Cambodia.
Cambodia
1964
Cambodian comics began in 1964, when Uth Roeun published Neytung Neysang, the first Khmer comic book, and a decade of market comics followed until war and the Khmer Rouge regime stopped production and destroyed most early books.
Screen-printed comics boomed again in the 1980s with romance, horror and legend stories by artists such as Im Sokha and Em Satya, until piracy and television ended the boom in the 1990s. Since 2006 an archive project, NGO workshops and the French-Cambodian artist Sera have helped a new generation publish graphic novels.
12
17
1964
1960s
Artists from Cambodia in the archive.
Comics from Cambodia in the archive.
Neytung Neysang, the earliest comic from Cambodia in the archive.
The decade when the most new comics from Cambodia began.
bande dessinée
Cambodia in 4 chapters
A short history you can leaf through. Click a page, use the arrow keys, or press Turn the page to read on.
Cambodia.
4 chapters
Chapter 1
1964
to 1975
The first golden age
1964
to 1975
Chapter 01
The first golden age
Inspired by French comics and Tintin, Uth Roeun published Neytung Neysang in 1964; a first run of 10,000 copies was quickly followed by another, and the same year came Preah Thoung Neang Neak, whose tolerant view of Muslims got him briefly arrested. Other young artists soon sold comics and illustrated pulp stories in Phnom Penh markets, such as Chuon Ra's comedy Mr Soy Visits Heaven.
1975
to 1979
Chapter 02
War and the Khmer Rouge
Civil war and the Khmer Rouge regime halted comics, many artists were killed and most early books were lost, so the earliest surviving Uth Roeun comic is One Night for You from 1966. Uth Roeun survived by drawing construction plans for the regime.
1980
to 1999
Chapter 03
The 1980s boom
With state support for the arts in the 1980s, comics revived as a cottage industry of home screen-printed books sold in markets, covering romance, horror and Khmer legends, and older titles were reprinted, often without credit. Im Sokha was among the fastest artists and drew the horror story Snae Neang Klaa, and Em Satya drew about ten comics from 1987 before turning to political cartoons as Nono. When private presses arrived around 1990, piracy and television made new comics unprofitable.
2000
to today
Chapter 04
Archives, workshops and graphic novels
Uth Roeun founded the Association of Cambodian Artist Friends in 2000, and the non-profit Our Books, co-founded in 2006, began a digital archive of about 300 Cambodian comics and published Em Satya's Flower of Battambang. Sera's (Re)Generations workshops (2005 to 2008) produced a 2008 anthology and, through the Phare Ponleu Selpak studio Sonleuk Thmey, the 2010 graphic novels Nos Coeurs and Au Commencement. In 2012 the government named Uth Roeun a national living treasure.
The comics to know
- Neytung Neysang1964 · graphic novelUth Roeun. Regarded as the first Cambodian comic book; a story of two teenage friends.
- One Night for You1966 · graphic novelUth Roeun. The earliest Uth Roeun comic to survive the Khmer Rouge period.
- Mr Soy Visits Heavengraphic novelChuon Ra. 1960s comedy, screen printed in A5 black and white.
- Snae Neang Klaagraphic novelIm Sokha. 1980s horror comic, Romance of the Tiger Lady.
- Flower of Battambang2007 · graphic novelEm Satya. Graphic novel that sat unpublished for years until Our Books issued it.
- (Re)Générations: La Nouvelle Bande Dessinée Khmère2008 · graphic novelWorkshop artists, directed by Sera. The first anthology of its kind in Cambodia.
The people to know
- Uth RoeunBorn 1944Author of the first Cambodian comic book (1964); national living treasure from 2012.
- Chuon Ra1960s comics artist, author of Mr Soy Visits Heaven.
- Im SokhaProlific 1980s comics artist, later an editorial cartoonist.
- Em SatyaBorn 19521980s comics artist and political cartoonist Nono; author of Flower of Battambang.
- SeraPhouséra IngBorn 1961French-Cambodian comics author who led workshops for young Cambodian artists.
More artists from Cambodia
More comics from Cambodia
- L'Eau et la Terre2005 · graphic novel
- Tum Teavgraphic novel
- Impasse et Rouge1995 · graphic novel
- Au Commencement2010 · graphic novel
- Stormy Mind of a Young Girlgraphic novel
- Concombres amers2018 · graphic novel
- Nos Coeurs2010 · graphic novel
- New Life in Kompong Preah1986 · graphic novel
- Preah Thoung Neang Neak1964 · graphic novel
- Bong Proh Chet Botgraphic novel
- Torn Cheygraphic novel