In recent years, crowdfunding, or garnering public financial support, has emerged as an increasingly prevalent trend in the comic industry in Vietnam.

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Though crowdfunding in cultural and art projects, which includes independent fundraising and the gathering of supporters, has long been common in other countries, the form remains in its infancy in the Southeast Asian nation.

Nguyen Khanh Duong, 29, founder of Comicola, a local company operating in comics and crowdfunding, shared with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper the promises that crowdfunding holds for the local cartoon industry.

Duong is the scriptwriter and producer of the fictionalized Vietnamese historical comic “Long Than Tuong” (Marshal Long).

The book is the first locally created comic that has been doted on and received enthusiastic financial support from the general public, both at home and abroad, in hopes of helping to create a worthy book.

In response to online requests in late April last year to raise VND300 million (US$14,151) for the book’s first installment, Vietnamese at home and abroad raised almost half of the needed sum in just two weeks.

The comic depicts the adventures of a teenager named Long fighting against the Chinese invaders during Vietnam’s Tran Dynasty (1225-1400).

Its creators were only between 18 and 23 years of age at that time.

A page from the high-profile historical comic "Long Than Tuong" (Marshal Long)

Fully aware of the untapped local comic market, Duong and his young partners co-founded Comicola, based in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.

The company has its own website and a distribution system which is teeming with activities to engage young artists, writers, and readers.

Comicola, which also offers courses in applied comic art in Vietnam, has forged increasing partnerships with local artists and comic illustrators. 

Young comic artist/producer Nguyen Khanh Duong (standing) and his partners from the "Long Than Tuong" (Marshal Long) comic project. Photo: comicola.com

Duong also strives to turn his company into the country’s largest webtoon channel, which is gaining a strong foothold in several countries including Japan, South Korea, and Thailand.

Webtoons are cartoons which are released online and charge readers.

The fledgling trend is believed to help expand readership, cut printing costs, and create colored editions more quickly than conventional ones.

“Crowdfunding, which is necessary for both conventional comics and webtoons, has provided us comic artists with our highest incomes ever. We are under a strong conviction that if invested properly, with crowdfunding among the investment channels, comic artists can make a decent living only through our daytime profession, without needing any extra nighttime jobs,” Duong noted.

Comicola’s four latest projects have also been heartily crowdfunded.

“The resounding crowdfunding success of ‘Long Than Tuong’ has confirmed our conviction about the effectiveness of the model, which is a great way to bridge the gap between artists and the public, allowing them to join the project right from its infancy, which they often find appealing. Moreover, this form of raising funds allows us to produce publications to accompany the comic,” the young man elaborated.

Duong stressed that apart from the financial benefits that crowdfunding has brought to artists, the model also helps enhance artists’ responsibility toward their artworks.

“If an artist works on an order from a bookstore or publisher, there exist certain intangible hurdles which could chip away at their works’ quality. Meanwhile, with a crowdfunded project, artists are more inspired to hone their skills and better their products,” he explained.

"Project Icon," another of Comicola's crowdfunded project. Photo: comicola.com

Nguyen Danh, a game illustrator, observed that the first episode of the “Long Than Tuong” comic book lived up to readers’ expectations compared to the book’s original version, which came out some 10 years ago.

Chu Thien, a reader who donated to the “Long Than Tuong” fund, also took great delight in the book’s first episode, which is packed with thrills, suspense, and gorgeous cartoons typical of Vietnamese culture.

He pinned his hopes on the success of the coming episodes, which will also be crowdfunded.

Similarly, Pham Thien Van, an avid comic reader in his 30s, found crowdfunding a brilliant way to connect comic authors, artists and fans.

He joined a crowdfunding project for another comic titled “Truyen Cuc Ngan” (Extremely Short Stories) by local author Dao Quang Huy.

Van received a comic book and had the comic’s author portray his wife on his demand in return for his funding package. 

The comic also features a funny story written by Van himself.

“Crowdfunding provides us readers with opportunities to join exchanges with comics’ authors and receive special editions of their books, and serves as a significant boost to the local comic sector. A project’s fruitful crowdfunding can be a gauge of its substantial public embrace and ensures genuine values which will benefit readers after a book comes into being,” he stressed.

Crowdfunding also gives the authors independence in raising funds and full control of the comic’s content and quality, as the authors tend to be dependent on different factors if their project is sponsored by an individual or organization, Duong shared about his “Long Than Tuong” crowdfunding project.

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