The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye

This meticulously crafted graphic novel is set during the tumultuous history of Singapore following World War II. Charlie Chan Hock Chye is a young comic book artist whose illustrations and perspective bring Singapore’s history to life. As a Singaporephile (watch videos of my 2017 trip here) I was intrigued to learn more about about a figure I had never heard of. And there’s a good reason why I had never heard of him: because Charlie Chan Hock Chye isn’t a real person. I was astounded by the level of work, love and research that Sonny Liew put into this book. This is easily one of the most ambitious and detailed graphic novels that I have ever read. It became an instant favorite!

Nothing short of a staggering work of genius.
Sonny Liew has graduated in my eyes from "pretty great artist" (based on his work in Flight, The Shadow Hero, and Doctor Fate) to "one of the masters," as per the page from this book about an artist's dream review.

(Disclaimer: while I tagged this book as NonFiction Comics, the historical mingles with fiction throughout. Kind of a "Brief Wonderful Life of Oscar Wao" situation.)

A very interesting biography of a Singaporean comics artist who refused to compromise his political views in his art and suffered economically as a result. His work encompasses the history of the Singaporean state, inconvenient warts, exiled opposition politicians and all -- often presented in a humorous and irreverent manga-like style.

3.5

This was an excellent book, both in content and execution; I'd never heard of the writer/artist before and Sonny Liew (who does art for some American comics) showed me why I should.

UMA DAS COISAS MAIS GENIAIS QUE EU JÁ LI NA MINHA VIDA.

Rated “Indifferent" in our old book database.