James Bacon reviews the multi-venue “The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye by Sonny Liew”, an exhibition of art in Singapore marking the release of a tenth anniversary edition of the enthralling book, running until the end of December. This is the third of three special reports by James for downthetubes from Asia…
The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye by Sonny Liew, first published in 2016, is an incredible comic, full of beauty, depth, history and imaginative brilliance, and, throughout, the art and history of comics are weaved like a tapestry, intrinsic to the story, as we follow the fictitious Charlie Chan Hock Chye, comic artist, through his life living in Singapore.
This is a biographical history of Charlie and his art, a comic book artist, but a person that never was, using the real world Singaporean setting and history that did exist. This is combined with an appreciation and understanding of comics that creates a uniqueness; and Sonny Liew uses this to incredible effect, presenting Charlie’s story, and his comics, forming a vital component of the story and history in the pages, and which also help understanding. A fabulous homage to the world of comics, sharing a perspective of history in a very unique and authentic way.
The imagined story does not skirt around the difficult aspects of Singaporean history. Indeed, this is the kernel of the book, and we see our narrator Charlie sharing his views through his narrative: comic book stories and comic strips, as well as his past, as we follow his timeline, the comic moving skillfully into the imagined. We encounter his wonderful comics in the style of their time, brilliantly sharing a life with the reader, making a very human connection and drawing in the emotional investment, subtly. Sonny also appears in comic strips, sharing insight or helping understanding, and there are captions, too, that further allow the reader to develop an appreciation.
Added to the comic aspects, we are also presented with illustrations, oil paintings, thumbnails in pencils, drafts, ideas, and this helps to round energise the book.
One only wants the best for our narrator, but there is an incredible respect and appreciation of this imagined character, as we learn and understand the human moments and challenges that he faces as he stoically continues to create comics, crafting them, as we see his passion for comics. He lives to create comics.
It is thought provoking and important work.
The comic won three Eisner Awards, but not all readers may realise how accessible and entertaining this comic is, and how the focus on comics is so delightful, and brings such a smile. A fine example is as Charlie introduces himself:
“As for me, I was born in the year of nothing. 1938. Well, as far as Singapore History is concerned anyway… 1938.
“It was before the War, not a year of any particular significance.
“But it was the year that The Beano first appeared in the UK… and Superman made his debut in the United States.”
The panel with the mention of The Beano sees Dennis leaning into the Panel on one side, and Gnasher looking up from the other, and in the panel that mentioned Superman, we see him look up to the sky, and an image of Superman flying through the panel. When I first saw that, I realised this was special, it was attuned to the world of comics.
To mark the tenth anniversary release of the comic, there is a new edition, with added materials with multiple cover options available, and there has been considerable coverage in Singapore. This December there has been a sequence of exhibitions arranged around Singapore.
Thankfully, my friend Christopher Hwang and Gek Puay Teo were happy to conduct and guide me around the city, so that I could get to see the exhibitions: and so we departed Singapore Comic Con, heading out.
Knuckles & Notch
First, I went to the wonderful Knuckles & Notch risograph workshop and purveyors of publications, prints and posters. They have a lovely gallery space, through an arch in the wall, to the Chaos Gallery. Walking into Knuckles and Notch next to the arch, there was an original oil painting of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, along with a wonderful introduction, presented so well.
The selection of items available to purchase complementing the exhibition, postcards, books, stickers, and a keyring, were all so lovely looking, but I was drawn immediately into the gallery space.
The gallery space was formed of a square room, with three white walls and one side all glass. The conceit of this being an actual exhibition of Charlie Chan Hock Chye art is delivered in the excellent accompanying descriptions, which explain the inspirations and influences on Charlie. This was lovely, and the presentation of the added pieces, all of which we also see in the book, notes, sketches and so forth, added to the exhibit.
The first framed image was the cover to the mock up of Dragon, emulating Eagle and “Invasion”, which was influenced by Dan Dare in style. This comic was created by Charlie and his friend Bertrand as they try to devise something that will sell well. What was lovely in the exhibition was that there were the note book pages that were pasted to the wall around the framed piece, the sketches, the link between characters in the comic and who they were based on, this was lovely to see, and then panels and page from “Invasion” on the other side. This was clever hanging, giving the viewer five or six additional pieces surrounding the focal point.
