Creative Comic Collection Relaunch Issue
December 27, 2017 saw the formidable relaunch of Creative Comic Collection. The much awaited series is now available.
To the regret of manga fans and professionals, the series has ceased to operate in 2015. This year, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture of Taiwan, the Academia Sinica Center for Digital Cultures is to initiate the scheme of bringing CCC back to life. The revival scheme is announced at the press conference of “World of Comics: Imaginary or Reality? Creative Comic Collection Interactive Digital Exhibition,” taking place at National Taiwan Museum from August 17 to September 17, 2017.
CCC’s Relaunch Issue aims not only to sustain longer series of Taiwanese manga by “filling the narratives to the brim,” but enlarge its scope with coverage dedicated to the latest updates of the manga industry in Taiwan and the world.
The interdisciplinary section of the Relaunch Issue focuses on “Qseries and manga” (漫畫植劇場) which brings manga narratives and television drama on the same page. Among the interviewees are Wamg Shaudi, the founder of Qseries theater (植劇場), along with playwrights and manga artists, all there to share ideas and stories about their works. Just to present what it would feel like to fuse television drama and manga together: the cover figures feature the manga version, aptly drawn by Zuo Hsuan, of the late Taiwanese celebrity chef Fu Pei-mei and her companion A-Chun in What She Put on the Table, a television biography series produced by Qseries.
The warm reception won by “World of Comics: Imaginary or Reality? Creative Comic Collection Interactive Digital Exhibition” should be ascribed to the boundary-crossing effort that brings talents in the arts and crafts and cutting-edge technology together, building a world of manga art where physical exploration is not mere a matter of talk.
Not to be ignored is the return of some of the much-missed manga series:
“Stairs on the Water Surface: Part One”, Old Objects at Huai House: A Chronicle by AKRU
Available in both CCC and Weekly Young Jump (週刊ヤングジャンプ) issued by Japanese publisher Shueisha Inc., the urban fantasy series has a new tale to tell.
“House Hunting in Monga: Part One” The Strangers' Travels: A Tale of Tea Trade by Chang Chiya
The Oolong tea business of John Dodd and LI Chunsheng opens a new chapter in Taipei’s booming trade embankment, Monga.
Prologue: Part One, Dutchman in Formosa by Kinono
Why does Phil the Dutch soldier end up in a ship bound for Formosa? The mystery unfolds a saga of the Age of Exploration…
Saving the Last Leopard Cat by Kokai
A twenty-first-century war is waged to save the last leopard cat in Taiwan.
Episode 5 “I' m a singer too”, Nobody's Song by ROCKAT
Nobody’s Song vents the inward struggles between ideals and reality for those who seek to become an artist while fighting the daily battle for subsistence…
The section “What’s New” (新感覺推薦) foregrounds unconventional comic forms. This issue presents “Sometimes in the City” by 61Chi, who captures the poetic texture of the city’s corners in a single-page piece.
Stately saluted for its reissue, the latest CCC copy is now available on books.com.tw, Kingstore, Eslite Books, and TAAZE.
