Drawing attention

An inveterate follower of trends, the cartoon rabbit joins crowds speculating on mainland stocks - only to be burned to ashes in the overheated market. It's one of the many episodes in the life of Suicide Rabbit, an internet cartoon series created by Beijing artist Liu Gang. Since it appeared in August, the series has won millions of online fans by poking fun at the social ills created by the mainland's pursuit of material wealth.

In a country with strictly controlled media, cartoons such as Suicide Rabbit provide a rare platform for young Chinese artists to take a swipe at the absurdities they encounter, although with limits.

'With the rapid growth of the economy, our society becomes more and more mercenary,' says Liu. 'Everyone feels pressure and injustice. We need channels to air our views and express pent-up dissatisfaction. Cartoons like Suicide Rabbit are such a channel.'

Cultural researchers say the popularity of online cartoons reflects social needs. 'The print media has long put emphasis on propaganda and ignored the sufferings of ordinary people, so the internet cartoons fill a void,' says Miao Yintang, vice-director of the Cartoon Committee of the China Art Association. 'These cartoons work well as a form of psychological relief.'

Although his rabbit character was inspired by Andy Riley's The Book of Bunny Suicides, Liu insists he's not copying the Briton's darkly humorous cartoon. Liu's character looks different, and the rabbit also dies in a distinctively Chinese style: from being injected with fake antibiotics to inhaling polluted air, being crushed by a roller destroying pirated DVDs and, most recently, being cooked by consumers hit by rising food prices.

Liu, who says he's heavily influenced by prominent 1930s cartoonist Ding Cong, hopes to use his art to highlight social issues as Ding did. But in the state-controlled mainland media, cartoons have lost much