Next to this we see a page of “Bukit Chapalong”, another story intended for Dragon, but in a different style, using anthropomorphic cartoon style animals, influenced by Walt Kelly’s Pogo, sharing the the satirical style of representing politicians with animals, and adjusting the words to create allegorical representations, representing a social commentary, and political satire in a story brings us through the time of Singapore’s merger and separation with Malaya.
Next there were four covers for Roachman. This comic was influenced by The Spirit, but has elements of Batman as we see that Roachman is a Night Soil Man, representing Lim Chin Siong, who is a humble worker bitten by a cockroach, that gives him super powers somewhat like Spider-Man, which gets a mention. Clippings of the comic and also an image that were inspirations for stories in the comic are also on display.
Two panels that are a really poignant moment in the comic, are then on the wall. As Bertrand tells Charlie that he cannot do it any more, and Charlie in silence.
There is a page of some twenty panels, entitled “Eraser” as we see Sonny Liew himself, talking, and this is based on the style of Charlie’s “Talking Heads”.
Then we a black and white inked page of “Sinkapor Inks Stationery and Supplies” accompanied by colour pages and a panel. Sinkapor Inks Stationery and Supplies is another wonderful satirical allegory, which portrays Singapore as a stationery company, run by a very aggressive and stern boss, Mr Hairily, who was a representation of Harry Lee Kuan Wew; and also then a new boss, who had a more pernicious approach, based on his successor Gek Chok Tong, and we see that the company newsletter plays a perilous and precarious role, as any complaints, even constructive, or representative of clients, are unacceptable, and we learn how the media is controlled through two different phases of government.
Throughout the book, there are Oil on Canvas portraits, some are examples of Charlie’s work, when he was doing stars, and some are people who are key to the story. Here we see three grouped together, they are “Ma” which is a beautiful painting of Charlie’s mother, then we see “Prime Minister” of Lee Kian Hew in 1970, a powerful image; and then “Time and Tide” from 2012, of Lee Kuan Hew at a much older age. A perfect grouping.
There are various pieces from the book, posters that Charlie did, as well as comic pages, and then there is “Dato Duck in Singapore”, inspired by Scrooge McDuck and Donald Duck by Carl Barks, renowned and loved for his Disney work, which was a 2015 work in development, reflecting on the financial centre that Singapore possess in the global finance sphere.
There was a print of an inkpot, of the writing tools that Charlie used, which in the book are detailed by Sonny in the notes as: Faber-Castell HB pencil, Sakura Pigma Micron 03, Ballpoint Pen (brand unknown), Artline calligraphy pen 2.0, Winsor and Newton Series 7 Size 1 Sable Brush, Chinese calligraphic brush (brand unknown), Nikko Comic Pen nib G-model with no holder, Nicker poster colour (White No. 51) and Pentel Hi-Polymer erasers and Pentel Selfit 0.5,mm mechanical pencil.
Then there was “One Mountain Cannot Abide Two Tigers” a twenty panel page, with heads talking, interspaced with text in some panels as well as a page showing the progress of drawing “Ah Haut”.
The exhibition in the Chaos Gallery was curated by Kai Latip and Rachel Lim, and this space is wonderful, but one must make mention of the glass in the gallery. At this point I was incredibly impressed, not only with the art that was on display here, that was in itself amazing, but the presentation, which was really very nice, and then, one realises that this team have upped the game somewhat.
The fourth wall, as one might say, has full length glass windows, giving incredible light into the gallery space, but the curators had hung artwork here that was printed on light transparent material, which only brought out the comic colours, thus making great use of this extra space. Pages from the “unpublished” comic Days of August, which was an alternative history comic, inspired by Phillip K. Dicks novel, Man in the High Castle and the style of The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, presented the Barisan Sosialos winning the 1963 election, led by Lim Chiang Song.
There is a hint of sadness on many levels for the reader in this portion of the comic, as we see that Charlie has achieved huge success, and was feted by all, including Lilly, and opens a museum dedicated to his work. There is also a cycle of time, as the story which in the narrative was not ended, and was only returned to when Lee Kuan Yew stepped down as Prime Minister; and so we see page and panels from that section on display, as Lim and Charlie are returned to a pre-independent Singapore, in 1955 to pass through the history again.
