Viet comics (, ), also known as mạn họa or manhoa (, Sino-Vietnamese for manhua, ), are comics or graphic novels originating from Vietnam. The term Viet comics was firstly introduced by Floral Age Bimonthly (Bán nguyệt san Tuổi Hoa) magazine in 1960 in Saigon.
Before the 1990s, mạn họa were not used for entertaining purposes. Instead, due to long-standing influence of Chinese Confucianism, Vietnamese comics at the time often had educational contents with lessons about morality. This, however, had prevented them from reaching a broad readership due to storylines remaining unchanged.
In 1992, Kim Đồng Publishing House printed the first Japanese manga in Vietnam: Doraemon. It became a phenomenon and was quickly followed by other Japanese manga, such as Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball. And with that, the Vietnamese comics were defeated right at their doorstep. It was not until 2002, when Thần đồng Đất Việt was published, that a truyện tranh managed to gain popularity.
Etymology The term "truyện tranh" 傳幀 is a compound word between truyện 傳 (meaning "story") and tranh 幀 (meaning “drawing"). Older generation usually perceive that the "stories with pictures" are for children. Because of this, the idea of comics for adults is alien in the country, and many authors had faced backlash when their comics were deemed unsuitable for children.
History
Comics started to appear in Vietnam in the 1930s. However, the idea of using pictures to tell stories dated back far more than that with the Đông Hồ painting, influenced by China and sometimes India. This type of painting illustrated philosophy or stories and were printed using woodcuts.
During the colonial era, paper printing technology developed enough that books and newspapers became more common. Vietnamese comics at the time were mainly published in the form of albums in newspapers. They had various themes and were used to entertain, educate, or propagate the people.
In the 1930s, Vietnamese comics became an independent art with numerous artists and readers. Many weekly newspapers also published sequential drawings that often satirized Annamese writers and the Indochinese government, especially the Governors-General.
From the late 1960s until 1975 in Saigon, Viet comics were popular with the most famous illustrator and comic artist at the time being Võ Hùng Kiệt (pen name: ViVi). During the 1970s, besides Viet comics, there were the Chinese Lianhuanhua, the Franco-Belgian Bande Dessinée, and the American comic book, though they were usually poorly printed pirated copies.
Since 1987, Viet comics developed and became similar to American comics with an increasing number of artists and genres. The government even attached special importance in encouraging the creation of comics. The most famous artist was Nguyễn Hùng Lân, whose most popular truyện tranh was the Hero Hesman. The content of these publications was broadly educational and offered lessons in moral philosophy for the reader.
From 1992, Japanese manga, such as Doraemon, Sailor Moon, and Dragon Ball, dominated Vietnam’s comic market. It was not until 2002, when Thần đồng Đất Việt was published, that a truyện tranh managed to gain popularity. However, according to Ðặng Cao Cường, head of Comic Editorial Department of Kim Đồng Publishing House, Viet comics only account for 10% of all published comics. Most of the comics distributed are foreign, with 70% (in total) being Japanese mangas.
Besides that, modern truyện tranh are also heavily influenced by the style of Japanese manga, American comics, Chinese manhua, and Korean manhwa. This even led to a huge debate in the 2000s among Vietnamese comic enjoyers with two main sides: those who supported the usage of Japanese manga's style (Phái Manga), and those who preferred the Western comic's style (Phái Comic). In the end, due to a series of failure for Western-style Viet comics, and the fact that even world-famous Comics from the West had quite dismal sales in Vietnam, the debates gradually subsided and manga style has been since the main expression used. In additionally, Vietnamese comic authors are also trying to develop their own style and shape an identity that differentiates Vietnamese truyện tranh from foreign comics.
However, Viet comics still have many challenges to face, from the opposition of the older generation who often criticize the contents as harmful to children, to the cost and lack of support for comic creators, and finally the government of Vietnam who would occasionally ban comics due to them not being "cultural appropriation". In 2015, the Bureau of Publication, Printing and Distribution (Ministry of Information and Communications) issued the Official Dispatch 2116 (Công văn 2116/CXBIPH-QLXB) that banned the publication of comics with LGBT sexual contents. As readers of this genre switched to digital version, the authority called for the help from parents to discipline their children.
Digital Viet comics
Thanks to the Internet era, Viet comics have been able to reach larger audiences than ever thanks to comic reading platforms. Two most entrusted Vietnamese platforms are Comicola and POPS Comic: Company name Comic platformComicola comi.mobiPOPS Worldwide pops.vn
Khánh Dương, founder of Comicola and the creator of comi.mobi, the first Vietnamese comic reading app in Vietnam, stated that:
Pirating issue Copyright violation is a large issue in Vietnam when works of many authors, both Vietnamese and foreigners, were stolen and either being printed illegally or being uploaded to pirated websites. It was estimated that Vietnam ranked third in Southeast Asia in terms of copyright infringement rate. TV shows, movies, music and books were the most to be violated, though it was recently discovered that many pirated websites had turned to pirating comics, causing a strong response from the creators.
Famous Vietnamese comics
Non-fictional pictorial books Academic publishings with visual illustrations. The topics are history and philosophy.
Mechanics and Crafts of the People of Annam Mechanics and Crafts of the People of Annam, written by Henri Joseph Oger and illustrated by Vietnamese artists, was manuscript shows and illustrates the culture and living conditions of the Vietnamese people in Tonkin.
