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 had the privilege to attend a preview of "Eiichiro Oda presents Hello, ONE PIECE Luffy is here!" exhibition at The Maritime Experiential Museum in Resorts World Sentosa. The exhibition runs from now till 1 Jan 2019 and costs $15, which also includes entry into the museum. The exhibition is divided into 4 parts: 1. Hello, ONE PIECE! The exhibition starts off with a greeting and overview of ONE PIECE to visitors. You can also spot an animated projection of Luffy, where the I is located (above my head), from time to time. There is also a photo-taking spot to fulfil your temporary dream of becoming the King of Pirates!!! (Yes you are supposed to raise both hands like Luffy!😂) 2. Hello, Luffy! Part 2 showcases the five keywords that defines Luffy through the manga pages. Some original manuscripts can be seen too. 3. Hello, Colourful World! Next is the coloured illustration section with high resolution reproductions of the originals, as well as a video...

Ok I'm back blogging again! Woho~ (Because I finished some projects and editing my new book) This time I visited the Japan Food Matsuri (matsuri means festival) at Takashimaya basement 2 hall to check out what they brought in from Japan 👊 The fair runs from 28 Sep to 14 Oct.

Sometimes I get the aisle seat and I would wonder when the passengers inside will go toilet... I will be posting a series of travel-related comic strips inspired from my recent trips! Sorry no colour cos I am still rushing my 4th book!

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.

Because my previous guide "Where to buy COPIC markers in Tokyo", was an all-time hit with 30,000 page views, I decided to do an updated version for all illustrators who are planning to buy COPIC markers in Tokyo.

I always wondered how a "real" mangaka teaches so I signed up for a 2-hour workshop with Yazawa Nao sensei, the artist of Wedding Peach at Manga School Nakano .

Unlike your typical kimono shoots, Studio Nanairo at Asakusa provides glamorous transformation into maiko or oiran (courtesan) in a studio environment or you can pay extra for street shots! *Disclaimer: This was a self-funded trip to provide non-bias review of experiences for my blog and/or new comic book. I do not get any money in return for recommendations.

I'm working on my 4th book now and one of the chapters is about Cosplay in Japan. So I decided to pay for my own trip and packages (special thanks to my fans at Patreon too) to write and draw an unbiased review about each experience. I never cosplayed before so I was enthusiastic about the "Perfect Anime Costume" package, which cost 15,000yen or around US$140.

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).

I gained weight after quitting gym last year and that extra load of fats refused to shake off no matter what I did 😑. So after Chinese New Year, I made a resolution to shed that 4kg (so I can eat more later) by doing yoga almost everyday and hiking once a week. I also stopped eating cakes (my favorite, sob...) for 2 months and ate salad almost every day.

Thanks to PurpleClick Media and DBS Business Class, I won a short tour around the Singapore Google office last Friday!

Ok I'm not going to lie, I like to visit character theme cafes because one of my dream is to have my very own one day, or at least to design for a cafe... During my last trip, my good friend brought me to many character cafe and shops that I felt as if I was in Japan! Taiwanese like Japanese culture a lot and they share a lot of similarities in their service and retail. So if you are on a budget, Taiwan is a good alternative because their food and transport are way cheaper than Japan 😬

It's like a tradition to visit Jiaoxi town, part of Yilan City, which is to the southeast of Taipei, with my friend.

An acquaintance of mine learned I was coming and offered to drive me up to the northern part of Taiwan to visit a famous geo park and eat fresh seafood there.

I cleared up some commission work so I decided to blog about my trip to Taiwan last month before I get busy again. So over the next few days, you will be seeing more updates on my blog :P When we talk about Taiwanese bookstores, the first that comes to mind is Eslite bookstore. Not only they have many chain stores throughout Taiwan, but also it has branded itself as the cool and hip place to go to for young people.