Comics fest hides the grim reality of animation world
Fans will enjoy exciting programme to mark opening of Comix Home Base as artists struggle to make it in a brave new world
A series of events celebrating Hong Kong's comics and animation will be held this and next month to mark the opening of the city's first site dedicated to the popular culture.
But while fans will enjoy a feast of exhibitions and film screenings, the reality is not as rosy as it seems. While welcoming the opening of the Comix Home Base at the Green House in Wan Chai next month, local comics and animation veterans say the small domestic market has made their lives difficult.
Eight programmes will be held under the banner of Hong Kong Ani-Com Summer 2013. It is being presented by CreateHK with industry associations and Comix Home Base.
The Base is a HK$200 million hub to showcase and promote comics and animation set up by the Urban Renewal Authority and operated by the Hong Kong Arts Centre.
Hong Kong Comics and Animation Federation director Alan Wan Siu-lun said the number of locally produced weekly comics had fallen from a peak of 50 in the mid-1990s to 20 today.
He said publications had had to drastically downsize to survive. Digital technologies had yet to revive the industry as no appropriate business model was available.