A large proportion of local comic creators have cited Japanese manga as their greatest source of inspiration and influence in their formative years as fans. Manga was imported into Singapore in the 1970s and 80s, but it was in the 1990s to 2000s that manga began to rise to popularity, particularly amongst Chinese speakers. Apart from an increasing number of anime aired on local and cable television channels, a large part of this phenomenon can be attributed to Chuang Yi publishing translating many popular manga titles into simplified Chinese and later English language at affordable prices. The former is priced at a slightly lower price point than the latter, often from S$4.50 to S$6.50. In comparison, imported manga from Taiwanese and Hong Kong publishers, apart from being in traditional Chinese, often cost around S$8 to S$10, while imported english language manga from American publishers such as Tokyopop cost above S$10, and typical superhero trade paperbacks and European albums were much more expensive. Not only were Chuang Yi manga the most wallet-friendly, they were also easier to find in mainstream book stores such as Popular and MPH, and on neighbourhood stationery stores with a magazine rack. The marketing strategy of putting affordable manga next to essential assessment books, stationeries, newspapers and magazines proved to be extremely effective in capturing a very specific group of target audiences – school students with limited financial means, whom upon exhausting the amount of reading materials in their immediate vicinity, would venture into specialist comic shops such as Comics Connection, larger bookstores such as Kinokyuniya, and rental bookstores for more exotic imports, opening the gateway to comics fandom.

Most of the manga titles that were widely circulated locally were of Shounen and Shoujo genre that appeal strongly to the social emotional needs of adolescents, featuring school-going protagonists who struggle with personal, familial, financial, and academic difficulties while flourishing in alternative domains of sports, romance, fantasy and the arts. Titles typical of such setups included Prince of Tennis, Fruits Basket, Absolute Boyfriend, Shaman King, Flame of Recca, and Samurai Deeper Kyo, Death Note, Hikaru no Go and Nana. In the eyes of parents and teachers, consuming, creating and re-enacting these fantasies through reading, drawing and cosplaying were at best ways for teens to escape shared realities, or at worst, a distraction to proper academic pursuits. But to the teenagers involved, these were healthy ways to cope with stress and socialise with like-minded peers, while allowing them to be creative and find a sense of fulfilment. Many fans have also turned into creators themselves, with their early exposure to manga largely driving their stylistic and genre choices. 

Being a comic artist, or an artist in general, is deemed to be an unorthodox career choice in the local context. Embracing the identity of the comic artist can be deemed as a rebellion against traditional Singaporean notions of having a stable job with decent pay, as publishing opportunities were few and far between. In a time before online platforms and social media, physical comic books were published independently, or through contests or publishing initiatives. Some are compiled into anthologies or magazines, but most of these were one-off or short-lived projects, many of which are currently out of print. Examples include Comics Alliance (漫画同盟) anthology series published by Asiapac books in 1997, 1998 and 2001 (Fig.1), Singapore’s Greatest Comics by the Nice one Entertainment in 2006 (Fig. 2). Eight titles published by Chuang Yi Publishing under the First Time Writers and Illustrators Publishing initiatives funded by Media Development Authority (now IMDA) in 2008 (Fig. 3), and its next iteration funded by the same grant –  Ignite! Presents ARENA Fantasy and Sci-fi vol. 0 anthologies published by Nice One Entertainment in 2010 (Fig. 4).