SONNY LIEW is a comics artist, painter, and illustrator whose work includes the New York Times best seller The Shadow Hero (with Gene Yang), Doctor Fate (with Paul Levitz), and titles for Marvel Comics, DC Vertigo, and Image Comics. He has been nominated for multiple Eisner Awards for his collaborations on The Shadow Hero, Wonderland, and Liquid City, a multivolume comics anthology featuring creators from Southeast Asia. He lives and works in Singapore.
A 2017 Eisner Award Winner for Best Writer/Artist, Best US Edition
of International Material—Asia, and Best Publication Design
Winner of the Singapore Literature Prize 2016
An Economist Book of the Year 2016
An NPR Graphic Novel Pick for 2016
A Washington Post Best Graphic Novel of 2016
A New York Post Best Books of 2016
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2016
A South China Morning Post Top 10 Asian books of 2016
An A.V. Club Best Comics of 2016
A Comic Books Resources Top 100 Comics of 2016
A Mental Floss Most Interesting Graphic Novel of 2016
“A startlingly brilliant tour de force….Although the premise sounds
simple—it purports to be the biography of a fictional comic book
artist—what Liew does with it is anything but. At once dizzyingly
meta and deeply heartfelt, the book spans 80 years, and in its
complicated layering, reminded me of everything from Maus and The
Tin Drum to, believe it or not, Ulysses….Probably the greatest work
of art ever produced in Singapore.” —John Powers, Fresh Air
“Readers are treated to Chan unfurling his life story, with Liew
himself occasionally popping in to provide further context within
the margins. Over the course of the book’s 300+ pages, Liew
presents examples of the artist’s work in between the more
momentous occasions of his life, both in paintings, sketches, and
most enticingly, through comics he created throughout his ever
evolving career. Ducking and weaving between genres, and the
historical interests of comics readers in given years, what Liew
ends up concocting is a fascinating bildungsroman that rivals other
Eastern-based works like Tatsumi’s A Drifting Life, with a dash of
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. This is an awfully
impressive achievement given that Chan is a fictional
character….Easily the first comics masterwork of 2016.” —The Comics
Beat
“Liew’s graphic novel is a fascinating look at a cartoonist’s
growth over time and how his creative output reflects the culture
around him, and Liew tells Chye’s story in a way that only comic
books can….A beautifully multidimensional portrait of the
cartoonist, beginning with Chye’s personal interpretation o the
past before showing comics and sketches that provide further
insight….The color palettes, the paper quality, the incorporation
of photographs and sketches, they all combine with the text to
provide a complex view of Charlie Chan Hock Chye that has a strong
sense of history behind it.” —The A.V. Club
“Virtuosic….The portraits—of friends, family, Charlie himself and,
significantly, both Lim and Lee—display Liew’s high-art chops. It’s
his versatility, though, that’s really dazzling….Throughout, Liew
advances a consistent critique of Singaporean politics. He’s deeply
dedicated to the insurrectionist legacy of Lim, suggesting the man
occupies a kind of opposite pole from Lee. But the fact remains
that one is merely an exiled Communist, while the other led
Singapore for decades. That fact brings a sadness—or rather,
another layer of sadness—to the book. For all that it brims over
with diverse, colorful creations, it’s fundamentally about a lack:
the absence of an artist who should exist, but was never allowed
to. The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye mourns all the creators who
have never been permitted to thrive in Singapore. Liew’s own
existence seems to be evidence of a change, but only partly. The
government withdrew its support from his book, but it didn’t ban it
outright. That’s a kind of progress.” —NPR.org
“A hugely ambitious, stylistically acrobatic work….the book is a
mercurial delight, constantly switching between Liew’s invented
narrative (in a relatively neutral nonfiction style), images of
Chan Hock Chye’s works in progress over the course of his career
and mock-weathered clippings from his printed creations, most of
which are immaculate pastiches of famous cartoonists.” —The New
York Times Book Review
“Brilliantly inventive….Charlie is mild but steel-spined, observant
and proud; with masterful economy of detail—an arched eyebrow here,
his head at a resigned angle there—Mr. Liew crafts him into a fully
realised character.” —The Economist
“Wholly original….Liew demonstrates an almost inhuman amount of
diversity of skill. Like any great creator, he has stepped aside so
his creation can live a life of its own….Ultimately, Sonny Liew has
