has made hay anachronistically adapting classic texts, whether adding motorcycles to The Canterbury Tales (2011) or rocket ships to The Odyssey (2012), so Twainâs tale of a modern-day (well, 19th-century) engineer dominating medieval times via technologyâbesting Merlin with blasting powderâis a fastball down the center. And in spite of the risk of all of these ideas jostling for attention, Sonny manages to tie it all together organically, making Charlie Chan a work that’s as enjoyable as it is educational. Weaving back and forth in time, we cut between interviews with Charlie and his peers in the present-day, and illustrated, dramatised versions of their pasts, bold and unafraid to portray history and politics as he sees it. Beyond being a collection of sketches and comics, Charlie Chan succeeds because of its central storyline surrounding its titular artist. Inexplicably sent to sixth-century England by a crowbar to the head, Morgan quickly ascends nothing less than the court of Camelot, initially by drawing on an uncanny knowledge of historical eclipses to present himself as a powerful magician. While I’d previously read creator Sonny Liew’s shorter work in anthologies such as Kazu Kibushi’s Flight or Liquid City (edited by Sonny), a full-length graphic novel from the cartoonist was unexpected, to say the least, and on such an ambitious scale too. Even beyond its attention to detail, its well-researched history, and the many many art styles and comic-within-the-comic pages, Charlie Chan quite simply reveals how immensely infinite the potential that art has as a medium to not only tell stories, but reimagine and re-present the world in a way that makes it that much more vibrant, and draw our attention to the quiet tragedies and unspoken events that may otherwise pass us by. 'The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye is a biography showcasing the life and work of Chan Hock Chye, a pioneering but largely forgotten comics artist in Singapore. Benjamin Griffin, by translated by Livy Clemens The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye is a graphic novel by Sonny Liew published in 2015 by Epigram Books and 2016 by Pantheon Books. ; Part comic, part fictional biography, The Art Of Charlie Chan Hock Chye tells the story of Singapore’s most underrated comic book artist. Born the year Superman and British childrenâs comic Beano debuted, Chanâa lifelong if self-taught student of the craftâbecame a sampler of comic styles, beginning with the manga-inspired tales of a boy and his giant robot, moving on to Dan Dareâstyle alien-invasion science fiction, comics strips in the vein of Walt Kellyâs Pogo, gritty street-level superheroics, and homages to MAD magazine and Windsor McCay. I first picked up a copy of The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye when I learnt about its Eisner nominations back in 2017. Burton Raffel, by While Burton Raffelâs modern English version of The Canterbury Tales (2008) was unabridged, Ackroyd omits both âThe Tale of Melibeeâ and âThe Parsonâs Taleâ on the undoubtedly correct assumption that these âstandard narratives of pious expositionâ hold little interest for contemporary readers. Sonny Liew has produced a true masterpiece. The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye Out now in Singapore and Malaysia from Epigram Books, and internationally from Pantheon Books in 2016. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye “presented by” Sonny Liew is a collector’s item—like a good wine or a piece of fine, old furniture—in its beautiful and artfully aged presentation; and also in its weight—in both senses.. ; Now in his early 70s, Chan has been making comics in his native Singapore since 1954, when he was a boy of 16. GENERAL GRAPHIC NOVELS & COMICS, by Charlie Chan Hock Chye is one of Singapore's great unsung cartoonists. Seymour Chwast, by Or those who quite simply want to see a very deserving triple Eisner-winner. Though the story is fiction, writer/artist Sonny Liew wanted a character that would chronicle the struggle of … illustrated by Charlie Chan Hock Chye is an aspiring comic artist born during the tumultuous years of Singapore and pursued singularly his passion for the comic ; With The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye Sonny Liew has drawn together a myriad of genres to create a thoroughly ingenious and engaging work, where the line between truth and construct may sometimes be blurred, but where the story told is always enthralling, bringing us on a uniquely moving, funny, and thought-provoking journey through the life of an artist and the history of a nation. A fascinating look at a clever, uncompromising artist married to the times in which he lived. ; Seymour Chwast ( Log Out / Design veteran Chwast delivers another streamlined, graphic adaptation of classic literature, this time Mark Twainâs caustic, inventive satire of feudal England. A genre-breaking graphic novel presenting the history of Singapore with charm, accessibility and power. An imagined hybrid. As he looks back on his career over five decades, we see his stories unfold before us in a dazzling array of art styles and forms, their development mirroring the evolution in the political and social landscape of his homeland and of the comic book medium itself. Change ). With The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye Sonny Liew has drawn together a myriad of genres to create a thoroughly ingenious and engaging work, where the line between truth and construct may sometimes be blurred, but where the story told is always enthralling, bringing us on a uniquely moving, funny, and thought-provoking journey through the life of an artist and the history of a nation.