Masa Depan, Pilihanmu. Daftar Sekarang!
Lifestyle

Malaysian Comic Artist Duo Gets Worldwide Attention For Adorable COVID-19 Themed Art

Desiree Gasper 08/04/2020 | 04:38 MYT
Almost everyone has that one favourite comic strip that they love.
As simple as they may seem to be, comics can make you laugh, cry and even result in a change of mindset.
During this COVID-19 season, many comics have been popping up all over social media but one adorable creation by The Potato Couple, two Penang-based comic artists, got the world's attention recently.
The Potato Couple which initially started off as J&Y Productions is the product of creative duo/couple, Jason and YMei.

Positive comments from fans around the world

When contacted by Rojak Daily, Jason said that the two of them were overwhelmed with all the response that they got after posting the COVID-19 comic which featured Thanos' epic Infinity Gauntlet.

"When I thought about the doctors and other frontliners fighting the virus, I immediately thought of Thanos and his glove.

"I then created the comic in the signature Potato Couple style and included frontliners from all different races to reflect our frontliners here," he said.

Jason added that the artwork has since gotten positive comments from fans from all over the world.

A post shared by J&Y Productions | Official (@thepotatocouple) on

"If you scroll through our Instagram post, you can see them commenting in different languages. Some in Spanish, French and even Arabic," he said, adding that many just loved the creation.
The post has since gotten over 90,000 likes and hundreds of comments.
One fan even created a super cool 3D version of the artwork!
Jason said that the comics produced by the couple were often a reflection of what they themselves go through daily.
"Other than the Thanos comic, we also posted several other creations that were COVID-19 related," he said, explaining that some were humorous, some were educational, and others were emotional.

Part of a larger initiative

Jason, who is an engineer by profession, later said that the comic that got the world's attention was actually a part of a more significant effort.
"The whole thing was a movement started by another local comic artist called Nixon Siow," he said.
Nixon has his own line of comics called Crazy Rich Guy.
"Nixon started the movement because his girlfriend is a frontliner at a hospital in Kuala Lumpur. He reached out to other local comic artists and asked if we could come up with our own creations to thank the doctors, nurses and other medical staff who were working very hard to keep us safe," he said adding that the initiative was called '#tqfrontliners'.

Let’s spend a minute to appreciate the front-liners, the medical team who sacrifice their time, energy, risk their lives to fight Covid19. If you’re an artist, or anyone can draw, you’re welcome to create one to cheer up the frontliners. #tqfrontliners #covid19

A post shared by Nixon Siow (@nixonsiow) on

Many local comic artists took part

Nixon said that many local artists took part in #tqfrontliners and it was a hit among Malaysians.
"Through the artwork, we also spread awareness on COVID-19 and sometimes even include reminders on how to keep themselves safe and break the chain of infection," he said.
Some other local artists who took part in the initiative include Bro, Don't Like That La, Bro, Fishball, Relaxed Lok Lok, 小幻の涂鸦日志, Miao & Wafu Pafu, Michael Chuah and Ong Lyn-Hui.
Here's are some of the awesome work these talented artists created:
What a lovely collection, kan?
Also, if you're bored and looking for something interesting to do (while observing the MCO regulations), go check out the other works by these talented local comic artists.
We love, love, love a lot of the creations.
#COVID-19 #COVID-19 #comic #potato
;