Graphic novelist Sonny Liew made history as the first Singaporean to win at the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the “Oscars for comics”, held in July 2017 at Comic-Con International, San Diego, USA. The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, which retells the life of a comic artist growing up in pre-independence Singapore, won not just one but three awards: Best Publication Design, Best Writer/Artist, and Best US Edition of International Material – Asia. The National Arts Council Singapore drew flak for what many perceived to be an expression of half-hearted congratulations on Liew’s accomplishment, especially in the shadow of its withdrawal of funding for the book’s publication in 2016, due to concerns about its “political content”.
