Not many people know it but there has been initiatives that encourages Malaysians to be comic artists. Such is the effort put up by Drawlaahh which cultivates the activity of drawing comic art by a group of Malaysians. It started when a group of Malaysian comic artists had the chance to interact with the likes of David Lloyd (of V for Vendetta fame), Matt Fraction (Iron Man and Uncanny X-Men) and Salvador Larocca (Iron Man) at the 2010 Singapore Toys Games and Comic Convention.
It was the words of Matt Fraction that inspired the group of artists to start Drawlaahh. He told them to ‘Finish something, get it out and keep showing up’. Drawlaahh started off as merely an art blog space. Then, it was to help the group of artists to work on a central theme and then posting it up on the internet. This went on for a year and then they grouped together to launch the ‘Drawlaahh: Vol 1’ sketchbook.
Basically, this initiative under the Banshee Creative group is a truly Malaysian effort and is a collection of comic artwork that include the work of Alan Quah entitled ‘The Joker’. Essentially, Drawlaahh is the brainchild of Angelia Ong who has been actively involved in many domestic comic-centric events and programmes like the Malaysian Games and Comics Convention and the Comics Are Cool event. Today DrawLaahh is one of the most vibrant comic art groups in Malaysia where it offers a place to indulge in this art form that has often been so overlooked in the conventional art scene.
