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coped from: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...284046/1/.html

MDA to nurture talents in comic book development
By Ng Baoying, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 24 June 2007 0202 hrs


SINGAPORE : The Media Development Authority (MDA) of Singapore will nurture talents in comic book development.

One way is through a masterclass called The Comics Publishing Forum 2007, held on Saturday.

Five speakers from industry leaders such as TOKYOPOP, the largest manga publisher in the US, and Diamond Book Distributor, the world's largest distributor of English-language comic books, were present.

Local leading comic artists were also there.

Speakers shared key fundamental aspects in comic book development and gave a workshop on the techniques of sequential art story-telling.

Participants gained insights into strategies for marketing, distributing, and breaking into foreign markets.

Worldwide, comic and graphic novels have experienced a surge in popularity.

Escalating sales and successful transitioning of titles into movies, animation and games with strong merchandising opportunities have made them popular to businesses too.

In the US alone, sales of comic and graphic novels have jumped to US$640 million today - which is a four-fold increase from 2001. - CNA/de