1980 My literary era

The term "caricature" first appeared in the "Jing Qiansheng Collection" by Northern Song Dynasty painter Chao Yidao, "There are many rivers in the Yellow River, and there are cartoonists who often draw water with their mouths to ask for fish."

The original meaning is the name of a water bird. It is named because it is free and easy when fishing, as if it is painting on the water.

Later, comics had the meaning of a verb. Jin Nong's "Jin Dong Xin Miscellaneous Painting Inscriptions" of the Qing Dynasty mentioned that "manhua breaks a few branches." The comics here mean to draw casually.

At the end of the Qing Dynasty, Renjing Pictorial began to publish caricatures, comic paintings, contemporary paintings, etc., and then from the time Literary Weekly published Feng Zikai's "Zikai Comics", the term comics replaced the above name and became what we know today. familiar meaning.

The first climax of the development of Chinese comics occurred around the time of the Revolution of 1911, when comics with anti-feudal and anti-foreign invasion content emerged. Then, after the September 18th Incident in 1931, anti-Japanese themed comics were actively created in China.

Then after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the development of domestic comics reached its peak, and the theme content also changed from current political sufferings to cultural entertainment and political propaganda. The expression form of comics was mostly based on comic strips as a carrier.

The comic strips of that era were both ideological and artistic, and full of "Chinese style".

It should be said that from the founding of the People's Republic of China to the 1980s, China's comic industry experienced a glorious period.

Unfortunately, as the pace of reform and opening up deepens, more and more foreign information is introduced into the country.

In 1980, the clay animation "Astro Boy" was introduced to China. This was the first time that a clay animation entered the Chinese market. In May 1981, under the influence of the introduction of animation, the "Astro Boy" comic was re-typed into the country in the form of a comic strip.

In 1987, the Doraemon comic "Doraemon" was published in China in its original form. It was the first comic to be introduced into my country in the true sense. The film and television structure of Doraemon was more competitive than that of comic strips. Doraemon comics quickly became popular in my country. The field of comics in our country has conquered the city.

As if overnight, overwhelming mud and cartoons came across the sea.

Various comic booklets from publishers such as Hainan Photography and Art, Spring and Autumn, Ningxia People, Dunhuang Literature and Art, etc., quickly occupied the students' extracurricular reading market.

In the face of the menacing comic strips, the comic strips that have accompanied the growth of countless people collapsed.

After all, comic strips have almost no advantages in the face of the changing styles, interesting plots, and mature market system of Nihong comics.

What's more, the first batch of Nibo comics to land in China are all "Doraemon", "Dragon Ball", "Saint Seiya", "City Hunter", "Lucky Boy" and "Soccer", which are high-quality products that were screened out after being swept away in the Nibo market.

Just like the 10 "blockbusters" introduced by China Film Group, when such works are placed in the Chinese market, they will naturally form a dimensionality reduction blow.

With the rise of Japanese storyboard comics in China, the decline of comic strips also began.

Several years have passed since the mid-1980s to now, and the domestic comics industry has experienced a process from glory to trough.

And it was at such a dark moment, in the summer of 1993, at the Zhongguancun Book Market in Yanjing, a comic magazine quietly became popular among booksellers.

This is a comic publication imitating Shueisha's "Shounen Jump". It's called "The King of Picture Books", or King of Pictures for short.

On August 20, 1993, "Picture Book King" was launched. As the first comic magazine in my country to fully adopt Japanese storyboard presentation techniques, "Picture Book King" was enthusiastically sought after by countless comic readers in China as soon as it was first published.

The first printing of the first issue was 20,000 copies, which sold out quickly, so additional copies were urgently printed and then reprinted.

After that, the sales volume of each issue increased with the continuous printing. In just a few months, the sales volume of King of Paintings reached 200,000 copies per issue, and letters from readers from all over the world also flew in like flakes.

Prices have skyrocketed in the past two years, and book prices have also soared. In today's Chinese book market, if many books and magazines are priced slightly higher, they can maintain their capital by selling 10,000 copies per month. If they sell more than 50,000 copies, they will be considered best-sellers. With more than 10,000 copies, booksellers and publishers can make a lot of money.

At the peak of the painting king's peak, he once sold 600,000 copies in a single issue, becoming the undisputed king in the domestic comics industry.

The publishing organization of King of Painting is Ningxia People's Publishing House, but in fact, the founder of this comic is a retired old man from the Yanjing postal system.

"Hello, Teacher Wang, hello!" Lin Weimin warmly held Wang Yongsheng's hand.

Wang Yongsheng was a little surprised, and even more flattered.

The name of a person, the shadow of a tree, Lin Weimin has been famous for so many years, and his reputation in the country is so great that it is known to all women and children. He has conquered countless readers with his works time and time again, and has won glory for the country time and time again. Now he is one step away from being worthy of the Ancestral Temple. .

After a few pleasantries, Wang Yongsheng invited Lin Weimin and Li Xin to sit down and poured them a cup of hot tea.

Li Xin said: "Teacher Wang, Teacher Lin is here this time to ask you about "The King of Picture Calligraphy"."

Li Xin went straight to the topic, and Wang Yongsheng's eyes lit up. His heart had been beating excitedly since he received Li Xin's call.

Wang Yongsheng's face flushed with excitement, "Just ask, you just ask, as long as I know, I will tell you everything."

Lin Weimin said with a smile: "Mr. Wang, please don't get excited. We just want to know what happened before and after the publication of "The King of Paintings" was suspended."

After listening to his words, Wang Yongsheng's excitement calmed down. Memories continued to emerge in his mind, and a bitter smile gradually appeared on his face.

