Hong Kong comics are called Gung…Zai…Shu? Mmm…rolls off the tongue compared to manhua. Just one more way Hong Kong makes itself distinct from China. Apparently they also make a few small impacts in the USA that most people don’t remember. Time to go to work!
Gung Zai Syu: Doll Books?
Yes, that’s what it means in Cantonese. No, it doesn’t mean characters look like dolls or are aimed at little kids… mostly. All it means is that it’s easy to fit them into pockets… depending on the clothes.
Checklist Time!
Anyway, like a lot of comics Hong Kong’s started as political cartooning. Hey, when the Qing Dynasty is corrupt as it was for this colony, somebody should speak up. Only problem was, only one or two artists were brave enough to do that. After they died, comics didn’t show up again until 1934.
For that matter, some mainland Chinese comic creators came to Hong Kong to hide from Imperial Japan, creating the National Comic Writers Association (Hong Kong Branch). For as long as they could anyway, Imperial Japan ended up halting some things, and in the 50s most creators went back to China. It was in 1967 when things really start to pick up. Chinese animation combines with anime and Western influences like Superman comics to create new art styles.
Classic Hong Kong Comics
Classic titles like Old Master Q would embody keeping old traditions alive while combining what works with the modern world. All while Miss 13 Dot had a female protagonist who did as she pleased; liberating for the time even if she was so rich you couldn’t take her status seriously. Thankfully helping the needy, her bubbly personality, and quirky ideas make up for it. Hence why readers started carrying comics in their pockets to keep seeing these multiple sides.
But maybe the biggest change comes in the 70s with Cowboy and Little Rascals (don’t worry it avoided culture shock). Cowboy was a slice-of-life family oriented comic that used very little words and instead used minimalist illustrations to explore a child’s point-of-view on the back-and-forth relationship with his father and Hong Kong’s working class families. The series would go until the creator’s death in 1983.
As for what would become Dragon Tiger Gate it gave Hong Kong comics a huge push. It follows a group of delinquents fighting to survive against the gangsters and crooks in their public housing estate. This was a real game changer, as it appeared around the foundations of Hong Kong cinema’s kung-fu craze. But with much more brutal delivery in the “jungle survival” angle through cinematic illustrations. Basically everything too extreme for even Bruce Lee.
…And Their Barriers
Since the violence helped inspire other comics (even adaptations of movies), politics stepped in with the Indecent Publication Law. In reaction, the cartoonists who would found the Jade Dynasty Publication Group launched a self-discipline campaign to refrain from sex and violence. Depending on how you look at it this is just like the American Comics Code, or trollish advertisement to profit from the status quo.
Not that it stopped Oriental Heroes creator Tony Wong Yuk-Long from publishing his comic in a daily newspaper to get around the censors before they were collected in books as the newly named Dragon Tiger Gate. Sure the violence was turned down for comedy, but hints of implicit violence give suspense.
It got a little more serious to compete with wuxia in the 80s as it was starting to get popular. Chinese Hero: Tales of the Blood Sword is probably the most notable of them. Mainly because it dared to be different with realistic clear-cut action scenes that take place in America. Not only that, it helped propel Hong Kong comics to American audiences. To think it started as a companion piece for a Jackie Chan movie comic.
And A Wall
Then the 90s roll in with interest in Hong Kong comics dwindling. The creatives were becoming more educated with comics being seen as superficial. Probably because stories and content were becoming unpredictable. While McMug and spin-off McDull were commentary pieces, the off-the-walls comedy was balanced with relatability amongst the struggling medium.
Besides that, movies and TV were really started to take off; hence why derivative characters like Agent K and Old Girl appear in reaction to 007 and Marilyn Monroe flicks. If not for the video games and manga from Japan, Hong Kong’s comics would’ve been forgotten. Hey stuff like that gets people to think.
Into The New Millennium
Hence why less salty cartoonists started to try and become independent publishers. But some of them were just following the trends of decades before, looking homogenized as a result. You know, like what’s happening with Marvel Studios in costumes and quips. Except for titles like Teddy Boy (Young and Dangerous) that take things in a different direction. Rather than fighting against gangs like Oriental Heroes, it’s capturing the romanticism on loyalty in the Triad.
Those efforts prove to be enough as more cartoonists kept Hong Kong Comics going, especially with the internet making the processes a little easier. Q Boy is one comic character still making some waves with audiences. That’s despite competition with manga and American Comics, and the real competition video games.
Hong Kong Comics In Fighting Spirit
Today there are still cartoonists in Hong Kong with their own challenges and achievements. The kind of things like digital piracy and trying to collaborate with other creative industries. Most of which are unsuccessful due to a lack of good resources and executives who don’t see the nuance these works.
But local support still exists like when a building is redesigned into the Comix Homebase. Or the Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival showing off Gung Zai Syu as a parallel to Hong Kong’s development. Even if it’s not a perfect reflection, with satirical cartoons disappearing. Not to get political but it’s hard to guess why. Thankfully the characters still have strong followings, hence the Avenue of Comic Stars.
Thankfully some cartoonists get rewards internationally. Some like Cheung Hon-wah got far thanks to support from the HK Comics Support Programme. See You In Memories pulls off its goal of inspiring people through nostalgia of Hong Kong. The best kind of nostalgia: inspiring people to carry on memories to make something new.
That’s the attitude in one of my investments: Immortal Studios who take influence from some of the comics to build their own stories. This way, the spirit of Hong Kong comics live on.
Thanks for coming to the end and as always, remember to look between the panels.