Luân Lý - Giáo Khoa Thư Luân Lý - Giáo Khoa Thư, written by Trần Trọng Kim, presented issues of moral and ethical education for young people. Although many of the books' content was no longer suitable with current educational perspectives, a lot of its lessons was "still very rich in humanistic values, preserving and inheriting the traditional ethics of the nation."
Satirical illustrations Comic strips and political cartoons in newspapers with the same characters being used multiple times.
Xã Xệ and Lý Toét Xã Xệ and Lý Toét were fictional satirical duo which became popular in sketches through the columns of the Vietnamese newspapers in Tonkin from the 1930s to the 1940s, written by Nhất Linh and Nguyễn Gia Trí and published by Tự-Lực văn-đoàn. They represented the conflict between tradition and modernity.
Linda Kiều Linda Kiều was a caricature character that appeared in comic strip of Tuổi Trẻ Cười (a supplement of Tuổi Trẻ daily newspaper), written by Nguyễn Hữu Tài and Lê Văn Nghĩa. The character was depicted with flirtatious, demanding, and flamboyant gestures.
Children's comics Comic books for children with educational contents and moral lessons. They are suitable for all ages.
Dế Mèn phiêu lưu ký Dế Mèn phiêu lưu ký, known in English as the Diary of a cricket, was a popular novel written by Tô Hoài. It was the most reprinted work in the history of Kim Dong Publishing House, with the text-only edition had already been reprinted for the 87th time while the illustrated comic versions by Trương Qua and Tạ Huy Long was in its 18th and 17th edition.
Bi, Bo và Kim Quy Bi, Bo và Kim Quy (literally means "Bi, Bo, and Kim Quy") was a comic written by Quang Toàn. The story revolved around the adventures of two sisters named Bi and Bo, along with Kim Quy, a golden turtle possessing many magical powers.
Mai Mơ và Chi Li Mai Mơ và Chi Li was a comic written by Phan Thị Giao Chi and illustrated by Hướng Dương. The story revolved around the lives of twin sisters Mai Mơ and Chi Li, along with their close friends, at the Úm Ba La magic school.
Tý Quậy Tý Quậy (literally means "Naughty Tý") was a comic series written by Đào Hải and published by Kim Dong, considered one of the most famous domestic comic series in Vietnam. The comic was about Tý and Tèo who are troublemakers but full of compassion.
Trạng Quỷnh Trạng Quỳnh – Trạng Quỷnh was a comic about a zhuangyuan (trạng) named Quỳnh (based on Trạng Quỳnh, a historical figure) and his son Quỷnh (a fictional character). Written by Kim Khánh, the comic was first named "Trạng Quỳnh" before changing into "Trạng Quỷnh" as the main character died and was changed. The comic was described as witty and surprising, known for offering educational contents while criticizing negative phenomena of society.
Dũng sĩ Hesman Dũng sĩ Hesman, known in English as Hero Hesman, was a Voltron-inspired comic written by Nguyễn Hùng Lân in the 1990s (though Hùng Lân only credited himself as an "adaptation artist"). The comic was set in the year 2250, when humans had managed to build an interstellar empire. It was the best-selling Vietnamese series for ten consecutive years until the record was broken by Thần đồng Đất Việt.
The comic was run for four years, with 159 volumes, when Hùng Lân was forced to switch to another project. Up until 2019, with the support from young Vietnamese comic creators, he wrote the 160th volume (also the last volume) as a gift to his former readers.
Thần đồng Đất Việt Thần đồng Đất Việt, known in English as Vietnamese child prodigies, was written by Lê Linh (though Linh later withdrew from the project, new volumes were still published, causing a 12-year longed lawsuit). With plot set in the Later Lê dynasty, Thần đồng Đất Việt introduced Vietnamese history and culture while stayed entertaining. It was the first Vietnamese comic that gained widespread popularity among children since the introduction of Japanese manga, and was the longest-running comic series in Vietnam.
In 2013, an adapted series was published, naming "Thần đồng đất Việt: Hoàng Sa – Trường Sa" (Vietnamese Child Prodigies: Paracels – Spratly), which served as "a new communication strategy to convey messages of patriotism and knowledge about the country’s sea and island sovereignty to the young generations.” The book received support from local readers and the Navy High Command (Bộ Tư lệnh Hải quân), but was opposed by Chinese press.
Teenagers and adults’ comics Comics that mostly target teenagers and adults, with styles influenced by Japanese manga, Korean manhwa, and Chinese manhua. Many Vietnamese find it strange for comics to have age rating since comics are traditional viewed as for children.
Đất Rồng “Đất Rồng”, known in English as the “Dragon Land”, was a Vietnamese manga-influenced comic and a joint project of various authors from the Dimensional Art (3D Hanoi) Group. Its plot, inspired by the Vietnamese legend of Sơn Tinh – Thủy Tinh, was about the adventurous story of three young people on their journey to awaken the energy of Goodness. The comic earned a Bronze Award at Japan’s Sixth International Manga Award.
Long Thần Tướng “Long Thần Tướng”, known in English as the “Holy Dragon Imperator”, was written by Nguyễn Thành Phong and Nguyễn Khánh Dương. The plot was about a modern-day girl who suddenly lost consciousness and recalled the memory of a village-head’s daughter during the Trần dynasty. The comic earned a Silver Award at Japan’s Ninth International Manga Award, becoming one of Vietnam’s most successful crowd-funding projects. Khánh Dương is also the founder of Comicola and its comic website.
Địa Ngục Môn