This is a powerful part of the comic, layered, as we have an alternative history comic within the comic book history of Charlie within the book, a meta moment, in a meta story.
As I was enjoying the exhibit, Christopher suggested I might like to meet Sonny. In my excitement about the art, and getting to see it, I had not realised that the artist was there in the shop, engaging with comic fans. He was incredibly generous with his time, and he drew a lovely comic version of himself into the tenth anniversary copy of the book, which he inscribed, and was happy to sign and draw, and was just lovely to meet in person. This moment was one that really made the weekend in Singapore astounding for me personally.
I was also delighted to meet Cherian George, who, with Sonny Liew, authored Red Lines Political Cartoons and the struggle against censorship. This book takes quite the look at how governments have repressed cartoons. The area is of interest to me, and I explained so, as I am working on A Sensual Cesspool of Iniquity, Comic Censorship in 1950’s Ireland, and it was a common ground that I had not expected to come across.
Departing Knuckles and Notch, I thanked Tamara who was working there, and took in once more the amazing prints and art, and publications they had, before we made prompt work of heading to the next venue.
Basheer Graphic Books
Basheer Graphic Books was another wonderful venue, this large shop specialised in, well Graphic Books, but was huge, the comic section made one pause, as there were so many artist editions of comics, more than I think I have seen in one store before, and books on film, comics, graphic novels, anime, you name it, they had it here.
There was a whole section of the shop given over to The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye. Here, the focus was the process of creation, and the making of the Graphic Novel, as well as the tools of the trade. Large placards explained these processes and tools, referring directly back to the book. There was the mention of the 2012 ash-can of the book, a promotional item produced with Epigram books.
Then on the wall were three framed rows of art. The top row were “the tools of the trade” and there was a thumbnail, pencils, inks and coloured pages showing how this one page of nine panels progressed through the phases of creation. Then there was “Lilly”, again showing this sequence in four frames,
There was an explanation of the process, above another thumbnail, then pencils above a page of pencils of the Ink pot, and then inks, with panels depicting Charlie and the portable cinema, and then the final coloured art, showing a later page with the portable cinema and Charlie “Singapore’s Greatest ComicAartist” “well on the way”.
It was really lovely to see the artistic process set out so clearly, and the time and effort it must have taken, seeing if anything had changed from the thumbnails to the final work.
There is a lovely pair of posters then explaining some of the references from The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, from the history of comics, making mention of Winsor McCay, inspiration for Charlie’s dream sequence, Osamu Tezuka, creator of Astroboy, who Charlie hopes to emulate, and Harvey Kurtzman, whose Two Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat influenced Charlie’s Force 136, and whose later work, for MAD magazine is also and inspiration for his “Singapore Story”.
Wally Wood is mentioned in the book, too, as are EC Comics, which published SF, Crime and Horror comics and after the creation of the Comics Code Authority, also published MAD magazine under Bill Gaines. Eagle and Dan Dare, Walt Kelly’s Pogo, and Carl Barks. The poster also explains that a number of artists were paid homage to: Alfonso Wong for the frame narrative, Jiro Taniguchi for The Most terrible Time of my Life, Jack Kirby and Yoshihiro Tatsumi for Roachman and Frank Miller, Lynn Varley and Klaus Janson for Days of August.
The shop also had an amazing poster, and a print for sale, as well as the books with the different covers. You could choose from Charlie on a Blue Cover, Roachman on a Red Cover and Force 136 on a black one.
InkInk
Leaving Basheer, taking a moment to contemplate the unusual comic separations that were adorning part of the outside of the shop, it was a relatively short walk to InkInk.
InkInk also had a wall dedicated to artwork by Sonny Liew, and I was delighted to see that there was a selection from different works, as well as The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye.
On the wall was the image in oils of “Prime Minister” Lee Kian Hew in 1970, which really commands the wall, and captures the eye. Then there were original pages from Antibiotic Tales, Shadow Hero, Eternity Girl, Doctor Fate and The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye. I was delighted to see the Image, DC, Vertigo and independent work, as this was an unexpected bonus.
