EVACOMICS BLOG

This was my 4th time boothing at AFA and as you can see, with more books, the table became a little bit more cramp...

It was great to be back at Kinokuniya again. They had been hosting all my book launches these past 5 years. Initially I had a presentation showing some slides about the making of the book, but because I brought a no-brand adapter to try out with my iPad, it failed to work on that day. But nevertheless since I only planned to talk for max. 10min (it cannot be too long because there's still a demo, Q&A and book signing back to back with another artist), so I already prepared another version without the slides in case the adapter didn't work. But you bet I will be bringing my thumb drive and purchasing Apple-original adapters if it is a 30min long talk session!

I had a rare opportunity to interview Mr. Kohei Onishi 大西 恒平, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Shueisha Weekly Shonen Jump during the preview of the "Hello, ONE PIECE" exhibition. He is the 5th editor in charge of ONE PIECE since 2007 and has also worked as an editor before for various popular Shonen Jump titles like Gintama, Naruto, Death Note and Hikaru no Go. (Photo from right: Mr. Onishi, my assistant, me) The interview was originally conducted in Japanese with a translator. Q1: Besides Malaysia and Singapore, will you be having the exhibition at other countries after this? The exhibition will also be held in 6 cities in China, including Chengdu and Shenzhen. Q2: What is the key to running a long series like One Piece? Initially Oda-sensei was only planning to run the series for 10 years, but now it is already running for over 20 years. Shōnen Jump has a 20-page deadline every week so it is extremely tedious for the artist to keep up, especially for 20 years! Therefor...

I created my Facebook page on dec 2010 but only decided to register my domain evacomics.com in 2013. But alas, I was too late and it was already hijacked by Hugedomains :( As you can see, they hijacked the domain I wanted to register in late 2012, during the time when my comics were going viral. I forgot how much they were selling my domain but it was later put up for sale at a whopping US$2650!!! I think it wasn't worth to buy and bought a local domain name " www.eva.sg "  instead. For the next 5 years I did not think of buying back my domain until I started wondering... why a few of my artist friends could get commission work from overseas clients but I'm kinda stuck with local clients. I did not think my comics were very local and half of it should be relatable to everyone around the world. I wouldn't say my skill is fantastic but it is not too bad neither. So I began wondering, could it be the domain name? Could it be because of the .sg at the end o...

There is only one word to describe my 2017: TIRED! There were some unexpected overseas trips (both personal and business) and several invitations to give talks at various festivals because of my new book. I also setup booths at two major conventions (STGCC and AFA) and two small fairs in schools. Because of that, Monday comic strips had been affected and progress of my 4th book slowed down. Sadly, after 3 years since my first book, revenue from the books remained modest and I now don't find it worth while to continue after my 4th book unless all sales are taken care of by the publisher. Or I just do an ebook version. This means I won't be buying back my own books to sell at conventions and gift shops anymore. Currently I still have a lot leftover at home and won't be restocking after I clear them all. Besides spending several months making the book itself, I found myself trapped in the selling of my books after it's published. Because my royalties are in deprecia...

One of my acquaintance was an organiser for an animation festival in China, so I was invited to represent Singapore for their IP business matching and exhibition.

This year's Anime Festival Asia is quite different because the Creators Hub is tucked away at a corner. In the past, it's located at the back of the hall along with the commercial booths.

Very happy to return after a year to Kinokuniya to do my book signing again! 😊

My latest book "Eva, Kopi and Matcha 2.0" (aka. EKM2.0) made it on time for STGCC (Singapore Toy Game and Comic Convention) this year so I rented a expensive booth  table there. Because of that, I was also invited to be in a panel to talk about the local comics scene along with Dan Wong (A Good Citizen), Derrick Chew (DCWJ) and WaHa (CDS).

It was my privilege to be invited as guest speaker for Comic Fiesta! I had an event on Saturday so I could only join the convention on Sunday.

Because I thought I wasn't getting a booth at AFA, I applied for a booth at EOY. When I first came back from Japan, I was offered a table to sell my artwork so I was interested to know if it's going to be different after 3 years. ( Blogged about it here )

I initially thought that I wasn't going to get a booth but I guess someone withdrew on the last minute so I was able to squeeze in!!!

Some people asked me if I earn more from selling books myself or at bookstores. Although I earn less selling at bookstores per book, but if it sells well, there is a chance of getting it recognised and moved to better shelf locations where more people will notice it. There's also a misunderstanding that once a book is published, it can be found all over the world, but it really depends on the foreign bookstore's order and whether or not the distributor can send the books overseas. At the end of the day somebody has to pay for the shipping first...

So actually when I first made them, there were 100 pcs only and it was easy to clear. I also found them adorable. But when the second batch of 500pcs came I went crazy and didn't want to see them anymore... It was a storage and logistics nightmare. I had to collect them from my fan's office, then consolidate with the books from another place before transporting them over to the retail shop warehouse. Each trip had to be well-coordinated to save on the uber/grabtaxi ride and reduce the number of cats I had to keep in my room (my sister/owner doesn't like me put anything outside of my room). The cats were stored in those dubious looking rucksacks that makes the drivers suspicious if I was transporting a dead body or something heavy and illegal... Finally after more than a year... they are getting sold out on my side and left with stock at the retail stores :)))) One of the frustration was when I had plenty of stock, I had to beg people to buy... but once I was left w...

Here are a few comic strips to let readers understand what actually goes behind the scenes. Like other Asian parents, mine also discourages me from doing my comics seeing how unstable my income is and hope that I quit soon and go back to a full-time job... When I had a full-time job, I always buy branded leather bags and could afford to go high tea. But as an entrepreneur selling own books and goods, I had to take a huge pay cut and buy plastic bags for my booths. Frankly speaking I don't miss the branded bags because the cost of maintainence (from the mold) is too high! A certain frustration I shared with other comic artists is that when our "fans" requested us to make certain goods, we thought that they will buy when we make it. But after we make it, they DON'T! Then we have to spend a lot of time and effort (not forgetting storage too) to sell the products. So it's likely I won't be having anymore toys and shirts in the future unless a retail stor...

I was happy to return to the Makers' Block Festival again with other fellow makers after 2 years :)

Remember the Makers' Block when my first book was released ? Well it's back again at The Centrepoint shopping mall located at Orchard!

I was very happy to return to Kinokuniya again after 2 years at its new location! I reached there early to display my prize giveaway: Matcha cat cushion and sticker sheets. Some of my friends reached there early so I asked them to help me take some photos and do FB Live video broadcast later.

(Left: My first book that I self-published, right: my second book with a publisher) Many budding authors feedback to me that they found my article: " 9 Important Lessons learnt on self-publishing in Singapore " very useful, so I am writing another one for authors who are wondering if they should self-publish or sign a contract with a publisher. After experiencing both sides, I would like to put together the pro and con of each side and share with you what I went through so you can decide for yourself which path to take. Self Publishing Pro: You can control everything from the content to the pricing of your book. Higher profit margin if your book cost is low. Retain full copyright to sell to other publishers in various countries, including selling on Amazon.com and publish in any eBook format. Con: You bear the cost of all production, including reprints. You have to store the rest of the books that your distributor did not take and try your blardy best to...

Day One:  Cooler Lumpur Festival I was honoured to be invited to this independent literature festival for a panel discussion with famous Malaysian comic artist and doodler Chee Ming Boey. I also got to meet my publisher and editor for the first time!