Comic creators Yeo Hui Xuan, Erica Eng and Sarah (also known as Beetal, Beet or Sar) shared their journeys as writers and artists at this year’s Singapore Writers Festival at the weekend, in a panel titled “She Draws The Line: Women Revolutionising The Comic World”.
The Straits Times reports that while talking about struggles within the industry, Yeo Hui Xuan cited instances of gender discrimination in which male authors told her that she would get married one day and have kids, leaving her no time to make more comics. She also spoke of being told to be quiet in Facebook group discussions, because she is a woman.
Sarah offered a different perspective – that the independent scene has more women in it, adding that sometimes the struggle was more in staying motivated when seeing other artists produce highly admirable works. As a Malay comic writer, being a minority in the industry also led to feelings of alienation at times, Sarah said.
The writers also recounted positive experiences, from winning awards to meeting fans to finding communities who resonate with their stories. They also offered encouragement for audience members who aspire to be comic writers.
Yeo Hui Xuan (杨惠瑄), Singapore’s first female full-time professional comic artist, is the author and comic artist of the Dream Walker series (梦行者 系列). She graduated from Nanyang Polytechnic and majored in animation. She has published more than 20 books of comics and illustration art albums and won the Best Comic Storytelling XAward at Merlion International Animation Week in 2016 and the Silver Award for the 2nd China-Wuhan International Digital Art Biennale in 2012.
Erica Eng is an Eisner-winning comic creator and gameplay animator. Her debut graphic novel, Fried Rice, a semi-autobiographical webcomic about Erica’s high school dream of migrating to the United States and becoming an animator, was released this year in Malaysia. It won the Eisner for Best Webcomic in 2020. Her latest project is the ongoing web comic, Beloved.
The Singapore Writers Festival, which continues this year until 17th November,, one of Asia’s premier literary events, started in 1986 as a biennial festival. Now organised by Arts House Limited, SWF is a highly anticipated event on the cultural calendar, presenting the world’s major literary talents to Singaporeans while shining a spotlight on homegrown and Southeast Asian creative talents. The Festival is one of the few multi-lingual literary festivals in the world, celebrating the written and spoken word in Singapore’s official languages – English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil.
Sarah (also known as Beetal, Beet or Sar) is a freelance illustrator and comic artist from Singapore. They self-published Bandar Rimau, a full-colour 34-page comic about a weretiger trying to change Singapore’s name in the modern day. They have also illustrated children’s books. Aside from art, they enjoy a good ghost story and a regular evening walk.
The panel was chaired by Chong Lingying, an artist and writer based in Singapore, whose work traverses multiple disciplines, including writing, editing, translating and publishing. She co-founded COMIX.SG in 2020, Singapore’s online home for comic artists in 2020, and is the co-host of Red Dot Comics Den, a video podcast about Singapore’s vibrant comics scene.
• Check out the Singapore Writers Festival 2024 at singaporewritersfestival.com
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
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