With the art, a selection of the books that Sonny has worked on were on display. As well as the above, there was Malinky Robot, Stinky Fish Blues, Georgette Chan, Wonderland, The Pandemic Cookbook and Frankie and Poo What is Love. There is considerable breath to the wonderful oeuvre of Sonny Liew.
Interestingly, nine contemporary artists had drawn new interpretations as Dust Jackets for the book and the variety, while all on the same theme was superb. Artists whose work included Shawn Yap, Edison Neo, Redcode, Heut Jing, and Andie Tong, and a number of these were on display.
There was also a display of different editions of the book, including the fifth anniversary edition, translations, as well as awards and the “Ah Haut” doll that was created by Zeletha Othman. There was also a background sketch for a Roachman video game, and concept art of the book by local animation company Finding Pictures who are developing the work into an anime film adaption.
Also on display were the three Eisner awards and a large Roachman advertisement. It was a really interesting selection, and it was lovely to see the range of items that are directly related to the book and Sonny Liew.
With the tenth anniversary of the book, there has been huge interest especially in Singapore, and Sonny did a number of interviews, in one he made mention of what he was reading as a teenager, before he became a cartoonist on a daily strip for New Paper.
“I liked copying the drawings in The Beano,” told the paper, “and I suppose I was in my late or middle teens, I discovered a British magazine called 2000AD, Judge Dredd. A lot of the famous writers from in the US came from [2000AD] like Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, they they all had their start in 2000AD. Somehow the stories connected with me, it’s something that I felt like I wished I could do one day. And then later on there was ‘Calvin and Hobbes’ by Bill Waterson and that was another inspiration. Stories I really enjoyed and I felt when I read them it made me feel connected to the world or other people and then that’s probably why I started doing that ‘Frankie and Poo’ strip for the newspaper.”
Sonny Liew was nineteen when he sent his comic strip “Frankie and Poo” and sent samples into The Straits Times and The New Paper, and the New Paper picked it up. Sonny has said that even this work “was meant to be a social political commentary”.
Sonny graduated from college, and then went to art school, and it is notable that, at times, he had his ups and downs, and thought about going into advertising. Sonny reckoned that it took two years of work, but he undertook bill paying work during that time, and that he was aware when he was working on it, that he was a Malaysian, on a permanent residence visa, that the book was controversial, and so he applied for Singaporean citizenship. In many regards accepting that there could be problems, from a political standpoint he was brave, and the book was read by both a lawyer and writer before it was published.
The key was research, Sonny Liew has said which was crucial, that the work needed to “factually sound” and not just leftist views or opinions. Sonny also listened to artists, the oral history archives of artists of the times, to try and embody and understand what they were experiencing, facing and finding the details that added to the realism of the story being told. It was also “fun” for Sonny to do.
Despite this work, the National Arts Council who were supporting the publisher, Epigram, were not at all happy as Sonny explained on Comics Beat:
“The National Arts Council (NAC) decided to withdraw the publishing grant for the book after they took a closer look at it, for supposedly undermining the authority of the government. It was worrying for a while, given how wafer thin book profit margins can be. But then the news broke on social media, and we got a ton of free publicity for the book, and we sold a lot more copies than the publisher had ever anticipated.”
The NAC logo that had been printed on the original copies, had to be promptly covered by a sticker. Hearing this only adds to the importance of the work, because we see that Sonny was determined to tell the story, even though there could have been consequences, and there were, but thankfully they were overcome.
The OB Markers, which are portrayed in the the allegorical Sinkapor Inks Stationery and Supplies, by actual markers were explained by Sonny in the parallel comic strip:
“Out of bound markers, the invisible shifting boundaries delineating the areas of acceptable public discourse.”
This made me mindful of the George Orwell essay on censorship, The Freedom of the Press, which was a proposed preface to Animal Farm, and is freely available to read where he writes:
“The sinister fact about literary censorship in England is that it is largely voluntary.
“Unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without the need for any official ban.”
The essay considers how there is no need to actually censor, as a self correction will occur, due to concerns, such as the concerns that were outlined in this sequence.
