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Lana Lam

A comic book created to go with Britpop veterans Blur's latest album is novel in more ways than one.
"The ink smells different compared to the ones printed here," its Hong Kong artist says with glee, having just been handed a copy, fresh from the printing presses in England.
Sitting in his Kwun Tong studio, the artist breathes in the colour-filled pages, where spaceships and sci-fi characters escape from the grasp of the police with a dense cityscape as the backdrop.
It is the first time Kongkee, whose real name is Kong Khong-chang, has laid eyes on the finished product of his illustrations published last month as a visual companion to Blur's first album in 12 years, The Magic Whip.
"It's a very simple storyline and is inspired by what brought them to Hong Kong in 2013," Kongkee, 38, said.
The title refers to ice cream, but carries layered meanings ranging from firecrackers to political oppression, while the songs are peppered with references to the city such as Ocean Park, Lantau and "being on the underground".
The album itself also had its roots in Hong Kong - many of the songs were recorded at a Kowloon studio after a tour in Japan fell through and the four members of Blur found themselves in the city with time to kill.

Watch: How Hong Kong artist turned Britpop band Blur into manga for new album "The Magic Whip"
Kongkee was approached for the illustration project after the band's members saw a YouTube video he had made for another of his comics, Pandaman.
He drew inspiration from the album, with one song, There Are Too Many of Us, having a particular resonance in him.
"It is about the city's architecture, but also another theme is about leaving problems to the next generation," he said.
"This is a global issue and now in Hong Kong, there is a fight between generations. That was why I insisted on putting the 'umbrella movement' in the comic, because that was about how the next generation felt about the world right now."
The style of the comic was influenced by typography that many Hongkongers would be familiar with. "I like the style of Chinese medicine packaging such as Po Chai Pills," Kongkee said. Featured as well is the bauhinia, the city's official flower.
Both sides spent weeks discussing the style and narrative. "They wanted something edgy but also retro, so it's quite contradictory," he said, pointing to one scene of a traditional Cantonese opera singer playing a modern guitar.
The comic's narrative was structured on the Little Nemo series popular in the early 20th century where the main character would always wake up from a dream at the end. "There are many different concepts mixing in Hong Kong and I hope to reflect this cultural characteristic in the comic," he said.
"After the handover, we've spent a long time trying to find our identity, and in the arts and music scene there are many works about this. After all these years, we have more confidence now in expressing this, such as local bands not just doing love songs but singing about how we live in Hong Kong."
Kongkee will meet Blur face to face when the band visits this month to perform at a concert. "I feel really nervous that I'll be meeting them in person. Communicating with them through drawings is good, but face to face, I don't know," he joked.


Hong Kong-based artist creates Blur album's companion comic book

An illustration fromThe Magic Whip comic book.Photo: SCMP Pictures

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Hong Kong

Britpop band gets album turned into manga with spaceships and sci-fi characters


Spaceships and sci-fi characters escape from the grasp of the police with a dense cityscape as the backdrop in the companion comic book to the Britpop band's new album.


Hong Kong-based artist creates Blur album's companion comic book

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Britpop band gets album turned into manga with spaceships and sci-fi characters

Britpop band gets album turned into manga with spaceships and sci-fi characters