Their Tales, Taiwan’s Times:

Mark Crilley, a graphic novel artist from Detroit, has won numerous awards over his 25-year career. Recently, his “Mastering Manga” series of instructional books has been translated into eight languages and distributed globally. In an interview with Taiwan Panorama, he expressed his excitement about the release of the Chinese edition of his graphic novel Lost in Taiwan in Taiwan itself. He hopes that this fortunate opportunity will give Taiwanese readers the chance to enjoy his story.

Mark Crilley’s Lost in Taiwan. (courtesy of Mark Crilley)

Exploring Taiwan with Paul

Lost in Taiwan tells the story of Paul, a young American who arrives in Taiwan but has no interest in engaging with this foreign land. While he is out trying to buy a gaming console, his phone gets damaged. Lost in an unfamiliar country, he eventually meets a Taiwanese girl named Peijing and her cousin Wallace.

These two new acquaintances help him find his way home, and along the journey Paul personally experiences Taiwanese culture, religion, and cuisine. This gives him a new ­understanding of the country and brings significant changes to his life.

From a third-person perspective, readers accompany Paul on an adventurous journey through an unfamiliar city, discovering many of Taiwan’s sights and attractions together.

This was Crilley’s first attempt at setting a story entirely within a single day; “To me, that was a fun way of kind of putting the reader into the story… like the clock is passing and you are there for every part of this magical day that [Paul] experiences.… This young man has this series of experiences, all of which are very unique to Taiwan, and it causes him to, little by little, fall in love with Taiwan, like I did.”

courtesy of Mark Crilley

The last character in the Chinese name of Coca-Cola—le, meaning “joy”—serves as the closing note on Paul’s journey into Taiwan. (courtesy of Mark Crilley)

Self-portrait of Mark Crilley.(courtesy of Mark Crilley)

Somewhat overlooked by the world

Before becoming a comic-book artist, Mark Crilley, fresh out of college, moved to Taiwan to teach English, encouraged by a friend.

What has left a lasting impression on him even 30 years later is the warmth and friendliness of the Taiwanese people.

“I feel like Taiwan is somewhat overlooked by the rest of the world,” says Crilley. Because of this, he hopes that through Lost in Taiwan, international readers will gain a better understanding of Taiwan and be inspired to visit or even live here.

However, Crilley also admits that compared to his previous works, which were full of dramatic tension, Lost in Taiwan is more subdued. This made him worry at times that readers might find it boring. But his editor, Andrea Colvin, reassured him, saying, “Don’t worry, Mark. Just let it be real. Let it be natural. Let it convey the kinds of experiences you really had.”

When interacting with the people of Taiwan, he felt a genuine warmth that inspired him to write a “love letter” to the island. Getting lost leads Paul to experience true happiness. As Mark Crilley shared these thoughts, the smile on his face was as radiant as it was in the photo taken with children 30 years ago.

More than just a comic artist, Lucas Paixão has recently also worked with TaiwanPlus to paint a series of Lunar New Year animations set against the backdrop of Taipei’s Minsheng Community.

Lucas Paixão’s Betel Nut Beauty. (courtesy of Yuan-Liou Publishing)

Dreams of art in a new world

Lucas Paixão from Salvador, Brazil, published a short comic titled Sexland Adventures in 2023. This provocative adult story encapsulates his views on gender, careers, and other issues. In the story “O Toc de Picasso,” (“Picasso’s OCD”) the protagonist Picasso’s anxiety reflects the Brazilian societal perception of artists: “Being an artist means starving.”

This impression deeply troubled Paixão. As a university student majoring in graphic design, he felt lost in life. His childhood admiration for the Taiwanese girl group S.H.E. and his resultant fascination with Taiwan ultimately led him to decide to travel halfway around the world to Taiwan to pursue a master’s degree in fine arts.

Paixão has adapted to life in Taiwan almost effortlessly, but finding the art he envisioned wasn’t as smooth.

