Beautiful Susan (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: Wang Sima
Author, Compiler: Hong Peiqi
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1996-10-01
Features: Wang Sima is a renowned Hong Kong cartoonist, originally named Huang Yongxing, born in Macau in 1940. After completing primary school, he moved with his parents to Guangzhou and attended Guangzhou No. 16 High School. From a young age, Wang Sima loved drawing and was particularly fond of reading comic books, often copying the costumes of historical figures in them. After middle school, he spent his spare time enthusiastically drawing comics and frequently submitted his works to newspapers and magazines, publishing many comic strips.
After graduating from high school, Wang Sima originally planned to attend the Fine Arts College in Wuhan, but due to financial difficulties at home, he couldn’t go. In 1957, Wang Sima returned to Macau and became a teacher of English and art at the Macau Women’s Federation Primary School. He was a dynamic teacher, often drawing humorous pictures on the blackboard while teaching, making the classroom atmosphere lively and his students very fond of his lessons. During his time teaching in Macau, he continued to create comics in his spare time, submitting them to newspapers, some of which were even sent to Hong Kong publications.
In 1961, Wang Sima moved to Hong Kong and initially worked at an advertising company. In his spare time, he published his comics in Hong Kong’s Xingdao Times and Ming Pao. In 1966, he was hired by Ming Pao as a full-time cartoonist and began using his pen name, “Wang Sima.”
In 1967, Wang Sima’s first son was born. As a new father, he was overjoyed, and the pure and noble bond between father and son inspired him to create a four-panel comic strip titled Cowboys, featuring a father and son as the main characters. Cowboys became Wang Sima’s masterpiece, often compared to Father and Son in China. From 1967, when it was launched as a serialized comic in Ming Pao, it ran for 16 years, publishing nearly 6,000 sets of works. With a heart full of love, Wang Sima poured his affection into this work, making it deeply moving and immensely successful. A Chinese-American medical professor once sighed, “I have many of Wang Sima’s comics. In this age of indifference, he is the cartoonist we truly need.”
In Hong Kong, the father and son from Cowboys were household names, widely recognized by readers. Many Hong Kong readers were accustomed to flipping through Ming Pao every day to check out Cowboys. The success of Cowboys brought Wang Sima great fame, as the renowned Hong Kong writer Ni Kuang once said, “Hong Kong has many things to be proud of in the world, and Wang Sima’s comics are among them.”
Lady Susan is another of Wang Sima’s serialized comic masterpieces, published slightly later than Cowboys. Later, Hong Kong’s Jove Publications compiled this serialized comic into 12 individual comic books. According to incomplete statistics, this series contains over 1,600 sets of works. The protagonist, Susan, is a young professional woman, a typical office lady, whose workplace adventures are very relatable, and her romantic experiences are familiar to most people. Carefully reading this work reveals Wang Sima’s sharp observation and creative inspiration. Filled with the romance of life, it humorously reflects the mindset of modern women and gives voice to office ladies.
In addition to Cowboys and Lady Susan, Wang Sima created a large number of single-panel comics, which were compiled into 10 individual comic books, totaling about 1,400 works, titled Debussy. In Hong Kong, Wang Sima was a well-known audiophile. Due to his deep love for classical music, he named his 10 comic books after Claude Debussy (also known as Debussy), the French impressionist composer.
Fate played a cruel trick in early 1983. At the peak of his career, Wang Sima noticed discomfort in his lower limbs. An examination revealed a problem with his leg bones. By May, he could no longer stand to work. Despite this, a strong sense of responsibility urged him to persevere, and he gritted his teeth to continue creating because he knew many Hong Kong readers looked forward to his comics every day. He drew at home, with his son delivering the finished works to the newspapers. After months of suffering from illness, Wang Sima faintly felt that his life was nearing its end. By July, his condition worsened rapidly, and surgery revealed that cancer had spread.
On September 27, 1983, the loving cartoonist Wang Sima passed away, leaving this world in a flower-filled room at the age of 43. He was a modest, kind, and helpful person with noble character. His passing shocked Hong Kong, and many people could not accept the fact that such a perfect person could die like this. The renowned writer Jin Yong wrote a poignant obituary for him, and thousands of readers came to bid him farewell. In the three months following his death, Hong Kong newspapers published numerous articles mourning his loss and commenting on his legacy.
A talent cut short, yet his life remains brilliant. Wang Sima’s achievements in comics are an indelible page in the history of the art. For years, we have strived to introduce his works to readers in mainland China. Since 1990, we have been in contact with Wang Sima’s wife, Liang Jie, to discuss publishing a collection of his comics. After much effort, it has finally come to fruition. The first batch of Wang Sima’s works included in our World Series of Comic Classics contains 4,158 sets of comic strips, with Cowboys published in four volumes (2,772 sets) and Lady Susan in two volumes (1,386 sets). We believe that readers will find warmth and joy in Wang Sima’s loving works, and that comic enthusiasts will gain inspiration and guidance from his wise and humorous creations.