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Michael Shakespeare BC Magazine August, 2000 Copyright

Comics Fair Today the comic industry in HK has never been in better shap. The popularity of comics seems to growing despite the increasingly advanced home entertainment systems, while the introduction of new technology and techniques is making the production of comics easier and the quality better. The only problems within the industry now involve how to crack the 1.2 billion potential readers on the mainland and how to best incorporate the Internet. With the problems the industry has already faced, and overcome, I wouldn't bet against it. Although unable to sneak into the Comics Fair we were able to catch a few minutes with Alice Mak, illustrator of popular local characters McMug and the lovely Excreman -- a character based on the snowman, but instead of snow, made out of . . . don't ask. Alice -- why did you get into drawing -- for the fame and fortune? Most of the drawers in HK do it out of love for the work -- we do it because we want to draw, not make lots of money. Your books are different from the normal sex n' violence comics in HK -- was that a conscious decision? Yes, but I don't think sex and violence should be banned. We should let readers decide for themselves what they want to read -- give them a choice. What do you think the image of comics in HK is? Strictly speaking, most people view them as low-level culture, but at times we need them to communicate with the general public. We co-operate a lot with government departments like the ICAC.

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