When
Red Dot Diva thinks of food *and* comics, the first name that comes up in her mind is Marvel's VP and talent scout
C.B. Cebulski, who is also a foodie and has his own blog called
Eataku.
Locally, a well-known food related comic called
Dim Sum Warriors by couple Colin Goh and Woo Yen Yen, comes to mind. Dim Sum Warriors was were recently adapted into a musical production staged in China.
Others include
Red Dot Diva's friend
Benjamin Chee of "Charsiew Space", who relished in depicting charming stories surrounding food (
yum yum!), as well as
Max Loh, who has a self-published book called "
About Food".
Max recently collaborated with
C.B. Cebulski to produce a limited edition superhero food-related postcard entitled "
Defend Local Flavour" at this year's STGCC.
Regarding this semi hush-hush collaboration between the two, you might have spotted something shady going on near the Walk of Fame on the first day of STGCC. Somewhat like this:
And if you gave fan love to
C.B. Cebulski at his STGCC Walk of Fame sessions, you should already have received the "
Defend Local Flavour" postcard specially signed by him!
The postcards were available *only* during STGCC 2017.
Max Loh, the illustrator of the special postcard, is a self-taught artist with a very science-y background. He graduated in Biomedical Science, and has worked as a Research Officer for the past 7 years. You can find his works published in anthology books, "
Liquid City Vol 3" (Image) and
"Driving Malaysia" (Maple Comics). The later was commissioned by the tech company which owns the popular ride-hailing app.
Max also has a few self-published books like "
The Road Not Taken" and "
Pointes de Contrôle".
Red Dot Diva finds his writing and drawings deeply personal and contemplative, which may help put things into perspective for those who have musings in similar subjects.
Here's a nosy interview with
Max regarding his experiences in his journey of being a mostly indie comic book writer/ artist.
Red Dot Diva: You mentioned that you are a self-taught artist. How did you improve on your craft since you started drawing comics?
Max: Well, I've been to art classes as a kid, so that might not be considered as strictly 'self taught'. However, those were mostly landscapes and posters for school work.
I've learnt the visual language of comics through guidebooks (does anyone still remember the "How To Draw Manga" series of books from the early 2000s?) and emulating things I like from comics I've read. I put out my first self-published comic with friends in 2003, and I think it was only back in 2012 that I started finding my footing in terms of style and the kinds of stories I want to tell.
