Phong Duong Comics Receives Silver Award at 9th International MANGA Award in Japan
The first volume of the comic series “Long Than Tuong” by Nguyen Thanh Phong & Nguyen Khanh Duong (Phong Duong Comics author group) has been selected to receive Silver Award at the 9th International MANGA Award in Japan.
Comic artist Nguyen Thanh Phong will represent the group to attend the Award Ceremony in Japan from Feb 23 to Mar 3, 2016. He will also introduce recent achievements of Vietnamese comics and gain better knowledge of Japan and the world of MANGA.
The International MANGA Award was founded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan in 2007 for the purpose of promoting international exchange and mutual understanding through the MANGA culture.
It is considered the most prestigious award for non-Japanese comic artists, and honors MANGA artists who are contributing to the development of MANGA culture in the world.
The award receives hundreds of application each year. The honorees are selected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, with recommendations from the advisers including Machiko Satonaka and many other great manga artists.
The comic series “Long Than Tuong” was launched for the first time in 2004, creating a new milestone for the Vietnamese comic culture with its genre of historical comic. The series immediately attracted a broad range of audience and became a sensation in the comic lovers’ community.
In 2014, a new project by Phong Duong comics was launched in order to renovate the series and raise fund for its first issue under the form of crowdfunding, making a great impression nationally and internationally. In only two months, it raised a fund of 330 million VND (14,7 thousand USD) and became the most successful crowdfunding campaign in Vietnam.
The series is the first comic production in Vietnam whose authors participated in all stages of production, from calling for investment, creating content, to printing and publishing.
In 2014, artist Nguyen Thanh Phong represented Vietnam to participate in the City Tales Blog Project by the Goethe Institut.
