Caption / Manga for a Lifetime
Behind the cognitive divergence, the industry's real dilemma
Known as the "first ecological documentary of contemporary Chinese cartoonists", "A Life of Comics" is over. As one of the few documentaries in China that focuses on local comic creators, it has caused controversy among the audience.
Some comic book lovers compare it with the documentary "But there are books" that also shows the current situation of domestic creators, in their eyes, the documentary should explain the author's creative journey, or the detailed steps of the comic from conception to the line, while "Comic Life" presents the daily chores of cartoonists, which seems "scattered and boring".
Some comic book practitioners said that in this era when comics are almost "disappeared", it is very rare that documentaries focusing on comics are still born. Let more outsiders realize the existence of the comic industry, and truly show the current situation of practitioners.
Why is the difference in evaluation between "enthusiasts" and "practitioners" so obvious about the same documentary? Some people may attribute it to different identity perspectives and different individual evaluation standards, but in essence, this divergence actually represents a bias in the evaluation system, that is, the difference in the perception of the national comic market by readers, cartoonists and industry chain practitioners. Our discussion will also begin with this divergence.
The cartoonist in the reader's eyes vs the real cartoonist
Most comic book lovers connect with cartoonists and start with their work.
No matter what kind of comic works, they will integrate the experience and thinking of the creators, and naturally attract readers with similar concepts. In the past, comic book readers would express their love to creators through letter messages and participation in signing activities, but now on social platforms, cartoonists can directly show their status and interact with fans. It seems that it is now easier for readers to understand cartoonists? In fact, it is quite the opposite. The virtual nature of the Internet, users will selectively express their inner thoughts, and many creators will deliberately show the good side on social media, hiding bitterness and tears in their hearts.
Readers vaguely feel that it is not easy to "draw comics", but what is the state of being in the industry requires a comprehensive understanding. Documentaries are one of the channels.
In "A Lifetime of Comics", even senior creators who are already at the head of the industry have no shortage of moments of introspection, confusion and confusion.
Ding Bing, a young girl cartoonist who has serialized works in China and Japan simultaneously, has been in the industry for more than 20 years, creating masterpieces such as "Where Dreams Begin" and "Lou Lan Yi Dream", and once questioned the significance of his creation after experiencing failure, and will still worry about the story and deadline after starting a new serial;
Horror cartoonist Zhu Gengfu told his own journey of entry and transformation, drawing the campus violence he had experienced into the story, conveying positive meaning by showing human nature, and now, he hopes to give his family a better life than "becoming a comic master";
Xiao Xinyu, who has won the Shueisha Newcomer Award twice, constantly adjusted the creative direction between "personal preference" and "market demand", and only then did he give birth to the "Absolute Top" where funny and martial arts elements coexisted, looking at derivative works, compared to the "inner resistance" of comic fans, he said that the comic author hopes that his work will be adapted, but when the actor seriously analyzes the role, the "shame" suddenly born by the original author appears real and cute;
The well-known picture book writer Shandi, her works are warm and healing, and the comfort and comfort of the photos posted on social platforms are equally desirable, but in the documentary, she talks about the impact of life on content, the consumption of reality on enthusiasm, and even she can't stop crying when she thinks of the current situation of the friends she first met because of creation. These cartoonists who have insisted on creating for many years have rich experience, have a clear understanding of the market and creation, and the bittersweet and bittersweet behind the bright achievements are actually worth knowing.
The fledgling new generation of creators is in a different situation. Guo Guo often thinks about philosophical issues, existence of meaning, spiritual nihilism, in addition to comics can also be music creation, can discuss their own works with their parents; "North Drift" Qingqing in order to draw comics, four hours a day, back to the rented rough room to start creating; pineapple oil serial encountered platform collapse, she smiled in the film to celebrate the original compression of the length, the story she wanted to tell, and now found a like-minded partner.
Finding something you love and sticking to it is a cool thing in itself. No matter how long they have been in the industry, becoming a cartoonist is often due to hobbies, so being worn out of enthusiasm and disillusionment is also a test brought by life, and it has become a part of their daily life.
But in the eyes of readers, they are more concerned about the quality of the work and are not interested in the above process. This is even more evident in the comparison with the documentary created by The Spirit Cage. Animation industry documentaries show a full-process industrial production environment, while comic creation maintains a considerable proportion of craftsmanship - the production of original comics is highly dependent on the independent creation of individual authors, and the truthful presentation will naturally retain triviality.
Chinese mainland documentary filmmaker Liang Bibo once said that the biggest artistic value of documentaries lies in the pursuit of truth. The process of filming and producing a documentary is a process of selection, and the image presented is the reality of the screened and processed image. Therefore, the process of conceiving, creating, going online, and publishing works that ordinary audiences want to see is a part of the life of cartoonists, and this part can make us feel the power of dreams, blood, and perseverance. The main creative team of "Comic Life" has obviously made trade-offs, and in the end, it is more inclined to show the feelings of the comic creators "dreaming", and there is helplessness and determination to move forward. As Silent Land said, "the truth of life is in daily life", which magnifies the industry and daily trivialities, showing the audience that cartoonists are also independent and vivid individuals.
Deep in the documentary, the plight of the Chinese comics industry
Many viewers of "A Lifetime of Comics" have the impression that cartoonists are "not easy", "hard", and even "miserable". In the comments on social platforms, some people also raised the question: the documentary talks about the creative dilemma of cartoonists, and they are trying their best to insist, but looking at reality, why is the quality of works in the current Chinese comic market still uneven?
To find out why china's comic industry presents such an ecology, the answer lies in the development process of national comics.