compiled a work of fiction so innovative and thoughtful that even
the most observant reader can’t distinguish fact from fiction,
biography from creation, memory from truth. And why should we? It’s
a quiet story about an individual’s purpose, where one fits into
society, how to live, the passion of good work, what else we
should’ve done, and, perhaps the most important notion of all, what
is possible. It invites, not demands, that we focus on the now, and
let the past be past.” —The Rumpus
“A stunning tour de force masterpiece of imagined and real history
as Liew recreates the entire career of the titular cartoonist via
art and photos to explore the history of both comics and
Singapore.” —Publishers Weekly, “The Most Anticipated Books of
Spring 2016”
“An early candidate for the various best-of lists for 2016, this
superlative achievement from Liew tells the story not only of
Singaporean artist and comics creator Charlie Chan Hock Chye, but
of Singapore itself. It hardly matters, of course, that the titular
character is an invention of Liew’s, because his story is so real
that some early reviewers assumed Liew’s protagonist had to be a
real person. Chye’s story, from his youthful beginnings and early
career as an artist to his later reminiscences, is fascinating in
itself, but Liew’s inclusion of fabricated newspaper clippings, old
sketches, and mixed media works—and even an occasional photo
collage purporting to show us first-hand evidence of Charlie’s
life—is riveting. As Chye’s life is revealed, so is the history of
Singapore, a tumultuous sweep that is mirrored in the history of
cartooning. Make no mistake: this multilayered book is a
masterpiece.” —Publishers Weekly, *starred review*
“Liew incorporates a dizzying range of styles and influences, from
midcentury manga to Mad magazine, to trace the career of the
fictional cartoonist. In the process, he also explores the myths
and realities of postwar Singapore, casting a critical eye on
policies that place adherence to the established order above
personal expression. The combination of a powerful message,
artistic virtuosity, and a fascinating framing device make for an
un-put-downable read. This relentlessly engaging work stretches the
boundaries of the graphic novel medium and is highly recommended
for fans of political satire, Chris Ware, or Art Spiegelman.”
—Library Journal, *starred review*
“[An] impressive tour de force….it’s exhilarating to discover a
talent as brilliant as Liew shows himself to be with this virtuosic
triumph.” —Booklist *starred review*
“A collector’s item….can be read and enjoyed on many
levels….knowledge of the true story is almost incidental to the
pleasures to be gained from this fictional biography.” —Los Angeles
Review of Books
“An inspired, artifact-rich account of a fictional comic-book
creator struggling to lead an artist’s life in 20th century
Singapore.” —San Francisco Chronicle
“The fictional title character, a cartoonist himself, is a deft
framing device for viewing Singapore’s culture and history through
many crisp prisms. Liew keeps us fully awake to his intellectual
ambition and political potency by unveiling a parade of shifting
visual aesthetics — with nods to such comics legends as Winsor
McCay.” —The Washington Post
“Easily one of the greatest books of the year….Renowned comics
artist Liew not only tells the heartbreaking yet inspirational
story of this fictional comics artist, but he uses the narrative as
a platform to discuss a larger, though equally heartbreaking and
inspiring story: that of the history of Singapore. This
multilayered, beautifully executed work is like no history book
you’ve ever seen. It will leave you speechless….While Charlie Chan
Hock Chye may be Singapore’s greatest comics artist, Sonny Liew is
on his way to becoming the greatest in the world.” —Cedar Rapids
Gazette
“A multilayered masterpiece of comic-book and real-world history, a
portrait of the postwar world made in a thrilling postmodern style.
It’s funny and rich and satisfying, and one of the best comics of
the year.” —Slate
“A tour de force artistic performance….This may be the
book that truly makes him a star in the U.S.” —Mental Floss
“In The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, author and illustrator Sonny
Liew masterfully juxtaposes history and fiction—so much so that at
first I couldn’t tell the difference! This genre-bending graphic
novel follows the story of fictional cartoonist Charlie, now in his
70s, and his art, beautifully rendered in contrasting styles to add
to the realism, intertwined with the history of Singapore.”
—BookPage
“In this graphic novel, Liew (Shadow Hero, 2014, etc.) presents the
life and work of an obscure comic-book creator in tandem with the
turbulent modern history of Singapore, the land both call home….
