Ma Wing-shing's artwork in exhibition Photo: Courtesy of Comix Home Base

The inspiration of many successful films, animated series and TV shows, Hong Kong comic creator Ma Wing-shing's Storm Riders and other series will be honored during the retrospective The Birth of a Hero - Exhibition of Ma Wing-shing's Comic Works running through October 20 at the Comix Home Base in Hong Kong.

The exhibition follows the 52-year-old artist's announcement that he would end his Storm Riders series in July, which after 24 years remains the highest-grossing comic series in Hong Kong history.

Ma regards the exhibition as a fitting conclusion to his Storm Riders legacy. "It shows not only my comics, but also the world I've created."

Known as Fung Wan (literally winds and clouds), Storm Riders centers on the adventures of Nip Fung and Bou Ging-wan, two swordsmen with supernatural fighting skills.

"Ma's works have had an all-round influence, not only on a creative artistic level, but also in the commercialization of Hong Kong comics," Connie Lam, executive director of Hong Kong Arts Centre, told the Global Times in an e-mail interview. "His success... has made Hong Kongers rethink the social importance of comic books," she added.

Winds of change

When Ma began Storm Riders in 1989, he had already been recognized as a popular comic book author for over seven years with his work on popular series Chinese Hero.

Influenced by Japanese comics artists such as Takumi Nagayasu and Osamu Tezuka, Ma's masculine lines and striking storyboards were recognized as a clean break from the violence and gore prevalent in Hong Kong comics during the 1970s.

This, coupled with his stories of gallant swordsmen struggling in a web of social relationships and traditional values, were instrumental in creating a unique Hong Kong style.

"If you put comics from [Hong Kong, Japan and Western regions] side by side, you can easily distinguish Hong Kong comics," he said. "They feature traditional Chinese artistic styles and elements such as ancient rites and tales of swordsmen."

Only intending to last about 100 issues, Ma has published over 600 to date, keeping Storm Riders one of the best-selling comics in Hong Kong.

"But as a creator, I found it very hard to make any more breakthroughs. I regretted that, so I decided to bring the series to an end," said Ma.

A leading figure among Hong Kong comic artists for over 30 years, Ma admits success can be a creative double-edged sword. "I've become tired of the never-ending cycle. I have to repeat the stories and the plots to keep it going, but this makes my creations rigid and lifeless."

Though Ma has sworn off working on future commercial series, this doesn't mean the end of his comic book career.

"For now I first want to finish off the storyline, then slowly start to create again and find an interesting new format to work in."

Perhaps fans are feeling the same burnout, as critics explain sales of Storm Riders have declined in recent years.

"A decrease in sales does not mean a decrease in our readers," Ma responded, citing the demand for online comics and e-books have hit the whole print industry.

But Ma also acknowledges that his fans may also just be growing up, moving on and leaving the stories of their childhoods behind. 

Rainmaker in action

Ma's love affair with comics began as a young student during a time when they were not recognized as an art form.

"When I started out in my career, my teacher and boss had no idea how to teach comic illustration. So most artists of my generation learned on their own," said Ma.

His first break came after he answered an ad recruiting comic assistants in a newspaper. Soon after, Ma published his first comic, Daydream, at 14 years old.

In 1982, Ma signed on with local publisher Jade Comics and went on to become the creative force behind the Chinese Hero series, which to date holds the Hong Kong record for best-selling comic book with over 200,000 copies of a single issue.

But Ma explained the success of Chinese Hero also made the company creatively cautious. Managers mandated that some characters could not be killed off, and authors were required to report frequently the change in storyline.

Well paid yet artistically frustrated, Ma left Jade Comics in 1989 to start his own company, Jonesky, through which he launched his Storm Riders series only months later.

"When I was a teenager, I drew comics to make myself happy. But during my work with Chinese Hero, I really learned how to write and draw with readers in mind."

Success for Ma came quickly. Combined with added revenue from importing Japanese comics such as Slam Dunk and Dragon Ball, Ma became the richest comic book creator in Hong Kong with a net worth of over HK$ 2 billion ($257.9 million).

Future forecast

In addition to the exhibition, Comix Home Base invited Ma to hold four weekly master classes starting September 21, the first of which attracted more than 100 budding artists and amateur comic book creators.

To further nurture the industry's next generation, Ma has been a patron of young artists for years and invested in many start-up projects.

"After finishing all the work, I hope to channel my experience and expertise into creating art courses," said Ma. "I plan to enroll experts from different artistic disciplines to pass on the spirit of Hong Kong comics."

Ma stressed that above all, artists must have passion for storytelling, which in turn sparks excitement in readers.

"After all, comic artists are different from other artists. They don't have to just create a series of pictures, but also face a pop culture market full of challenges. In order to continue to make readers feel something, we've got to be persistent and keep creating," said Ma.