Leaving aside the humorous satirical cartoons and comic books born during the Republic of China period, the original comics that we now recognize as continuous narratives actually began to sprout in China in the 1990s. At this stage, Chinese teenagers began to contact Japanese comics, and Chinese original works in emerging magazines such as "Picture Book King", "Beijing Cartoon", "Comic King" and so on were also borrowed and explored in many ways in terms of creation mode, but unfortunately, the domestic publishing industry at that time was not sound. After the millennium, a new generation of magazines such as Zhiyin Comic Booker, Man You, and Comic Party began to rise, and many color comics were popular with young people in the new era, and their preferences for works began to change. At this time, many individual cartoonists produced influential original works, and then set up their own comic studios, and some of the new generation of cartoonists who are now highly known have also experienced in comic studios.
However, the advent of the Internet and the mobile Internet era brings opportunities that need not be repeated, but magazines as traditional comic carriers have undoubtedly been subversive. The entire comic industry is not yet mature, but the network has pressed the acceleration button for the development process of comics, and under the technological innovation and the transformation of entertainment methods, comics have been forced to usher in the next era.
After the Internet has been popularized in China for more than ten years, the capital market's investment enthusiasm for the comic industry has gradually cooled, and the bubble of the animation industry has been squeezed out.
The market attributes of the comic industry determine that it must follow new rules, and in the past, the development of the industry could not be separated from the publishing house, and now it relies on the web comic platform. For example, there is a demon for the derivative development of comics, quick look comics attach importance to and vigorously develop strip comics, are all attempts to help comics broaden users. Until today, there is a demon once again to change owners, but the strip comic has become the mainstream model of the Chinese comic market, and it is obvious that the road of comics is not easy to walk.
For creators, their pressure does not only come from changes in the creative environment. Just as many creators who appear in "Comic Life" have experienced the transformation of paper books to online serial carriers, it is not difficult to find from their narratives that practitioners need to work hard to adapt to the content dissemination, censorship rules, and even make trade-offs in the Internet era. Comic book creation work intensity, income treatment, personal ideas and market preferences balance and other series of issues, the new generation of cartoonists are also destined to face corresponding confusion and wandering.
Of course, in the eyes of enthusiasts, comics should not be like this.
At present, it is more convenient for ordinary people to obtain information, and young people in China can easily access high-quality genuine comic content in overseas markets, such as One Piece, Attack on Titan, Marvel DC, as long as you have time, you can easily read and watch world-class comics and adaptations. Therefore, when constructing the evaluation system, Chinese animation fans immediately put the national comics in the same dimension as the above-mentioned first-class works. As everyone knows, this is the crystallization of culture that has accumulated decades and is the world's top level. This invisibly puts a lot of pressure on the practitioners of national comics.
Fortunately, they withstood the pressure. If the world's advanced level score is 100 points, then China's comic industry has slowly climbed from the trough of the past 50 points to the current 70 or 80 points. Although the gap between overseas first-class and overseas is not small, as a "latecomer", the gap between Chinese comics and overseas markets under the efforts of creators and platforms is indeed narrowing.
But we are not yet complacent. The structure of the comic book industry is similar to a pyramid, with those at the top being able to harvest resources, while the cartoonists at the bottom suffering from the inundation of talents and unstable incomes. It may be even more important to build a system that benefits creators at different stages and enables them to make a smooth transition in their careers. This may be the reason why the platform represented by Quick Look proposes to create a national comic creator ecology and establish a three-level talent training echelon of professional cartoonists - national comic creators - national comic creation enthusiasts.
The stability of the system, the day arches a pawn, better than the instantaneous shine of genius.
What can a comic lover do in the face of a dilemma?
The development of the comics industry is not just a battle for cartoonists.
Markets can flourish on their own when they are initially formed, but once the market is formed and needs to expand again, more forces will be used to create conditions for its development. Even though it's difficult, love keeps groups of cartoonists on this path without hesitation, just like the state of other practitioners in the industry in "Comic Life":
The first episode presents the period when Ding Bing completed the new work "Flowers and Hedgehogs Escape", and her communication with the editor-in-charge and the part of talking about reader feedback are impressive. Qingqing was backstage at the Comic Con signing party, and the head of the content department discussed with her about the new work she was serializing. Comic editors need to help authors control the direction of creation, complete comic creation on time and with quality, and take into account the needs of readers. It is through the joint efforts of creators and editors that works with diverse themes and recognized by comic book lovers have been born.
The platform is not only a bridge between good creators and readers, but also an engine to promote industrial innovation. In order to promote comics into the video era, in the fourth episode of the documentary, Chen Annie, founder & CEO of QuickWatch, said that the launch of "comic dramas" is to divert the flow of high-quality comics in new forms.
In 2021, "national comics going to sea" has become a phenomenon, according to Quick Look, Chinese comics have covered 70 global distribution platforms, translated into 12 languages, covering 200 countries and regions, and have their own exclusive word "Manhua". This is also a new way to increase the income of manga authors.
This year, the fourth edition of the Quick Look Original Comic Contest has been held, and more than 2,600 entries have been received in the past three sessions, and nearly 100 contestants have transformed into professional cartoonists, which has continuously injected fresh blood into the national comic industry.
In addition, Kuaikan also designs the barrier-free concept of reading vision protection for teenagers and vulnerable groups, continuously improving the reading experience, promoting high-quality works, and discovering and cultivating a new generation of creators, which is the mission of Kuaikan as a webcomic platform.
Even though the documentary can't take into account all practitioners in the limited time of four episodes, there is no doubt that its record has a positive effect on the comic book industry. Only when more and more people pay attention to it can we fight for a possibility for the follow-up "more and more young readers love national comics and do their best to support". Making comic book readers no longer silent, and letting the creators who are still trying to insist on being seen, concerned, and discussed, may be the greatest significance of the birth of the cartoonist ecological documentary "Comic Life".