Liew provides sharp commentary throughout, illustrating interviews
as well as accompanying strips that decode Chan's layers of
allegory. A fascinating look at a clever, uncompromising artist
married to the times in which he lived.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Unless one Googles Chan, one wouldn’t realize he is a brilliantly
conceived fictional invention….Liew uses a variety of
mediums—pencils and ink, oil on canvas, photographic reproductions
of actual historical events—to tie Chan’s fate into the unrest
throughout the country. The result is a surprising revelation of a
master storyteller who manages to turn a controversial and largely
buried story into a personal reflection on art and freedom of the
press.” —Shelf Awareness
“It’s going to be incredibly difficult to beat this book. I mean
I’m already penciling it in for my best original graphic novel of
the year....It is an onion that doesn’t stop until the
end….Masterful.” —Comic Bastards
“One of the most intricate and impressive graphic novels I’ve ever
read….A dense and dizzying tour of 20th-century Singaporean
history….Only someone with an enduring love of comics could have
produced this work.” —BoingBoing
“With The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, Liew gives you as the
reader a complex, multi-dimensional insight into the history of
Singapore in the context of artistic creation….Unbiased,
self-effacing, and outstandingly clever, The Art of Charlie
Chan Hock Chye sets a new standard of how to demonstrate the
evolution of culture and politics outside of a textbook or formal
essay. While Western audiences should absolutely read this to
understand the complexities of capturing multiple perspectives in
history, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye at its core
aims to educate and inspire the people Singapore.” —Forces of
Geek
“A meta-fiction masterpiece.” —Pod Sequentialism,
meltcomics.com
“Liew’s book is remarkable, a meta-history of Malaysia as told
through the biography of ‘Singapore’s greatest comics artist,’ the
fictional, but entirely credible, Charlie Chan Hock Chye…. I’ve
never seen anything quite like it. It’s just dazzling.” —Northwest
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
“The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, an
intricate tapestry of comic art and political
comment, is a stunning achievement that should well and truly
propel [Sonny Liew] into the global premier league of cartoonists.”
—BrokenFrontier.com
“A strange book—in a great way….[Liew] expertly presents an
unadulterated story of Singapore, through the eyes of Charlie
Chan….Brilliant on many levels….Highly recommended.”
—Parkablogs.com
“A joy to read. Sonny Liew masterfully weaves the history of
Singapore with the history of comics into something you've never
experienced before.” —Gene Luen Yang, creator of American Born
Chinese and Boxers & Saints
“A remarkable graphic novel….It has everything going—just
brilliant.” —Peter Kuper
“Unique and unprecedented... a masterpiece... This book is a
joyous, beautiful, million-faceted thing – a celebration of the
comic book medium, a technical masterclass, a thrill ride, a
Bildungsroman and an unflinching retrospective of the
post-war-into-modern era. I love it, and I'm in awe of it.” —Mike
Carey, author of Lucifer, The Unwritten and The Girl with All the
Gifts
“Prepare to be swept away by a history of Singapore as you’ve never
seen before. Sonny Liew delivers a brilliant and fiercely
perceptive appraisal of this remarkable island-state.” —Paul
Gravett, author of Comics Art and 1001 Comics You Must Read
Before You Die
“Only rarely can a book inspire such delight and joy as this. It is
a treasure of graphic storytelling, not least because it does
things that only graphic storytelling can do…. Everything here is
gorgeous and rewarding, adding up to one of 2016’s most important
graphic novels. It’s perfect.” —Metro News (Toronto)
“Part graphic novel, part art book, part narrative essay, The Art
of Charlie Chan Hock Chye by Malaysian-born, Eisner-Award-nominated
comics artist and illustrator Sonny Liew is a look at Singapore
unlike any other before. By reflecting on the life and work of a
comic creator whose career spanned half a century, The Art of
Charlie Chan Hock Chye comments wryly on Singapore′s past and
present while honoring comics as a storytelling medium.” —The Malay
Mail
“One of the most visually arresting and thematically remarkable
books published this year . . . A landmark work in Singapore comics
history.” —Akshita Nanda, The Straits Times
“One of [the best], if not the best, comic books in the past five
years . . . [A] labor of love and a triumph of storytelling that
transcends any medium . . . A must-read.” —Amir Hafizi, Malaysian
Reserve
"Riotously funny, heartbreakingly beautiful, fizzing with
provocative ideas, The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye breathes life
and intimacy into the multi-layered history of Malaysia and
Singapore. Sonny Liew has produced a true masterpiece. " —Tash Aw,
author of The Harmony Silk Factory and Five Star Billionaire
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