The annual American anime event, "San Diego Comic-Con," was held from July 25 to 28 at the San Diego Convention Center in California. For the first time, the Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles, in collaboration with the Taiwan Character Brand Licensing Association, participated in the event, inviting Taiwanese artists Hsiao Gao, BIRD ERA, and Paula Hsu to showcase their work at the Taiwan Pavilion, booth 5524. Additionally, Taiwanese-American manga artist Su Yi-Chieh was stationed at Artist Alley booth HH-19, offering a diverse range of art styles and interactive activities to attract anime fans.
San Diego Comic-Con is held every July, attracting hundreds of thousands of anime fans. This year, the Taiwan Pavilion invited three artists to participate. Hsiao Gao (real name Yu Wen-Han) immigrated to Canada at the age of 10 and has published over 400 original YouTube works. His character, Hsiao Gao, is known for his short, chubby appearance and signature yellow shirt, with works often centered on humorous stories with his girlfriend Beibi and their pet cat.
BIRD ERA, a graduate of the Department of Fine Arts at Tainan University of Technology, became interested in ecological conservation after adopting birds. His works include comics, illustrations, and related products, promoting wild bird conservation and pet bird care.
Works by Taiwanese Manga Artist Bird Era (Photo / Courtesy of the Ministry of Culture Website)
Paula Hsu transitioned from a graphic designer to an illustrator in 2018. Her works span Marvel cards, movies, board games, and Taiwanese dramas, attracting tens of thousands of followers on Instagram with her dreamy and whimsical style.
Works by Taiwanese Manga Artist Paula Hsu (Photo / Courtesy of the Ministry of Culture Website)
In addition, the Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles, in cooperation with the event organizers, invited Taiwanese-American manga artist Su Yi-Chieh to participate in the Artist Alley. Su Yi-Chieh has been involved in concept design for the Transformers animation and served as the lead artist for comic companies, drawing covers for Godzilla, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Marvel comics. He was invited to participate in a signing session and a Marvel panel.
The Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles noted that participation in San Diego Comic-Con has been increasing year by year since the pandemic, with over 150,000 attendees last year. This event is an excellent platform for promoting Taiwanese works. This year, the Taiwan Pavilion introduced original Taiwanese character IPs and entered the Artist Alley to showcase the diversity of Taiwanese creations, aiming to expand the overseas licensing and publishing market for Taiwanese manga. They sincerely invite anime fans in Southern California to experience the charm of Taiwanese creations.
