Chinese Comics: Peng Di (aka 朋弟), A Molin 2

Here's another batch of strips scanned from a book I brought back from China in 2004. This stuff is by cartoonist 朋弟 (aka Peng Di, Feng Di, Peer Di), and I'd say these examples are from the 30's/40's, but I can't say for sure. The title seems to be A Molin 2, which, according this this guy is a funny tranlation:

"I found a better dictionary and noticed that the word 阿木林 can mean someone who is easily decieved or a fool. I think that is what the name 阿摩林 should be translated as. Perhaps this is a way to say the same thing in Shanghai. From now on Ah Molin will be known as Suckah."

Maybe "A. Dupe" would be a good name.

Anyway, this is from a series of reprints published in 2003; I bought three different ones, but gave the other two to friends. This book is all four-panel strips, while the others I saw looked like longer stories. The strips from this book deal with class struggle, the male/female dynamic, and hygiene, I guess.

Title Translations:
pg 1: Eat Well
pg 2: The Suction Kiss
pg 3: Standard Table Lamp.

That's about all I can figure out. I found these on the Google-translated page here. I'll make up unfunny but jokey fake titles from here on.

Thus,

pg 11: Now He Has One Leg!

pg 19: Sharing Hooker's Bed Bugs
pg 31: Popeye Contest
pg 39: Baby Collector ???
pg 46: Fickle Lady

pg 52: Ass Licker
pg 57: Rickshaw and Severed Head

LINK ROUNDUP

Peng-Di Wikipedia entry, Google translation

Peng Di series on Amazon.cn

Translated Peng-Di Comics on wobumingbai.typepad.com:
The Real Shanghai, introductory post,
The Real Shanghai, subsequent pages
Make Your Fortune and Return Home

Ther was some controversy over characters in the seemingly pretty profitable Old Master Q series being plagiarized from Peng Di's comics (and they are obvious rip-offs). More info on this:
Old Master Q Wikipedia Entry
People.com.cn Article, Google Translation

That's it, have fun!

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Chinese Comics: Sanmao

This will be the first of a few posts with scans of comics I got while I was in China in 2004. They're all old, as I didn't see much of anything contemporary. If I ever go back I'll try to do some legwork beforehand and find out where a comic shop is.

Anyhow, first up is Sanmao, who's a very popular chracter over there with a long running strip. Sanmao literally means "three hairs" or "three whiskers," and he's a put-upon, typically homeless urchin just trying to get by. These comics are from the late 40's during China's cultural revolution, so you see lots of political stuff going on. I'm not sure if the book I have starts with the very first strip or if it's a ways into the story, but here he's just heading to the city and seems pretty naive:

He's taken in by a kindly old fisherman, however:

After being back on his own for a few strips he's taken in by a family, until their house burns down, then he's back on the street alone again. In the book he goes through a series of these kinds of ups and downs, matching wits with other street kids, overfed fat rich people, wild animals, the thoughtless, the greedy, the mean. He dreams of a better life, but not much comes of it, even though he's a good guy.

That's it! Mostly pretty good comics, but maybe a little melodramatic or political in places. They're almost all wordless, too, for easy reading.

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