By Kenny Chee

WHO says home-grown comics can't make it big overseas?

Last Saturday, Singapore- based comic artist Sonny Liew, 35, won an award for best science-fiction comic at one of Europe's biggest science-fiction festivals.

The festival, Utopiales, was held in the French city of Nantes and drew over 40,000 people.

Liew's Malinky Robot comic edged out other veterans in the running, including British artist Chris Weston, who is known for his Judge Dredd comic art, and American writer Joseph Michael Straczynski, who created the cult 1990s science-fiction TV series Babylon 5.

The winner of the award was decided by a jury of over 20 comic-book fans based on the quality of drawings, the originality of plots and the general composition of works.

About 30 comic-book titles were shortlisted before six nominees were chosen. Liew, a Singapore permanent resident who was born in Seremban, Malaysia, told my paper that Malinky Robot's win was a pleasant surprise.

"Especially (since) some of the other books on the list seemed to be pretty successful titles," he said.

Malinky Robot is a collection of comics Liew had drawn and written over the years, but adapted into French. It tracks the quirky adventures of two street urchins in a futuristic city.

Liew said the comic was inspired by visuals like those in the movie Bladerunner. He also drew inspiration from indie movies and comics focused on capturing the moment.

"To me, that kind of storytelling always seems closer to how we live our lives," he said.

An English version of Malinky Robot will be out next year. Visit sonnyliew.wordpress.com for updates and to see Liew's other works.

kennyc@sph.com.sg

For more my paper stories click here.