Same-sex romance tale wins grand prize at Taiwan Golden Comic Awards

2019/09/27

Graphic novel “Pink Ribbon,” about a same-sex romance between two teenage girls, won Comic of the Year at the Ministry of Culture-organized Golden Comic Awards Sept. 25 in Taipei City.
 
 According to the judges, “Pink Ribbon,” which also won Best Comic for Teenage Girls, offers a fresh perspective on the romance genre. Its author, a 25-year-old writing under the pen name Monday Recover, said she hopes the work helps to encourage people who identify as LGBTQ to get involved in the industry.
 
 At the awards ceremony, MOC Deputy Minister Hsiao Tsung-huang said the government is working hard to help develop the country’s animation, comics and games industries. The establishment of Taiwan Comic Base this year in Taipei and the purchase of new 4DViews motion capture equipment at the Taipei-based Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab are examples of the progress made, he added.
 
 According to Hsiao, the ministry is also supporting the comic book industry with a NT$320 million (US$10.3 million) fund launched last April under the government’s Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program. This has already helped more than 80 titles get published, Hsiao added.
 
 One of the government’s key policy undertakings, the NT$420 billion FIDP aims to meet Taiwan’s infrastructure needs for the next 30 years.
 
 Hsiao also paid tribute to 73-year-old comic artist and editor Yu Lung-hui, who was honored with a Special Contribution Award. He thanked him for his influential martial arts tales and lifelong contribution to the local industry.
 
 Among the other seven prize winners, Hung Ya-wen won Best Editor for “Here Alone: Inside Chen Uen’s World,” a tribute to the late Taiwan comic artist who was the first foreigner to win a prestigious Japan Cartoonists Association Award. Yeh Ming-hsuan claimed Best Comic for Teenage Boys with “The Lord of Master Li Bai,” a fictional fantasy adventure about the famous poet, while Akru’s “Scrolls of a Northern City II” won Best Cross-media Application for its vivid representation of 1930s street scenes.
 
 Launched in 2010, the GCA is Taiwan’s biggest graphic novel industry awards. It received 102 submissions this year.

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)