Wang Yongsheng sighed and told the story behind the suspension of "Picture Book King".

"King of Painting Books" was first published on August 20, 1993, with one issue published every half month. Since its inception, sales have been rising like a rocket, with each issue reaching a new height.

In the early days of publication, Wang Yongsheng set the main tone for the magazine, learning from foreigners and learning skills to strengthen itself.

Before the founding of King of Paintings, the domestic comic market had been completely destroyed by the impact of Ni Bang comics. In order to occupy a place in the market competition, the first few issues of "King of Painting Books" published many classic comics of Ni Bang. The proportion of Nihong comics is basically 50-50 with that of domestic comics.

Looking through the earliest issues of "Picture Book King", it can be clearly discovered that whether it is the level of art or the excitement of the plot, there is a huge difference between the Chinese comics published at that time and the Nihong comics serialized in the same period.

Many of the Chinese cartoonists at that time had just transitioned from comic strips and were making new attempts. Some cartoonists had never even seen dotted paper, so this gap was normal.

However, Wang Yongsheng's decision was correct.

Chinese cartoonists did not keep him and readers waiting too long.

On January 20, 1994, in the 10th issue of "Picture Book King", a Chinese comic called "Xiaoshan Diary" made its debut, making countless readers shine.

Although there are traces of imitating the cartoonist Akira Toriyama, "Oyama Diary" also has its own unique innovations. The characters are exaggerated yet cute, the story is humorous, and the imagination is wild.

What's more important is that readers can no longer see the comic book style in "Oshan Diary", which was outstanding among domestic original comic works at that time.

With the publication of "Little Mountain Diary", Wang Yongsheng became more convinced that he was on the right path.

At this time, he saw in the newspaper the Chinese Literature Society's call for essays on the Youth Buhu Tiger Series. This news inspired Wang Yongsheng.

He made a far-reaching decision for "The King of Painting Books" - to hold a 94 King of Painting Cup ultra-short story prize-winning competition.

As soon as the call for submissions for "The King of Picture Books" came out, the enthusiasm of domestic comic lovers was immediately aroused, and a snowstorm of submissions came from all over the country to the editorial department of "The King of Picture Books".

In the several issues following the call for submissions, "Picture Book King" successively published about fifty short comic works.

Hu Qirong, who is still in her second year of high school, published "New Year's Gift", Yao Feila's debut novel "Happy Christmas Eve", as well as Hu Rong, Nie Jun, Free Bird, Zhao Jia, Ah Heng...

Wang Yongsheng's strategy for "The King of Paintings" is bearing fruit.

It wasn't until the 17th issue of "The King of Picture Books" that a work that changed the history of Chinese comics appeared on the publication.

"Xiao Yan, I really didn't expect it. I didn't expect it. Since ancient times, heroes have emerged from youth!"

Wang Yongsheng's face became excited again.

The Xiao Yan he calls is Yan Kaifu, the author of the comic "Snow Coconut".

He was eighteen years old when he painted "Snowy Coconut".

The emergence of "Snow Coconut" ushered in the heyday of "Picture Book King".

The bright future of Chinese comics seemed to be within reach at that moment.

"I still can't forget that day. The first anniversary of "Picture Book King" is about to be published. In order to celebrate the first anniversary of its founding, the publishing house and I specially organized a symposium in Yanjing, which cost a lot of money. Jin invited several leaders.

Everyone gave our magazine full recognition and encouragement. Ningxia is even preparing to nominate "Picture Book King" as the best provincial journal.

But no one expected..."

When Wang Yongsheng said this, his tone became low, "Less than a week after that meeting, at a meeting about children's periodicals, a leader suddenly took out our "Picture Book King" and pointed angrily Looking at the colorful illustration above, he said: Can such a painting be shown to children? He was referring to an illustration published in the early days of "Picture Book King", which was "Xia Tan Han Yu" by the cartoonist Hojo Tsukasa. Illustrations from "Good"..."

Lin Weimin had specially collected all the publications of "The King of Painting Books" before, and immediately retrieved the illustration in his mind.

The protagonist Han Yuliang, who is wearing a white suit, is sitting on the sofa, and a gorgeous woman in a swimsuit is sitting in his arms.

"If you have read this story and know who the protagonist Han Yuliang is and what the people in the picture are doing, probably no one will associate it with SQ. Unfortunately, there was no investigation, no appeal, and no approval Necessary administrative procedures, even if we don’t know what the painting means, we can determine it in one word and kill it without trial.”

Wang Yongsheng's tone was filled with resentment and unwillingness.

At this time, Lin Weimin said, "Teacher Wang, I don't think so."

Wang Yongsheng was immersed in emotions about the past. When he heard his words, he frowned and looked at Lin Weimin calmly.

"Niho's comics have a strict grading system. Hojo Tsukasa's "Xia Tan Han Yuliang" is an adult comic in Niho's country. After all, the audience of "Picture Book King" is mainly young readers. , introducing this work and there is no classification system in China, it is our responsibility as publishers to make appropriate content avoidance."

"King of Picture Calligraphy" is a publication founded by Wang Yongsheng from scratch, from obscurity to fame. He has devoted countless efforts to this publication. The suspension of the publication has always been an unsolvable problem in his heart. Dead knot.

Lin Weimin may not have meant to accuse Wang Yongsheng, but the calmer his tone was, the harsher it sounded in Wang Yongsheng's ears.

Because every word of these words tells Wang Yongsheng that the suspension of "Picture Book King" has a great relationship with him, the founder.

Wang Yongsheng was extremely angry!

I tried the new illustration function, but I don’t know how it works. Everyone is welcome to leave a message for discussion.