With thoughts of Orwell and his works in mind, there is little doubt that Sonny Liew’s The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye is a seminal piece of Singaporean comic book literature that is of the highest order. The book sits on my shelf, next to Maus by Art Speigleman, Palestine by Joe Sacco, V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd, Barefoot Gen (Hadashi no Gen) by Keiji Nakazawa, Charley’s War by Pat Mills and Joe Colquhoun and Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, and I will make a space now for this new 10th anniversary edition.
Sonny Liew starting thinking about a book about capitalism, some eight years ago, which looks at both US Capitalism, from the Great Depression onwards as well as Singaporean capitalism and this is something that readers can look forward to.
As I was about to leave InkInk, I had forgotten that I had to get my postcard stamped. This was a neat way to encourage fans to visit all three venues, as each venue stamped a dedicated postcard for the exhibitions, and once you had three stamps, one from each venue, you got a print! Another stunning kindless, a really lovely bonus!
This was a cohesive and well choreographed series of exhibitions, making good use of the space, and presenting a really overall superb selection of art for fans of the comic to enjoy. The presentations in all venues were strong and the additional materials added to the experience, it was all very thoughtful and well considered and is a credit to Sonny Liew and all involved.
He deserves the accolade, “Singapore’s greatest comic artist” and it was an absolute pleasure that I got to meet him and enjoy his work up close.
James Bacon
Ten Years of Charlie Chan Hock Chye by Sonny Liew: A Singaporean Celebration | Chaos Gallery (Knuckles and Notch) Basheer Graphic Books and InkInk Collectables Singapore | 7th December – 28th December 2025
• In Review and in Pictures: Singapore Comic Con 2025 – report by James Bacon
Thanks
Many thanks to Sonny Liew, Christopher Hwang, Gek Puay Teo, curators Kai Latip and Rachel Lim, Tamara of Knuckles and Notch the staff of Basheer Graphic Books and InkInk for welcoming and helping James on his whirlwind visit and for all support, help and facilitating this review
Notes, Links and References
• Knuckles and Notch, Waterloo Centre, 261 Waterloo Street, #02-25, Singapore 180261 | Web: knucklesandnotch.com
• Basheer Graphic Books, Bras Basah Complex, 231 Bain Street, #04-19, Singapore 180231 | Web: basheergraphic.com
• InkInk Bras Basah Complex, 231 Bain Street, #04-43, Singapore 180231 | Web: inkinkcollectibles.bigcartel.com
• The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye (10th Anniversary Edition) is available from Epigram Books here | ISBN 9789814845793 | Page Count: 344 Pages | Three different cover designs, packed at random
Celebrate 10 years of Singapore’s groundbreaking graphic novel – an international sensation, now with exclusive bonus material.
Sonny Liew’s triple Eisner Award–winning The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye chronicles the life of Chan Hock Chye, a pioneering but largely forgotten comics artist whose career spanned over five decades, mirroring Singapore’s political and social transformation. Translated into nine languages, this internationally acclaimed work blends fact and fiction, reimagining history through Chan’s striking illustrations, paintings and sketches. Now returning in a special edition, featuring new material marking its 10th anniversary, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye is a must-have for collectors and new readers alike.
Read on or Watch…
• Sonny Liew on “Charlie Chan Hock Chye”, Mapping Your Path & Creative Appropriation
By Zachary Clemente, Comics Beat 4th December 2016 am
• 10 Years of Charlie Chan Hock Chye: Public talk with Sonny Liew
• An Interview with Sonny Liew by Lim Cheng Tju November 2011 S/pores journal
• Red Lines Political Cartoons and the struggle against censorship by Cherian George and Sonny Liew
• Rice: Sonny Liew Thinks Art In Singapore Shouldn’t Be Subject To Party Interests
by Yeo Boon Ping 24th October 2020. Rice.
• Comics Alliance: When Sonny Liew Dons the Helmet of Dr Fate, Weird Stuff Happens – Interview by Steve Morris 18th June 2015
• Freedom of the Press by George Orwell
- About the Author
- Latest Posts
James Bacon (he/him) is an Irish fan, a train driver living in London. A Hugo Award-winning editor of the fanzine “Journey Planet”, he is a comic fan and enjoys comic art, war Comics, Star Wars, Irish aspects to comics and railways in comics or otherwise. He has been writing about comics for over thirty years.
Categories: Comic Art, Comics, Creating Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News, Events, Exhibitions, Features, Reviews
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