Comics not just for kids

Cosplay hits Tianjin cultural fair

As China puts cultural and creative industries into its 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), the country has taken many measures both in terms of policies and finance to boost the sector. Comic and animation zones have mushroomed in more than 40 cities since 2010.

The output of the animation industry reached 75 billion yuan ($12.3 billion) last year, according to Gao Zheng, deputy director of the cultural industry department of the Ministry of Culture.

The output of Beijing's animation and game industry in 2012 was 16.7 billion yuan, up 29 percent from 2011, that includes exports valued at 1.56 billion yuan, accounting for 60 percent of the whole industry in China, said Mei Song, director of Beijing's cultural creative industry promotion center funded by the government.

China's comic and animation industry is in its infancy in the cutthroat international market. More important than even the much-needed rating system is the need for Chinese comics and animation that appeal to consumers in the West, said Nicolas Grivel, founder of the French company Nicolas Grivel Agency.

Grivel said China is now the world's most promising animation market. He has exported dozens of Chinese comics to European countries. Among the comics he helps publish in the West, the most popular are those that tell stories about the lives of ordinary young Chinese people.

Grivel said people in the West are curious about how young Chinese live, their dreams and desires. These stories have proved more popular than long histories promoted by scholars in China.

"You have to go deep into your culture and find something unique, instead of creating productions catering to the international market," said Grivel.

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