The comic book "Night Bus" new book sharing session and theme original painting exhibition were held in Beijing to start an incredible journey through time and space

In recent years, the development momentum of Chinese comics has been rapid, excellent works have emerged one after another, and many cartoonists have gone abroad, amazed the world.

Recently, the work "Night Bus" by the young Chinese cartoonist Zuo Ma was published in The New Yorker and praised by well-known domestic and foreign media such as China Daily and Booklist: "Readers will surely be amazed by this immersive imagination."

（The scene of the sharing session of "Night Bus")

Zuo Ma's long-form comic masterpiece "Night Bus" has recently been launched by New Classics Culture, and a new book sharing session and theme original painting exhibition opening ceremony were held at PAGEONE Bookstore Wudaokou Branch on October 17. Zuo Ma, together with artist Yan Cong and comic promoter Wang Ning, talked about comics and art and shared little-known creation stories.

A comic boy with dreams

Zuo Ma was born in Hubei and grew up in a relaxed and free family environment. He has loved reading and copying comics since he was a child. From elementary school to junior high school, he practiced drawing whenever he had time and contributed to comic magazines. For a child, there is nothing happier than being able to draw comics. Even if his submissions were ignored, it could not extinguish the fire in his heart.

(Left horse)

He aspired to become a cartoonist like Akira Toriyama, so he gave up the opportunity to attend a key high school and chose to attend an art class in an ordinary high school. When filling out his college entrance examination application, he chose the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology in order to be closer to a well-known comic magazine at the time. Contributing to comic magazines seemed to have become a part of his life, and it also helped him complete this life transformation at a critical moment.

Seeing his friends of the same age gradually find their direction and gain recognition in art, Zuo Ma was worried about his future. After graduating from university, he worked in an animation company for a while, but he resolutely quit and started drawing comics, and slowly found his own style.

At the age of 24, he finally had a turning point. His first comic, Canned Coconut, was published in France. From then on, he officially embarked on the path of a professional cartoonist. At the sharing session, Wang Ning, CEO of Tianshi Panorama, introduced the overseas publication of Zuo Ma's works and the love of overseas readers for Zuo Ma. He also praised that "Zuo Ma is very popular overseas because he is good at depicting the details of life and then telling vivid stories in the language of comics. Those details are the most touching parts. Readers at home and abroad can read the warmth in them."

Sketching the imaginary country with every stroke

The experience of pursuing his dream of painting has tempered Zuo Ma's character and allowed him to accumulate solid basic skills. At a time when electronic painting, especially strip comics, is popular, he still insists on hand-drawing comics, using pencils for drafts, pens for outlines, and watercolors for coloring. If there is a mistake in a stroke, he has to start over, which requires a lot of effort and time in the mental draft stage.

This traditional painting method may seem clumsy, but the works created are uniquely exquisite. The pen lines are neat and bright, without any drag, and sometimes black or white is used to create blank space, giving readers endless imagination.

(Book cover of Night Bus)

At the event, a reader asked about the difference between electronic drawing tools and hand-drawing. Zuo Ma said: "With electronic drawing, you can regret every stroke, but with a fountain pen, you need to be more resolute and sure about every stroke."

He paints like a craftsman, stroke by stroke, and his works are often published in well-known comic magazines at home and abroad such as "STRAPAZIN". When he has accumulated enough pages, he will publish a single volume. He is particularly good at integrating the fragmented daily life into bizarre imagination, weaving a wonderful comic world.

As the famous American picture book writer Matthew Forsey commented: Zuo Ma's stories are poetic and personalized. The dreamlike plots and highly rendered atmosphere make me think that he is a new generation of highly artistic cartoonists after Tsuge Yoshiharu.

An incredible journey through time and space

Night Bus is a long-form comic book by cartoonist Zuo Ma, and it is also a book dedicated to his grandmother. He uses a double-line narrative technique that interweaves the real world and the comic world to tell the story of himself and his grandmother who suffers from Alzheimer's disease.

After the long train passed through the tunnel and entered the station, a girl wearing glasses got off the train and took a night bus by mistake. However, the familiar environment in front of her gradually became unfamiliar, with dense jungles, strange boys stacking stones, UFO tourist attractions...all kinds of strange scenes passing by her. She set foot on a road that distorted time and space. Where will this mysterious night bus take her?

(Readers flipping through "Night Bus" at the event)

The girl's wandering in the wonderland is actually the chaotic world of her grandmother in reality. The strange yet familiar people and scenery make the girl confused, and there is a projection of reality in that boundless fantasy world.

"The real people have gone away, becoming memories, and becoming my thoughts and dreams. For me, both are real." Zuo Ma said. He drew inspiration from the death of his elders and the changes in his hometown to paint this story, telling the intimate yet distant relationship with childhood, relatives, and homeland. The pictures and lines are not deliberately sensational, but they are sad and gentle to read, bringing the power to heal people's hearts.

At the event, the topic of family affection and memories resonated with many viewers. Not being able to be with family is a regret for many people who travel far away from home, but this fantasy journey can heal the scars of time and space. As the well-known comic critic Tao Langge commented on "Night Bus": "Some people leave in the passing of memories, and some people return in the recollection of family affection. This is a journey home for two generations."

(Original painting exhibition at PAGEONE Wudaokou store)

"Night Bus" is like a touching movie on paper, which is worth reading again and again. What connects the story is not a certain character, but the real concern between people in life. At the same time, PAGEONE Wudaokou store will hold a one-month exhibition of original paintings with the same theme. Readers can experience this dreamlike fantasy journey on the original manuscript and on paper.