special Comix, Lv Xiao and other so-called “underground comic collectives” have all emerged as alternatives, using the Internet as a publishing and sales platform. While these groups are still very grassroots and lack resources, they still provide artists like Yan Cong a channel to continue his work and help provide a platform to show off the unique creativity of the new generation of Chinese comic book artists.
For more from Yan Cong on NeochaEDGE, link here. /// cy
When was the first time that people started calling you a comic book artist and what was your reaction?
From the time I completed my first comic book story, people started to know that I was a comic book artist.
Tell us about your current work.
Recently I’ve been working with a friend to launch a self-funded DIY magazine titled Xu Shi Pi (叙事癖). It’ll be a 20-page or so comic book published regularly.
“…in China, there are so few opportunities to get into a mainstream
comic book nowadays. Everyone still has a strong desire to draw,
so all we can do is do it ourselves…”
We’ve noticed that there have been quite a few underground comic collectives formed in China lately. What do you think about this trend?
In China, there are so few opportunities to get into a mainstream comic book nowadays. Everyone still has a strong desire to draw, so all we can do is do it ourselves.
Are there really too few people who read comic books in China? Or is it that they don’t care enough?
There is not a lack of comic book fans. It’s just that everyone is reading Japanese manga, including me.
What is your attitude toward people outside the comic book industry? Or should I say, what do you hope to bring these people?
Of course I hope to draw these people in and make friends with them as a result of my work. I think this community can be quite receptive. I hope to give these readers a new reading experience, which is different from mainstream Japanese manga and one which is not too “fast paced” in its flow. Mainstream Japanese manga is often too “movie-like” in with its storyline and visual perspective. The montages are too quick and it makes you rush your reading. You get the feeling you are always trying to catch up.
However, comics can give readers other types of experiences – they can make you meditate over one page, they can be read in a slow, unhurried manner, and they can make you feel that you have time to stop and appreciate the characters in the story. Overall, I want to say that there are many ways to draw and many ways to control the rhythm of a story – we should give readers all these choices.
Someone once said that “comics in China are a fantastical and illusory part of society.” In today’s society, what are the differences between you (a comic artist and enthusiast) and other people?
There are many similarities between me and others. The only small difference is that I love comics and have a passion for creating them, but this kind of difference between individuals is very natural.
“…the relationship between comics and my life is very close.
I draw myself, I draw my friends, and I draw my cat…”
What are you currently missing most in your creative process?
Publishing, exhibitions, and more interaction with other people in the comic industry and fans. I need to find more opportunities to meet more people and get their feedback. I need readers and I need fans, and I need help finding them.
If you had the opportunity to show off your work to foreign readers, what would you hope they think of your work?
I’ve sent my work to German and Italian magazines many times. Because my style is similar to underground European comic book artists, they can easily understand my work. There seems to be no barrier in terms of language, culture, and style.
Tell us about your life growing up and your life now. What’s the relationship between comics and your life?
My life has been the same for quite a while. I rarely go out and most of my contact with friends is over the Internet. Other than drawing, I also collect stamps. The relationship between comics and my life is very close – I draw myself, I draw my friends, and I draw my cat.
If you had to draw a young Beijing person’s life, how would you do it?
I would draw them at home on the Internet all day. When nightfall comes they would go out for a walk and play with a stray cat. After the walk, they would return home and get back on the Internet.
“Chinese Experimental Comics” – what do you think of this label?
Very alienating and narrow.
What else have you been interested in recently?
Other than comics, there really isn’t much else that I’m interested in.
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嘿嘿。