Book

Liquid City

📖 Overview

Liquid City presents vignettes and short comics from artists across Southeast Asia, curated by Eisner Award-winning creator Sonny Liew. The collection features both established and emerging comic artists from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and other countries in the region. The anthology captures urban life and culture through sequential art, with stories set in rapidly changing Asian metropolises. Contributors share personal narratives and observations about their home cities through diverse artistic styles and storytelling approaches. The works reflect themes of modernization, tradition, identity, and memory in Southeast Asian urban spaces. Visual and narrative elements combine to examine how cities shape their inhabitants' experiences and how residents navigate shifting cultural landscapes.

👀 Reviews

Readers describe Liquid City as a collection that showcases Southeast Asian comic artists and illustrators through both their artwork and personal stories. The anthology provides glimpses into daily life and culture across Singapore, Malaysia, and the region. Readers appreciated: - The diverse art styles and storytelling approaches - Personal narratives that connect art to cultural context - Introduction to lesser-known Southeast Asian artists - High production quality and print design Common criticisms: - Uneven quality between contributions - Some stories feel fragmentary or underdeveloped - Limited context for readers unfamiliar with the region Ratings: Goodreads: 3.7/5 (50+ ratings) Amazon: 4.2/5 (12 ratings) "The artists' commentaries about their work and lives add depth beyond just a standard art collection," noted one Goodreads reviewer. Another reader mentioned that "while beautiful, some pieces need more narrative structure to fully engage readers not from Southeast Asia."

📚 Similar books

Making Comics by Scott McCloud A comprehensive exploration of comics creation that delves into artistic techniques and storytelling methods through sequential art.

The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom A memoir that weaves personal history with the cultural landscape of New Orleans through architecture and urban transformation.

Cities of Tomorrow by Peter Hall A historical examination of urban planning movements and their impact on metropolitan development across different cultures.

Building Stories by Chris Ware A box set of interconnected comics and graphic pieces that form a narrative about the inhabitants of a three-story building in Chicago.

The City & the City by China Miéville A narrative that follows an investigation across two cities that occupy the same physical space yet remain separate through cultural and social borders.

🤔 Interesting facts

🌆 Liquid City is a groundbreaking anthology featuring over 30 comic artists and illustrators from Southeast Asia, offering rare glimpses into the region's urban life and creative scene. 🎨 Creator Sonny Liew later won three Eisner Awards (comic industry's highest honor) for his graphic novel "The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye" - the first Singapore-born artist to achieve this feat. 🌏 The book's title reflects the constantly changing nature of Southeast Asian cities, where traditional neighborhoods can vanish overnight to make way for modern developments. 📚 The anthology includes works in various styles - from manga-influenced art to experimental layouts - demonstrating the diversity of Southeast Asian comic art forms. 🏆 The project received support from Singapore's National Arts Council and helped establish Southeast Asian comic artists in the global independent comics scene.