The key that finally unlocked things for him was the 2015 Comic World Taiwan event. Paixão recalls the scene: “I noticed that many people in Taiwan were drawing comics, which was also my childhood dream, so I decided to start drawing too.” The following year, using the pen name Xiao Lu, he submitted his work to the 4th Tong Li Original Comic Contest. His piece Magic Pen won the Bronze Award in the Shoujo Manga category. That same year, he began serializing Betel Nut Beauty on the online platform Comico, where it received a lot of positive feedback from readers.

“Orange Boy” (© Lucas Paixão/Dala Publishing)

“O Toc de Picasso” (© Lucas Paixão/Dala Publishing)

“Darling Knight” (© Lucas Paixão/Dala Publishing)

Diversity through truth

The story of Betel Nut Beauty follows Lucio Santos, a Brazilian soccer player hailed as a rising star. After missing the chance to say goodbye to a close family member, he becomes disheartened and travels to Taiwan to heal. There he happens to meet Pao Hsiao­yeh, a Taiwanese girl who makes a living selling betel nuts, and they embark on an international love story.

With its authentic Taiwanese dialogue, exaggerated facial expressions typical of Japanese manga, and Paixão’s detailed and vibrant art style, Betel Nut Beauty reads like a fusion dish that transcends borders. The star of this culturally rich creation is the betel nut beauty herself.

The Taiwanese movie Help Me Eros left a deep impression on the young Paixão, especially regarding the so-called “betel nut beauties.” However, it wasn’t until he came to Taiwan that he truly experienced how this unique profession stands out in Taiwanese society.

However, after gathering more information from friends and the media, Paixão became all the more committed to this idea and even tried to engage in a “professional dialogue.”

“That betel nut beauty was really intense when she kicked us out,” Paixão recalls. Although he never dared to set foot in the store again, it wasn’t a wasted experience. “Her strong, self-protective personality later inspired the female protagonist in my story.”

In Betel Nut Beauty, Paixão’s sharp eye for human observation is evident. This talent might stem from his upbringing in Brazil’s diverse society or the influence of the all-female Japanese manga artist group Clamp, whom he admires. Each character in the story is well developed, and he avoids simplistic, black-and-white portrayals. Even the antagonists offer alternative societal perspectives, adding depth to the narrative.

Additionally, he weaves his life experiences and cultural insights from Brazil and Taiwan into the narrative, incorporating elements such as Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers, the transgender community, and cross-cultural conflicts. This fills the story with humor but also makes it deeply moving.

“I’ve found that Taiwanese society has a very progressive attitude towards the transgender community, and LGBTQ+ people more broadly,” Lucas Paixão says, citing his experience studying at Taipei National University of the Arts. He mentions that there was a transgender woman on campus who was undergoing gender affirming surgery at the time, and no one ever made discriminatory or disrespectful comments towards her.

Safety, freedom, and convenience are the reasons Lucas Paixão decided to settle in Taiwan. He feels similarly optimistic about the future of Taiwan’s comics industry. “I know the Ministry of Culture and the market as a whole are making efforts to promote it, which gives me a sense of reassurance,” he says.

Lau Kwong Shing’s The Fallen City: Hong Kong. (© 2020 Lau Kwong Shing/Gaea Books)

Speaking with a warm smile, Lau Kwong Shing exudes a very different vibe than his comics.

Lau Kwong Shing’s unique drawing style combines both firm and gentle pencil strokes, creating a distinctive look.

Finding new answers

Using a pencil as his primary tool, Hong-Kong-born Lau Kwong Shing’s drawing process is marked by precision and meticulousness with every stroke.

But in the middle of our interview, when talking about his life in Taiwan over the past three years, he has a gentle smile on his face that wasn’t there while he was drawing. He says, “I think it’s been really good. I’m not just saying that for the interview; it truly has been great.”

