Event Schedule (Portfolio Review Registration Extended to 6 September 2023, 12 Noon):

• Portfolio Review
  • Location: NUS Kent Ridge Campus, Block AS8 #05-50
  • Time: 10:00am-11:30am
  • Prior registration via the sign-up link by 6 September 2023 (12 Noon) is required for a portfolio review (limited slots available).
• Roundtable Discussion
  • Location: NUS Kent Ridge Campus, Block AS7 #01-17
  • Time: 2:00pm-4:00pm
  • Moderator: Dr Kania Sukotjo
  • Please register for the roundtable discussion via the sign-up link.
• Sign-up link: tinyurl.com/mt5hyr8u

IMPORTANT: Portfolio Preparation for Review Session
Please ensure to prepare the following materials if you plan on attending the portfolio review session:

• A synopsis of your work (maximum of 500 words).
• For comic pages:
  •  Minimum: Either 2 finished pages or 5 storyboard pages
  •  Maximum: Either 10 finished pages or 15 storyboard pages
• For webcomic:
  •  Minimum: Around 1/3 finished chapter or 1 storyboard chapter
  •  Maximum: 1 finished chapter or around 1 and a half storyboard chapter
• Additional sketches and illustrations (such as character designs) are optional; participants must bring comic content for portfolio review.
• No explicit content.
• Bring the comic on A4, A5, or B5 paper format, or tablet. Do not show the comic on your phone screen.

For any enquiries, please email jpssec@nus.edu.sg.

This event brings together female comics creators from around Southeast Asia who have been influenced by Japanese manga. At the roundtable, they will discuss the challenges and opportunities for young women forging a career in comics in Southeast Asia, and how Japanese manga have inspired them creatively. The diversity of styles and genres of Japanese manga, and the global popularity of manga exports, have inspired creative expression worldwide. In particular, intensive export and the Cool Japan initiative have resulted in widespread popularity and influence of manga throughout the Southeast Asian region. The prominence of manga genres appealing to and created by young women have inspired young women creators outside Japan to use some elements of form for their own creative expression. The increasing popularity and global reach of digital comics have also led to increased opportunities for young women creators to use comics/manga as a form of self-expression.

While there is increasing scholarly interest in comics/manga by and for women, and in recent trends in digital comics, the voices of the creators themselves are often missing from this discourse. This roundtable will provide a forum for scholarly and creative interaction, while also engaging undergraduates in this dialog.

This roundtable is a platform for deconstructing and challenging dominant narratives within the comics industry. It provides an opportunity to analyze how young women artists from Southeast Asia navigate and negotiate the cultural influences of Japanese manga, shedding light on issues of cultural appropriation, hybridity, and agency. By critically engaging with these artists' works, the roundtable encourages discussions on the commodification of culture, the politics of representation, and the ways in which artistic practices can challenge or reinforce existing power structures. It fosters an inclusive and intersectional approach to examining the role of gender within the comics industry. By centering on young women artists, it aims to address the gendered dimensions of creativity, visibility, and recognition within a male-dominated field. The roundtable discussion will explore the ways in which these artists navigate societal expectations, challenge gender stereotypes, and reclaim agency through their art. By discussing their experiences, the roundtable seeks to disrupt patriarchal norms while celebrating the unique perspectives and contributions of young women comics artists themselves.

About the Artists

The artists invited represent a variety of experiences and engagement with manga. They also represent different regions and genres of comics:

• Dr. Suraya Md Nasir/Jonsuraya (Malaysia), Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI); Jejon Di Jepun, Maple Comics
• Mizore (Indonesia),Two Sizes Too Small, Tapas and Webtoon
• Clio Hui Kiri (Singapore), A Deal with Lucifer, Pura Comixmag
• Olivecoat (Philippines), Honbarian, Tapas and Webtoon

Jonsuraya (Suraya bte Md Nasir) received a PhD at Seika University of Arts in Japan, where she studied manga technique and manga studies with top scholars in the field. Her autobiographical comic Jejon Di Jepun (Jejon in Japan) reflects her experiences living in Japan. It is published in paperback format by Maple Comics in Malaysia. She is currently a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Art, Computing, and Creative Industry at Sultan Idris Education University where she teaches cultural studies and comics-based ethnography.

Indonesian based comic artist, Mizore, has been honing her skills in creating stories since adolescence. Receiving inspiration while studying Japanese Literature in University, Mizore blended her comic making skills with her knowledge in Japanese cultures, bringing about a perfect marriage of her two passions. Mizore began her professional work with ‘Two Sizes, too small’ in 2019 that was published in Tapas and at the moment is working on “You Love Me Two?”. Heart-warming, funny, and comforting, slices of life stories are Mizore’s brand. She aspires to create more stories that are able to brighten someone’s day.

Clio Hui, also known as Kiri, is a self taught local artist. Before publishing her first comic, she won 2 awards in the National Day Banner Design Competition organized by the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts in 2011. Her journey as a manga artist began when she submitted two short stories to PuraComixmag. She later went on to produce 5 volumes of A Deal With Lucifer (ongoing) and 2 commemorative A Deal With Lucifer illustration books. Her works and her passion as a manga artist has led her to interviews by Lianhe Zaobao and The Straits Times. In 2018, A Deal With Lucifer was featured as part of TCZ Studio Pte Ltd's international comic cultural exchange with ICC counterparts from Japan, in preparation of the International Comic Artists Conference (ICC) hosted by Kyushu in 2019.

Olivecoat is the author and artist of the webtoon, "Honbarian", an online comic that has amassed 3 million views and over 50,000 readers worldwide. From a young age, she would indulge herself in creating comics in spare notebooks, drawing inspiration from the mangas that were circulated by her friends. During the pandemic lockdown in 2020, she began to revamp her old comic to pass the time. What started as a passion project has grown into a full-time occupation, and Olivecoat has given up a 10-year career in interior design to pursue her dream of making comics.

About the Moderator

Dr. Kania Sukotjo is a Film and Media teacher at School of the Arts (SOTA), Singapore, where she teaches Film in the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. She also had experience teaching as a lecturer at Lasalle College of the Arts, and completed her PhD in the Comparative Asia Studies Programme at the National University of Singapore in 2020. Her research interests revolve around fujoshi culture and fandom studies in Japan and Indonesia. During her PhD candidature she conducted ethnographical fieldwork at Tokyo and Jakarta comic-related events. Her PhD thesis examines Tokyo and Jakarta comic events’ participatory culture to analyze how fan activities shape comic events and fans view on yaoi content.