SO LONG, AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH

Nearly five years and 700 pages later, the Anema series is complete. Well... not really, but this afterward should tie up all loose ends.

This is unrelated to Anema, but a philosophical article I first wrote as a term paper ended up published in a University of London internal newsletter.

The article in question, Saving Induction, is right here.

What have I been up to this half-a-year?

1. Been marketing Anema to major publishers all over the place- 1 in the US, 1 in France. My goal is to clinch 'buy-in' agreements, like how western publishers 'buy' Japanese manga to sell to their own markets.

2. Finishing up my military conscription, which I did not complete prior to my undergraduate studies. Served a total of 2 and a half years.

At this point I've had quite a few misadventures:

A UK literary agent agreed to carry Anema, but was disappointingly rejected by all publishers there whom he thought would be keen.

A regional licensor of the famous Tintin comic had high praises for Anema, and suggested a deal in future. I called back months later to the question, "Have we met before?"

An European distributor of Asterix and Dragon Ball was impressed by my proposal and work, but reasoned that it was too different in character from their range of books to deal with.

A rep from one of America's top comic publishers expressed interest, but the final decision lay with someone who didn't think it was any good.

Book series mades its offical debut in the U.S. with a startup publisher. I terminated deal two months later after realising they over-represented their capabilities and plans. Personal differences arose too.

One more for the trophy cabinet...

Web Design Classics Gold Award
presented by the Web Design Classics.com

Garnered two awards for website excellence!

The Golden Web Award
presented by The International Association of Web Masters and Designers

The World Web Award
presented by Art Space 2000.com

OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF ANEMA-AOTR!

Turned Anema into a webcomic (www.anema-aotr.com). All possible sponsors rejected my proposal for funding. Succeeded at doing it alone, learning the ropes of web design and colouring comics on my own.

Ministry Of Education sends a letter of support. <See>

What's Up?, an English-language student paper, writes on Anema. <See>

Invited to give a talk at Ravenahl Study Center. Previous guests included WW2 heroes, company directors and luminaries. Read a letter <See> detailing woes of Singapore’s publishing industry. <Read it here!>

Belated official launch of Anema held in Jin Tai Primary School, my very old alma mater and where I once got a 'Special Achievement Award' for completing 100 comic books when I was 12 years old.

Nearly a quarter of the student population bought Book One, and some even asked to buy the decoration posters!