With a sharp and distinct drawing style paired with a smooth and amiable personality, “contrast” has become another hallmark of his work. Lau Kwong Shing agrees, but he points out that many other creators, like Japanese artists Hayao Miyazaki and Junji Ito, exhibit similar traits. “Because the inner world of a creator can only be expressed through their work, it naturally reveals an uncommon side,” he explains.

For Lau, comics have been a childhood shield, a tool to communicate with the world, and a weapon to fight against injustice.

On August 11, 2019, a female protester in Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong, had her eyeball ruptured by a bean bag round fired by the police. This shocking incident drew global attention and inspired Lau to use his art to speak out about the anti-extradition protests. His work The Fallen City: Hong Kong was published in 2020, documenting one of the most significant chapters in Hong Kong’s history.

However, the sharp strokes of his pencil couldn’t break the chains in which Hong Kong was shackled, leaving Lau Kwong Shing in a state of despair until 2022. It was only after collaborating with The Reporter on Youth Trapped in the Tunnel, a report in the form of a comic telling the story of Ugandan students in Taiwan who were coerced into doing low-paid factory work, that he was pulled from the depths. “Seeing the case being followed up on and the students’ predicament being noticed made me feel that comics can be helpful,” he says. As a democratic country, Taiwan provided him with answers that were different from those in Hong Kong.

That same year he published The Incense Burner of Lust, his collaborative graphic novel adaptation with feminist author Li Ang of her 1997 novel of the same name.

The Incense Burner of Lust, originally written by Li Ang and adapted as a graphic novel by Lau Kwong Shing. (© Lau Kwong Shing/Dala Publishing)

Lau Kwong Shing’s The Reporter File, Case No. 001. (© 2022 Lau Kwong Shing/The Reporter Foundation/Gaea Books)

Deep lines, delicate shading

Lau Kwong Shing’s pencil captures the gloom and unease permeating Hong Kong society with deep, rich black lines that resonate with readers. It also portrays the enchanting figure and expressive demeanor of Li Ang’s Lin Li-tzu, with eyes that seem to see through the world’s complexities. Using soft, delicate strokes, Lau brings to life the chameleon-like adaptability of women navigating the political landscape in Taiwan before and after the lifting of martial law.

Shortly after he began working on Incense Burner, Lau Kwong Shing, who likes to have a drink at the bar during the week, mentioned the project to his drinking buddies. Their unexpected reactions made him realize just how controversial the work had been 25 years ago. “But when they started discussing the details, I stopped them,” he said.

Lau reveals that when Li Ang was looking for a collaborating artist, she explicitly stated that she preferred someone who was not familiar with the events. Lau says candidly that if he had absorbed all the “local rumors” that night, it might have limited his creative interpretation of the work.

Interpreted through Lau’s art, his adaptation of Incense Burner combines both strength and delicacy in how it presents this work so renowned for giving women a voice. While some religious elements and factual inaccuracies have been adjusted, for the most part Li has fully respected the “inevitably trans­national nature” of Lau’s encounter with her novel.

Lau mentions that during the grand wedding of ­Chiang Ming-tai and Shih Li-li in Incense Burner, various characters of different appearances gather at the banquet. Li Ang praised Lau’s work on this scene, saying, “He drew each person without overly distinct features, which is a great advantage.” Lau believes that his experiences living in Japan, China, and Hong Kong may have subconsciously balanced his cultural perceptions. This background, which gave him the ability to avoid defining each character too rigidly, serendipitously aligned with Li Ang’s vision and allowed him to seamlessly integrate into the Taiwanese comic scene.

“Compared to Japanese and American comics, Taiwanese comics are harder to recognize at first glance,” says Lau Kwong Shing. He believes this is an advantage for Taiwanese comics, as their diversity and lack of stereo­types provide creators and their works with the freedom to develop uniquely. “I consider myself one of the standouts, serving as an example of Taiwan’s rich and diverse comic scene.” 

The diversity and vibrancy of Taiwan’s comic industry provide a new creative playground for comic artists from around the world.