Sonny Liew
Sonny Liew | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | Singaporean |
Alma mater | Victoria School Victoria Junior College Clare College, Cambridge Rhode Island School of Design |
Known for | Singaporean comic artist and writer of The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye |
Notable work | The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (2015) |
Website | www |
Sonny Liew (born 26 September 1974) is a Malaysia-born comic artist/illustrator based in Singapore. He is best known for The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (2015), the first graphic novel to win the Singapore Literature Prize for fiction.[1]
Early life and education
Born in Seremban, Malaysia, Liew attended school at Victoria School and Victoria Junior College in Singapore. He went on to read philosophy at Clare College in Cambridge University in UK and studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2001.
Career
His first foray into comic illustration was with Singaporean tabloid paper The New Paper in 1995, contributing a comic strip titled Frankie and Poo. A compilation of the strips was published by Times Publishing in 1996. Shortly after his graduation from Rhode Island Liew got his first break into the American comics industry when Shelly Bond signed him on for Vertigo Comics' My Faith in Frankie together with Mike Carey and Marc Hempel.
His work has appeared in the Flight Anthologies edited by Kazu Kibuishi, and he has served as editor of the Eisner-nominated Southeast Asian comics anthology Liquid City [2] from Image Comics. In 2011, he was nominated for an Eisner award in the pencilling/inking category for his work on SLG and Disney's Wonderland, written by Tommy Kovac.Other titles include Marvel Comics' Sense and Sensibility adaptation, First Second Books' "The Shadow Hero" with Gene Luen Yang, An origin story for the obscure Golden-Age comic book hero The Green Turtle, who is thought to be the first Asian-American superhero[3] and DC Comics' "Doctor Fate" with Paul Levitz.
He is also the creator of Malinky Robot, a Xeric Award recipient in 2004 and winner of the “Prix de la Meilleure BD” (Comic Album of the Year) at the Utopiales International SF Festival in Nantes in 2009.[4] He was a recipient of Singapore's Young Artist Award[5] in 2010.
The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye
The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye was first published and released by Epigram Books in 2015. It charts the life and career of a fictional comic book artist, the eponymous Charlie Chan Hock Chye, and by weaving together fact and fiction, and different genres, tells the story of the formative years of Singapore's modern history and the history of comics.
Shortly before the book's release in Singapore, the National Arts Council withdrew its grant of $8,000 for the title, citing "sensitive content" and its potential to "undermine the authority and legitimacy" of the government.[6][7][8] The comic became the best-selling local fiction title that year.[9] The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye was published in the United States by Pantheon Books in 2016 and went on to make bestseller lists at Amazon and The New York Times, which is unprecedented for a Singaporean graphic novel.[10] Besides winning the Singapore Literature Prize, it also won the Book of the Year accolade at the Singapore Book Awards in 2016.[11] It was awarded the Pingprisen for Best International Comic in 2017. At the 2017 San Diego Comic-Con, Sonny Liew and The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye won three Eisner Awards -- Best Writer/Artist, Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Asia, and Best Publication Design. It was also nominated for three other Eisner Awards -- Best Letterer, Best Colorist, and Best Graphic Album - New.
List of selected works
- Godshaper #1 (2017, Boom! Studios)
Variant Cover Artist
- Shadow Hero Comics #1 (2017, Panda Express)
Artist. With Gene Luen Yang (Writer).
- Revolutionaries #1 (2017, IDW Publishing)
Variant Cover Artist
- GI Joe Vol.8 #1 (2016, IDW Publishing)
Variant Cover Artist
- Transformers Lost Light #1 (2016, IDW Publishing)
Variant Cover Artist
- Optimus Prime #1 (2016, IDW Publishing)
Variant Cover Artist
- M.A.S.K. Mobile Armored Strike Kommand #1 (2016, IDW Publishing)
Variant Cover Artist
- Doctor Fate Vol 4 #1-12, #15-16 (2015-2016, DC Comics)
Artist. With Paul Levitz (Writer).
- The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (2015, Epigram Books; 2016 Pantheon Books)
Creator, writer, artist.
