Tang Sanzang and his disciples - Comic strip Journey to the West 2/4 volumes

Author: Gu Baoxin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: Recreating the essence of the original, redefining the new realm of Sun Wukong. China's Todd McFarlane, Hong Peiqi wrote the text. American comic book historian Morris Horn once remarked: "Comic strips were merely a popular art form in most capitalist newspapers." I often felt puzzled by this, which became one of the reasons I explored American comic strips over the past ten years. After more than 100 years of development, American comic strips have entered their third period of prosperity. Especially after computer-drawing techniques emerged in the late 1980s, the face of American comic strips underwent fundamental changes. Led by Frank Miller and Todd McFarlane, the "dark" style of comic strips, with their harsh, cold, eerie, and ever-changing aesthetics, left people in awe. To be honest, when Gu Baoxin's comic strip version of Journey to the West first appeared before me, I was deeply impressed. Upon closer examination, the artwork is grand, desolate, tragic, and bizarre, with surreal lighting effects that transport the viewer into a magnificent mythological realm. The protagonist, Sun Wukong, is ugly, cold, powerful, and rebellious, torn between good and evil, and tells a thrilling, avant-garde story of Chinese classical literature. His modern and avant-garde style clearly reflects the influence of today's American "dark" comic strip style. However, the author's profound drawing skills, fashionable techniques, and sharp awareness are no less than those of today's outstanding American comic strip artists like McFarlane. I firmly believe that if Chinese comic strips ever enter a period of prosperity, more exceptional comic strip artists and timeless masterpieces will undoubtedly emerge.
Beyond the work itself, another aspect that moved me about Gu Baoxin is the unique belief, qualities, and perseverance of an artist. This Journey to the West series consists of four volumes, and its creation took over five years to complete. This labor-intensive, almost obsessive creative desire might seem overly romantic for an influential freelance painter, but he believes that doing what you love is the happiest thing in life. In the past, Dong Xinbin's line, "Unafraid of hardship for food and clothing in life, listening to thunder in dreams every night," moved me for many years. Today, Gu Baoxin's actions stem from the same principle. Well, Gu Baoxin, you are erecting a monument!
Chen Guangrui, the scholar of high rank, was chosen by the prime minister as his son-in-law and appointed as the magistrate of Zhenjiang. On his way to assume office, he was killed by the boatman Liu Hong. Liu Hong forcibly took Chen Guangrui's wife and took his place. Chen's wife endured humiliation and submission for the sake of her unborn child. After ten months of pregnancy, she gave birth to a son. Chen's wife put the child in a wooden basin and threw it into the river, where it was saved by the abbot of Jinshan Temple. The abbot named the child Jiang Liu and gave him the Buddhist name Xuanzang. When Xuanzang grew up, he learned the truth, went to the capital, found his maternal grandfather, and killed Liu Hong.