Is there any market in the Internet era?, What is the current series of Little People's Books from Childhood Memories | Publishing House | Painter | Creator | Reader | Story | Little People's Books | Comics
Part of the comic book publications by People's Fine Arts Publishing House. Photo by journalist Chen Zhiyin/Guangming Image
These words also instantly bring back the memories of many people's youth.
The little books that were bought with lucky money, often carried with them, occasionally flipped through and even copied, carry countless childlike hearts, inspire readers to grow, and bring simple lessons and profound enlightenment to their childhood and even their entire lives. Do you still remember the little books that accompanied your soul in your childhood? What have they become now? Let's explore together.
In the 1950s and 1990s, the illustrated comic book was a spiritual nourishment for many people, and almost everyone had read it. Time has changed, and with the rise of electronic reading and the enrichment of book categories, little books seem to have gradually faded from people's lives and are difficult to find in the public eye.
The People's Fine Arts Publishing House is an important center for the creation and production of comic books in New China. Its magazine, "Comic Illustrated Daily," has a history of 72 years and has accompanied the childhood of several generations. Recently, reporters visited the People's Fine Arts Publishing House located at No.3 East Third Ring South Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, to explore the current appearance of comic strips.
Comics "Floating and Sinking Record"
"This scene can be more prominent." "Is this text adjusted to look more beautiful there?"... In the editing room, Zou Yiqing, the editor in chief of the comic book publishing center, and the editors are discussing the layout design of the new version of the comic book "Inscription of Mother-in-law". He told reporters that this series of "Fierce Youth in a Hot Era" comic books, consisting of "Inscription of Mother-in-law", "Niutou Mountain", "Gun Picks Little Liang King", "Twin Spears Lu Wenlong", "Little Shanghe", "Three Reds and One Creation", as well as "Qingshan Baolin", is expected to meet with readers in the near future.
"From the establishment of the People's Republic of China to the early stages of reform and opening up, people had very few opportunities to watch movies. Comics were the most convenient, affordable, interesting, and beneficial cultural and entertainment medium that many people could come into contact with, and their publication volume was astonishing." Zhou Wei, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of the People's Fine Arts Publishing House, recalled the glory of Xiaorenshu in the past. "For example, Gao Yubao's" I Want to Read ", a story about poor young people who refused to submit to difficulties, was printed three times in the 1960s, with a print run of over one million. Even now, many readers still want to see reprinted versions."
The comic industry is in full swing, attracting a group of skilled realist style painters to join the creative team. At its peak, the comic creation studio of People's Fine Arts Publishing House had over 20 people, including famous artists such as Liu Jiyou, Wang Shuhui, and Ren Shuying.
At that time, most of the comic strips were printed in black and white 64 format, with a style of white drawing, meticulous brushwork, and woodblock techniques, deeply influenced by traditional painting techniques. Reader Liu Weitong told reporters that when he was a child, he couldn't help but love comic books. As he grew up, he couldn't help but buy a set when he saw them in a second-hand bookstore. What attracts him the most is the vivid and compact storyline of the comic book, with exquisite graphic design. "Painters like 'The Great Troubles in the Heavenly Palace' and 'Dream of the Red Chamber' have excellent painting skills, with exquisite and lifelike characters, depicting the carefree and unrestrained spirit of the sage in my heart. Daiyu, on the other hand, truly embodies the aesthetic characteristics of Chinese people. He has also given some comic books as gifts to his friends' children.".
After the 1990s, comic strips gradually declined. Gao Jie, the chief editor of Lianhuan Pictorial, believes that this is a natural thing: "The way of entertainment suddenly becomes diverse, and people can turn on TV to watch" Journey to the West "and other serials, so they may not necessarily watch comic books. At the same time, foreign animation and picture books have been introduced in large numbers, and most of the stories are short or compact, and the pictures are beautiful and bright. However, the stories of comic books are often told in dozens of books, and they are black and white, which is not readable enough in comparison. In recent years, with the rise of China-Chic and Guoman, more people like the image of Chinese characters, and the style of comic books has begun to attract attention."
Do Xiaoren Books still have a market
When it comes to the market situation of Xiaorenshu, Sun Jianhu, the general manager of the comic book marketing center, smiled and said, "Everyone thinks that Xiaorenshu must not be read anymore. In fact, the sales data in recent years has been quite good. Seven or eight years ago, the code ocean was less than 10 or 20 million yuan, but now it can basically reach 50 or 60 million yuan. Excluding price factors, the market is definitely expanding. For example, the monthly sales of the four famous Xiaorenshu series that have recently cooperated with live streaming platforms far exceed expectations. In recent years, many finely crafted Xiaorenshu series have been developed.". Due to the high pricing, the publishing house was initially hesitant to print more, but later they sold out all of them, so they were relieved to add more. They found that many young readers are interested in the inheritance and innovation of traditional culture, and are willing to pay for the quality.
Sun Jianhu believes that today's readers have higher requirements for quality and a more segmented audience. "The main readership for comic books nowadays is divided into 'comic fans' and children.' comic fans' refer to adult readers who have a childhood complex and are willing to spend money collecting them. Many parents purchase comic books in the hope of cultivating their children's reading habits. For primary and secondary schools, comic books are still an important form of science popularization, aesthetic education, ideological and political education, and theme education."
In Gao Jie's view, the most core feature of comic strips is the combination of graphics and text. "You don't need to use oil painting, pencil drawing, or pen drawing. You need to draw beauty and storytelling, which is the core competitiveness." The key lies in "telling a good story with pictures.".
In the Internet era, the biggest challenge faced by comic books is the scarcity of high-quality original stories and painters. The impact on physical publishing has greatly dampened the enthusiasm for comic book creation. Zou Yiqing felt that the commissioned painters were somewhat "inexperienced", mainly consisting of old painters over the ages of sixty or seventy. I want to hire young and middle-aged artists to create, which is costly and time-consuming. I also need to find suitable writers or IPs to create new stories.
On some social media platforms, many art students share their experiences of copying works and creating comic strips. A netizen said that after hands-on creation, they realized how difficult it is to draw a comic book: write a script, summarize the story, and find the exciting parts; The painting process requires both realism and consideration of the overall picture, which is very brain burning.
Absorbing comic elements for creation, trying AI comic works... Netizens have endless creative ideas. Zou Yiqing admitted that he is already considering these innovations: "Artists modeling, training AI to draw blueprints, painters modifying them, I believe it can greatly reduce production costs and attract more young people to participate in creation."
Entering the publishing house lobby, you can see many "new" comic books: the length has been shortened, many of which are thin volumes; In addition to traditional 64 format and 60 format books, there are also many 32 format books that are more in line with the reading habits of modern readers; In addition to classic stories from the last century, many new series have also been developed, such as "Textbook Painting", and there are also extraordinary stories about 9 recipients of the "Order of the Republic" in the "Merit" series; The art style is more diverse, with oil painting, watercolor, and even incorporating hand drawn styles; Typography is no longer just about simple images and scripts. Some dialogues are integrated into the images, and the character storyboards are more diverse and diverse
A silent exploration is underway: the little book that has come from time not only stays in memory, but can also reach a larger market and reach the desk of more readers.
