Social Media Helps Local Comics Artist Gain Recognition

By Erda Khursyiah Basir KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 (Bernama) -- While many people are using the social media platform to promote their businesses, freelance comics artist Mohd Rashidi A. Rahim is using it to help boost his career. Better known as Danial Haikal in the local comics circles, his works are "inspired" by local incidents or events that go viral on social media, and even popular Malay television drama series, like the recently-concluded "Suri Hati Mr Pilot", and artistes with large followings. Danial Haikal's trademark is his use of subtle humour and characters that represent the man in the street. His knack for selecting appropriate subjects for his comics has also enabled him to garner positive response from his readers. This former management information system executive at a private hospital, here, quit his full-time job in 2014 so that he could focus on his childhood passion, which was creating comics. And, as his comics are mainly targeted at Generation X and Y, he chose to share and promote them online through social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, using the profile name Paradecomix. This 31-year-old Kuala Lumpur-born artist, who naturally has a great sense of humour, said: "As opposed to print-version comic books that largely depend on sales, online comics tend to reach a wider audience through sharing. In fact, we want our works to attain viral status to help us create our own brand." STEPPING STONE TO SUCCESS Danial Haikal, a part-time tutor in graphics design at Universiti Malaya's Centre for the Initiation of Talent and Industrial Training, uses special digital applications like Clip Studio Paint and Adobe Photoshop on either his personal computer or Wacom tablet to draw his comics and graphic designs. His online foray, he reckoned, has been fruitful for him thus far, as publishers have noticed him and have been courting him to have his comic books published. "Sayang Ummi" is the title of his first comic book in print mode -- it was published by Humaira Publications in 2015. "For my first published comic book, I chose to focus on a positive subject that imparted some (valuable) lessons. "In general, when I create comics I use different approaches like satire to tell my story, as for me the important thing is to get the message across to the reader. Besides using the element of humour and a casual style to deliver my story effectively, I also make sure my drawings are in line with the theme of the comics I'm creating," he told Bernama. Danial Haikal is also currently in the process of producing several Children's comic books for Blink Book Sdn Bhd, which publishes teen novels and comics. He is also actively involved in producing self-published comic books in zine format, which he sells at events organised by the comics fraternity. Zines are books, magazines, newsletters or other texts that are self-published and have small circulations, and usually reproduced via photocopier. He is also one of the key officials of Comicore Club, comprising Malaysia's community of comics artists. REALISING HIS DREAMS Danial Haikal, who has a degree in management information systems from Universiti Teknologi MARA, said his social media comics carry various themes aimed at "conveying information" and "educating" the audience. "I also use my comics as a medium to preach, conduct tutorials, sell products and entertain readers," he said, adding that some of his works were also satirical in nature. He decided to kick-start his career as a comics artist by posting his works on his social media pages and allowing netizens to read them free of charge. "As an amateur then, I wanted to build my own identity and brand so that I could get closer to my readers, and what better way to do this than via social media, which offers a wider scope in terms of readership," he added. He also said that initially he did not think he would have the courage to switch his regular job for something that held no promise of a stable income. "But my deep interest in drawing and comics compelled me to quit my full-time job. I believe that if I hadn't taken that crucial first step then, I wouldn't have been able to gauge my ability to achieve my aspirations (of becoming a comics artist)... something I've been harbouring since my schooldays." COMICS THAT GO VIRAL EASILY Dismissing the notion that comics were only for children, Danial Haikal said comics came in various categories, each with its own legion of fans from different age brackets. On social media comics, he said it has become the current trend as it was easier for the creators concerned to post their works online, where they have direct access to their audience. However, in their enthusiasm to attract more "hits", some artists tend to throw caution to the wind. "I've noticed social media comics that touch on sensitive issues like sexuality and race and even use foul language. But the sad thing is, these comics are the ones that go viral very easily and quickly. "This is not a good thing for those of us who are trying to promote comics with positive messages," he said, adding that the proliferation of "negative" comics would have an impact on the local comics industry as parents may bar their children from reading comics altogether. Nevertheless, he added, as long as it is not misused, social media is still the best way for budding young comics artists to gain exposure. "Monetary gain is not our main motive when we put up our works on social media but the exposure enables us to build our own brand and following. It's definitely a bonus for us if we can meet the challenge of producing comics that succeed in securing the attention of netizens," he said. -- BERNAMA