Southeast Asian Cartoon Art: History, Trends and Problems

by John A. Lent (Editor)

Overview

This is the first overview of cartoon art in this important cultural nexus of Asia. The eight essays provide historical and contemporary examinations of cartoons and comics in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, and sociocultural and political analyses of cartooning in Singapore, Myanmar, and Malaysia. The collection benefits from hundreds of interviews with Southeast Asia's major cartoonists, conducted by the four contributors, as well as textual analyses of specific cartoons, on-the-spot observations, and close scrutiny of historical documents.

All genres of printed cartoon art are studied, including political and humor cartoons, newspaper comic strips, comic books, and humor and cartoon periodicals. Topics of discussion and comparison with cartoon art of other parts of the globe include national identity, the transnational public sphere, globalization, alternative media forms, freedom of expression, consumerism, and corporatism. Southeast Asian cartoon art has a number of features unique to the region, such as having as pioneering cartoonists three countries' founding fathers, comics that gave their name to a national trait, some of the earliest graphic novels worldwide, and a king who hired a cartoonist to illustrate his books.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786475575
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	02/07/2014
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

John A. Lent was a professor for 51 years in universities in the United States, the Philippines, Malaysia, Canada, and China. He founded and has edited or presided over a number of periodicals and organizations. He lives in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

Preface John A. Lent 1

Part I Historical and Contemporary Overviews

1 Cartooning in Indonesia: An Overview John A. Lent 6

2 Philippine Komiks: 1928 to the Present John A. Lent 39

3 The Uphill Climb to Reach a Plateau: Historical Analysis of the Development of Thai Cartooning Warat Karuchit 75

4 The Swerving Status of Cambodian Comic Art John A. Lent 105

5 Cartooning in Vietnam: A Brief Overview John A. Lent 122

Part II Socio-Cultural and Political Issues

6 Chinese Cartoonists in Singapore: Chauvinism, Confrontation and Compromise (1950-1980) Lim Cheng Tju 142

7 Political Cartoons and Burma's Transnational Public Sphere Lisa Brooten 178

8 Cartoonist Lat and Malaysian National Identity: An Appreciation Muliyadi Mahamood 205

About the Contributors 215

Works Cited 217

Index 231

Editorial Reviews

The essays provide textual analysis and unique research into one of the least-documented regions of comic creation...remarkable...an indispensable resource.... Essential”—Choice; “the latest work fro a prodigious producer of books on developing nation communications and comics...in this case both...vivid”—Communication Booknotes Quarterly.

From the Publisher

"the latest work fro a prodigious producer of books on developing nation communications and comics...in this case both...vivid"

Communication Booknotes Quarterly

The essays provide textual analysis and unique research into one of the least-documented regions of comic creation...remarkable...an indispensable resource.... Essential

Choice