A record six Taiwan comic book artists have received award nominations at the upcoming Angouleme International Comics Festival running Jan. 25-28 in France, according to the Ministry of Culture Jan. 17.
Out of the 460 participants in the festival’s Young Talent competition, Taiwan’s Arwen Huang and Wei Chin were named among the 20 finalists. In the Digital category, which was open to online submissions, local illustraters Eli Lin, Liu Chien-fan, Linx and Asta Wu earned nominations.
Huang, a graduate student at Anglia Ruskin University in the U.K., was chosen for her comic book “Bored,” which illustrates the behavior of idle children. France-based artist Chin, who also took part in last year’s competition, was included for his black-and-white work “Duo Mambo,” in which dance moves symbolize different phases of couples’ relationships.
Taiwan artists taking part in the Digital competition earned nominations for their unique illustration styles and thought-provoking themes. The local entries comprise Lin’s “The Dream,” which depicts a student’s daydreams during class; Liu’s “Diving,” about a girl waiting to receive a hearing aid; Linx’s “In My Eye,” a story that centers around an old man and his dog; and “Emmarie’s Final Investigation Report” by Wu, whose work takes the form of a blog post written by a journalist intern who has gone missing.
The six nominees will display their pieces and hold talks at the festival’s Taiwan Pavilion, organized by the MOC. The pavilion will also feature the work of six additional local artists including Ruan Guang-min, winner of Comic of the Year at 2017 Golden Comic Awards, the highest honor in Taiwan’s comics industry.
The annual Angouleme International Comics Festival was first held in 1974. It features competitions, exhibitions and trade shows for comics artists and publishers, attracting more than 200,000 visitors each year. (CPY-E)
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