Although Vietnamese young people are showing a great interest in comics, they seem to have shunned domestically created ones for their foreign counterparts.
Comics attract both children and adults
The comic book industry has made strides over the past few years in a number of countries, especially Japan. But in Vietnam the industry is still fledgling.
Over the past decade, only two series of Vietnamese comic books have made a large mark among local readers. The first one, Than Dong Dat Viet, or Child Prodigy, was written by Le Linh, and published by Phan Thi, in 2002 while the second, Ti Quay, or Mischievous Ti, was written by Dao Hai and published by Kim Dong Publishing House in 2003.
While the international comic industry has gained an audience among both children and adults, these two Vietnamese publications were mainly popular among young children and high-school students.
According to avid comic fans, they lacked key characteristics, such as interesting subject matter, creative illustration and well thought-out plots, which keep readers' attention.
These shortcomings have been keeping many Vietnamese young people from reading domestic comics. Many admit that they have never read a Vietnamese comic book at all because they see them as boring.
Hoang Hang, a comic fan shared, “It’s not true that Vietnamese comics are unpopular because of uncreative writers and illustrators. In fact, the Vietnamese comic industry has been undervalued, and deserves more attention and investment."
According to Hang, publishers should carry out regular reader surveys, so as to gain insight into the tastes of audiences.
One avid manga fan said, “I'd absolutely read Vietnamese comics if they were good. Even ordinary things in daily life can be fodder for compelling material. Japanese manga has caught onto that concept."
Japanese manga is, by most accounts, the most popular in Vietnam, especially among young people.
Ha My, an overseas Vietnamese student studying in Australia said, “Before I was quite a stubborn child, but I honestly believe that Japanese comics have helped me grow as a person."
There are many other fans who insist that manga has helped improve their lives in one way or another.
On the other hand, the view of parents in Vietnam towards such reading materials can be quite different from their children's. Many parents fear that their kids will become obsessed with comics and neglect their studies.
Readers of different ages
Foreign comics still dominate Vietnamese market
