Imagination in the Drawer
Comic books can be regarded as the very first treasures for most children.
With beyond imagination story lines about magical power, far away universe, the pursuit of dreams plus amazing drawings, comic books become our best friends waiting to be discovered before bedtime. Time has gone by and we've grown up. We've experienced lots of things that become more important than our imaginary heroes.
Conversely, there are some people like cartoonists who let their imagination run wild and bring each character to life through drawing that reflects their heart and soul. Thanks to an artist endeavor, astonishing characters and amazing stories were created. No wonder cartoons from each country can represent its attitude, liberty and society in terms of political criticism, economic issues including pop culture. This field of art has its magic that can expand enormous opportunity in business where technology becomes a powerful weapon enhancing a new dimension to characters -- starting from a plain drawing to a high definition image. Video games, animations and countless collections are created to foster such a strong bond between human and cartoon characters.
This business of dream and bond lavishes a whopping fortune on its products in order to hold a deep fascination for readers who indulge themselves in a labyrinth of a fantasy world. In Japan, Manga, (comics or cartoons) is valued over 4.2 million yens (about 5.5 million USD). Stunned by its substantial revenue the government announced a policy to support the development of Manga business both domestically and internationally. Asian readers are “great devotees” of Japanese Manga which enjoys a market share of 30% to 50% in Bangkok, Shanghai, Taiwan and Hong Kong, beating American companies like Marvel Comics and D.C. That's why Marvel's had its eyes on some Asian cartoonists and have them in the team. The series of Spider Man, for example, involved a Singaporean cartoonist, an African-American artist and other non-American in breathing new life into the cartoon.
Unfortunately creators behind this recipe of success are always taken for granted and fall prey to intellectual property piracy which has become a global issue. In Thailand the value of cartoons and comics in copyright is approximately 20,000 – 30,000 million baht. Sadly the amount is quite similar to those of pirated ones. So to say supporting the country's cartoonists, graphic designers and animators is not just about funding but there is something to do with assuring protective shelter from piracy. So it is far better to help those with artistic talents uncover their hidden treasure and find their way to unlock the imagination rather than let them chance their arm alone.
