An independent bookstore jointly established by comic artists and the Taipei City Comic Artists Guild has opened for business. It is expected to become a popular spot for foreign visitors and a place for upcoming artists to exhibit their work.
The first independent bookstore to carry only manga and comics was launched on Wednesday at the Longshan Cultural and Creative Base in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華).
Union chairman Lai You-hsien (賴有賢) said that the store would help foster work by Taiwanese artists, adding that the store was named Manga Longshan, as manga is the Japanese word for comics and a near-homophone for how Wanhua is pronounced in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese).
Screen grab from Manga Longshan’s Facebook account
Wanhua attracts many foreign visitors, offering a chance to promote Taiwanese comics, Lai said.
Twelve comic artists were invited to attend the opening ceremony, and each presented an illustration linked to local sites, with Amin Lee (李勉之) presenting an illustration of a beautiful woman covered in snakes, alluding to the snake soup delicacy on Huaxi Street.
Artist Cola King (可樂王) presented an illustration of a airplane formed by all the seafood delicacies found in the district, against a backdrop of a fireworks show, for which Wanhua is also renowned.
Chang Chih-wei (張秩維) and his wife, Huang Li-jen (黃麗真), drew a healer character — named Jisheshih (雞舍師) — based on herbal drinks, which are claimed to have medicinal purposes.
Aside from carrying original works created by Taiwanese artists, the store would feature limited recreations of the original drawings, hand-painted pottery, T-shirts, coasters and cushions, the union said.
The store would also host comic-related courses, book-signing events and talks, it said.
It would provide legal consultation on copyright laws and would be a place for people to interact with comic artists from other countries, it added.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
RSS