- Jim Henson's Storyteller: Witches (2015, Archaia Entertainment)
Cover Artist
- Americatown #1 (2015, Boom! Studios)
Variant Cover Artist
- Hacktivist #1 (2015, Boom! Studios)
Variant Cover Artist
- Abigail and the Snowman #1 (2014, Boom! Studios)
Variant Cover Artist
- Warm Nights Deathless Days: The Life of Georgette Chen (2014, National Gallery Singapore)
Creator, writer, artist
- The Shadow Hero (2014, First Second Books)
Artist. With Gene Luen Yang (Writer).
- Malinky Robot: Collected Stories & Other Bits (2011, Image Comics)
Artist, Writer
- Vertigo Resurrected: My Faith in Frankie (2011, DC Vertigo)
Artist, Co-Creator. With Mike Carey (Writer), Marc Hempel (Inker).
- Sense and Sensibility (2010, Marvel Comics)
Artist. With Nancy Butler (Writer).
- Au Pays des Merveilles (2010, Bao)
Artist, Co-Creator. With Tommy Kovac (Writer).
- Le Tour du monde en bande dessinée vol 2 (2009, Delcourt)
Artist, Writer
- Pride and Prejudice (2009, Marvel Comics)
Cover Artist
- Marvel Adventures Spiderman #50 (2009, Marvel Comics)
Artist. With Roger Landridge (Writer).
- Wonderland (2009, Disney Press)
Artist, Co-Creator
- Malinky Robot (French Edition) (2009, Bao)
Artist, Writer
- Liquid City (Vol. 1, 2, 3) (2008-2014, Image Comics)
Editor, Artist, Writer
- Wonderland (2006-7, Slave Labor Graphics/Disney Press)
Artist, Co-Creator . With Tommy Kovac (Writer).
- Re-Gifters (2007, DC Minx)
Artist, Co-Creator. With Mike Carey (Writer), Marc Hempel (Inker).
- Flight (Vol. 2, 5, 8) (2005–11, Image Comics/Villard)
Artist, Writer
- Malinky Robot: Bicycle (2005, Slave Labor Graphics)
Artist, Writer
- My Faith in Frankie (2004, DC Vertigo)
Artist, Co-Creator. With Mike Carey (Writer), Marc Hempel (Inker).
- Malinky Robot: Stinky Fish Blues (2002, Self-Published under Red Robot Productions)
Artist, Writer
- Marvel Universe Millennial Visions (2002, Marvel Comics)
Pin-up Artist
- Frankie & Poo: What is love (Incomplete and abridged) (1996, Times Books International)
Artist, Writer
References
- ^ http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/spore-literature-prize-goes-to-graphic-novel-for-first-time
- ^ Khouri, Andy (2008-12-26). "LIQUID CITY: Image Anthology Spotlights S.E. Asia". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
- ^ Yang, Gene Luen (July 15, 2014). "The Shadow Hero". First Second – via Amazon.
- ^ Rédaction, La (2009-11-03). "Les 10es Utopiales cherchent des Mondes Meilleurs". Wartmag. Retrieved 2009-11-23.
- ^ Nanda, Akshita (2010-10-13). "Young and arty". Straits Times. Retrieved 2010-10-13.[permanent dead link]
- ^ http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/national-arts-council-revokes-grant-for-graphic-novel-Sonny-Liew
- ^ http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/nac-pulled-grant-from-comic-as-it-potentially-undermines-the-authority-of-the-government
- ^ http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/graphic-novel-undermines/1889140.html
- ^ http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/sonny-liew-novel-in-3rd-print-run
- ^ hermesauto. "Fictional graphic novel The Art Of Charlie Chan Hock Chye makes bestseller lists on Amazon and New York Times". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
- ^ http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/singapore-book-awards-the/2776312.html
External links
- Comic strip cartoonists
- Malaysian comics artists
- Singaporean comics artists
- 1974 births
- Living people
- Eisner Award winners
- Eisner Award winners for Best Writer/Artist
- Eisner Award winners for Best Publication Design
- Victoria School, Singapore alumni
- Malaysian people of Chinese descent
- Victoria Junior College alumni
- Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge
- Malaysian emigrants to Singapore