Zhang Xiaoyu's new graphic novel The Temple Floating in the Sky is riding a new wave of interest in Chinese comic artists in China and Europe. Photo: Courtesy of Joint Publishing Company International

On the shelves of most bookstores lies a category that cannot be ignored - comics. They tell stories in still pictures, combining the art of drawing with literature. The adapted films and costume trends spawned from these books reflect the great influence and enthusiasm they can inspire.

Comics fever worldwide takes on diverse forms in the different parts of the world, each with its own style of storytelling and artwork. The Chinese style is deeply influenced by its neighbor, Japan, the Asian comic giant. Most Chinese fans prefer the Japanese style of comic books, but the American style, with Marvel Comics and DC Comics superheroes, also hold a soft spot in Chinese fans' hearts thanks to contributions made by Hollywood.

However, there's another major style, one long neglected and known by few in China - the European style.

But there's a reversal of this trend in the works, as Chinese publishing houses are reaching out to European graphic artists, and at the same time, Chinese artists are also trying to establish themselves at home and in Europe.

As part of the 20th Beijing International Book Fair, contemporary French graphic artist Emmanuel Lepage and Chinese graphic artist Zhang Xiaoyu launched their new books, Muchacho and The Temple Floating in the Sky, respectively, on August 29 at a book party centered around the theme of bringing European graphic novels to China.

The event - cosponsored by Joint Publishing Company International - served as a prelude to the publisher's new focus on classic European comics and Chinese comic pioneers.

French connection

Wang Ning, the general manger of Beijing Total Vision Culture Spreads, the other cosponsor of the book launch, has a special affinity for European comics, particularly French.

Unlike highly-commercialized Japanese comics and hero-focused American comics, the French comics, Wang explained, stick to no particular style, attaching value only to the quality of the books.

"I was really surprised the first time I saw French comics," Wang said in an interview with the Global Times. "They emphasize the artistic quality."

Starting in 2005, Wang reached out to the French comic market, trying to establish relationships and bring Chinese comics there. Since then, he has realized major differences between the markets.

Every year, Wang said, France publishes nearly 3,700 comic books, which account for about 30 percent of the top-10 bestselling books. China, on the other hand, publishes about 100 comic books a year.

The sluggish comic market in China has a reason - adults. Domestically, comics are still thought of as a just-for-kids genre.

This mind-set has put Wang in difficult situations. For example, last year he tried to find a publisher for a comic book by a Chinese artist whose books had already been published in France. He approached three publishers; all refused him.

The first rejected the books because they were not in the popular Japanese style. The second refused them on the grounds that they were not geared toward children. The third said Chinese readers didn't like this style and the high quality of the images would only add costs.

A partnership forms

But after this rejection, Wang finally did find a partner in Joint Publishing Company International, and it took all of 10 minutes to get them excited about the project.

Just two months after Wang met with Zhang Zhijun, deputy manager at Joint Publishing, the books hit the shelves.

Zhang said that in 2002, Joint Publishing became the first to introduce graphic novels from Taiwanese artists such as Jimmy and Tsai Chih Chung, and brought China's comics market to a new era. And now it's blazing a new trail for European works, too.

Zhang recalled the first time she encountered European comic books to the Global Times.

"I thought comic books were mostly about hallucinatory stories, fictional, no space or time, but I never thought they could be so real," she said. "Instead of fantasy, Emmanuel Lepage's works reflect the real world."

Lepage's Muchacho tells the story of a cartoonist in Nicaragua and his own growth process. In order to accurately reflect the people he would be depicting, Emmanuel traveled to Nicaragua himself, and interviewed countless people to get a better picture of their lives and inject that extra dose of reality that Zhang enjoyed.

"And the way of drawing - each image is so amazing! (The European artists) draw comics like they are producing movies," said Zhang. "We should bring this kind of art to more people, to let them be seen."

Still an underground scene

Zhang thought that bringing various styles of comics to China would also benefit Chinese cartoonists.

"Some cartoonists are still not skilled enough," Zhang said. "Some just lack an international perspective."

Wang has seen firsthand that Chinese graphic artists are not yet ready for the international stage. In the first three years he was introducing Chinese comics to European readers, 50 out of 60 comics sold poorly. The style of drawing and stories simply didn't grab the European readers' attention.

Yet, cartoonists who draw in the European way do exist in China, like Zhang Xiaoyu, and some have gone on to publish books in France and attract a decent following.

They are in the minority, though, and most in China have to seek underground publishing and sell to a very niche audience.

"Besides bringing great works to more people, we would like to build a platform to allow pioneering Chinese graphic artists to be seen," Zhang said.

In terms of the fans, Zhang mentioned that although Chinese graphic artists are still a small group, they have inspired a stable number of fan clubs who sincerely love this kind of art and the local output.

"We find people who can do the translating jobs for Emmanuel's work from those fans," she said.

Zhang revealed that Joint Publishing will launch two more works from Emmanuel Lepage in October. More importantly, they'll introduce a series of works from other European comic masters, including the godfather of the field, Moebius - the first time the artist will enter the Chinese market.

Besides working with Joint Publishing Company International, Wang also cooperates with other publishers to introduce more great works. Wang revealed that comic books from Italy and Switzerland will come out in September and October, released by Shanghai People's Publishing House.