Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC), the largest comics and animation event in the United States, will take place at the San Diego Convention Center from July 25 to 28, 2024. This year marks the first partnership between the Taiwan Academy of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles (TECO-LA) and Taiwan Character Brand Licensing Association. The Taiwan Exhibit features Taiwanese artists Bird Era, Shaogao and Paula Hsu as special guests at Booth 5524. Additionally, Los Angeles-based Taiwanese artist E. J. Su will host at Artist Alley Booth HH-19. We welcome you to visit these two booths to enjoy various events including caricature drawing.
Shaogao, whose full birth name is Wen-Han Yu, moved to Canada at the age of 10. After college graduation, he began to create comics for his blog under the name of Shaogao. At the age of 30, he returned to Taiwan and established a company to produce animations. His YouTube channel currently has accumulated over 400 original works. The main character, Shaogao, is known for his short and chubby appearance paired with a signature yellow hoodie. His comics’ stories focus on amusing incidents with his girlfriend Baby and his cat.
The creator of BIRD ERA graduated from the department of Tainan University of Technology. After adopting a bird, she became concerned about birds’ survival and focused on ecological conservation issues. She hopes to inspire readers to become informed about and advocate for birds. Her works are represented in various forms such as comics, illustrations, and merchandises which relate to topics like pet bird life and wild bird preservations. Artist Paula Hsu started her career as an illustration creator since 2018. Her works include UPPER Deck Marvel Black Diamond, movie character design, board games and illustrations based on Taiwanese dramas, which attract tens of thousands of followers on Instagram.
Partnering with SDCC, Los Angeles-based Taiwanese comic creator E. J. Su is invited to host Booth HH-19 of Artist Alley this year. He was the artist of Hasbro Transformers toy bible and product illustrations. Currently, he is the artist of various Marvel comic book cover illustrations such as Spider-Man, Ultraman and Moon Knight. On July 26th, he will participate in two events, “Ultraman Artist Autograph Sessions” and “Marvel’s Ultraman X Avengers – Ultraman Connection Live!”.
According to the Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles, the amount of SDCC attendees has increased year after year since the pandemic, surpassing 150,000 attendees last year. SDCC is a booming commercial opportunity to promote Taiwanese comics and IP works directly to the American market. It is the first time that Taiwan Pavilion presents original Taiwanese character IP works and participates in Artist Alley, with an aim for Taiwan's IP and comic works to garner attention in the overseas licensing and publication market. We look forward to welcoming you to visit Booth 5524 and HH-19 (Artist Alley) at SDCC!
For detailed event information, please refer to the following:
SDCC BOOTH 5524 Taiwan Exhibit: Meet Taiwan Artists
1. BIRD ERA: July 25th (Thu) – 28th (Sun), 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
2. Shaogao: July 25th (Thu) – 28th (Sun), 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM
3. Paula Hsu: July 25th (Thu) – 28th (Sun), 2:30 PM – 4:00 PM
SDCC Panel hosted by Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles:
1. Connecting Eastern and Western Market with Character IP Licensing: July 27th (Sat), 6:00 – 7:00 PM, Room 29AB
Artist E.J. Su Events:
1. Ultraman Artist Autograph Sessions: July 26th (Fri), 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM at Booth 3729 (Tsubuyara Productions)
2. Marvel’s Ultraman X Avengers – Ultraman Connection Live!: July 26th (Fri) 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM, Room 5AB