A Singaporean graphic novelist has won three of the comic industry's equivalent of the Oscars. Sonny Liew picked up three Eisner Awards for his comic book, "The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye". The book is a satirical rewrite of Singaporean history. Mr Liew scooped the top prize for Best Writer/Artist, Best US Edition of International Material, and Best Publication Design at the awards ceremony. The annual awards show was held at the San Diego Comic-Con on Friday. Liew told reporters that he was surprised his book had done so well as he never expected he would get an international audience for it. He said: "I always wanted people to read the book and get a sense of how rich our history was."
Mr Liew's book outlines the history of Singapore from its struggle for independence from British colonial rule. As well as focusing on Singapore's founding father and first leader, the late Lee Kuan Yew, Liew also highlights the role played by lesser-known people. He said: "I think the so-called official narrative Singapore story is part of our history, but it's not the whole story and I wanted to tell a more inclusive version of our history. I hope that's what people reading the book will get from it." Liew initially feared his book would be unsuccessful after Singapore's National Arts Council withdrew a grant for the book. However, this brought the book a lot of attention and boosted exposure and sales.
