Comics have probably become a familiar and indispensable part of many people's childhood. With their special love for comics, some students majoring in Graphic Design at the Da Nang-based Duy Tan University have connected together to establish the ‘Linh Chi’ (Tin Soldiers) group, thereby unleashing their creativity, and drawing “Made-in-Viet Nam” comics.

Members of the ‘Linh Chi’ (Tin Soldiers) group are students majoring in Graphic Design at the Da Nang-based Duy Tan University

Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh, born in 2001, who is the group leader, said that the group was named Tin Soldiers because this is a familiar comic character. The image of the tin soldier represents courage, and willing to face difficulties. Therefore, the group members want to overcome all difficulties together for a common goal.

As shared by Linh, the group now has nearly 10 members. Each member takes on a different task to form a comic book such as designing the cover; sketching characters; researching costumes and colorful scenes; determining main and supporting characters, and the timeline; briefing the content; creating scripts; adjusting the dialogue; and arranging page layout.

The first brainchild of the group is a comic book series called "Tuong Tu" (Lovesick), adapted from the novel "Co Gai Den Tu Hom Qua" (The girl from yesterday) by famous Vietnamese writer Nguyen Nhat Anh.

Thuy Linh confided that it took the group about two months to come up with ideas and start to draw. The comic book series was a non-profit product. As soon as it was released, the series was posted on social networks so that all young people who loved comics could read it for free. It quickly attracted a large number of readers.

In addition to adapting famous works into comic book form, the group has developed new products on their own. In particular, the group has recently introduced a comic book called "Ghost School", which tells the story of an exciting adventure of a group of students.

According to the group members, there are comic books that take 2-3 months to finish, but there are also ones that take up to 7-8 months to release the most satisfactory version.

When making a comic book, there are usually 2 trends. As for comics that can be adapted based on existing works of famous writers, such as Nguyen Nhat Anh, it is easy for group members to have many ideas about dialogue, context and character building.

However, on the contrary, the work requires more creativity and novelty to avoid boredom while still having to keep the ‘soul’ and convey the messages of the original plot.

On the other hand, there are comic books created entirely from the inspiration of ideas by the group members. This trend puts pressure on the group to complete the stages by themselves, especially ensuring an attractive script, and maintaining the curiosity and love of readers until the last pages. “Ghost School” is such a series.

Le Thi Anh Thi , born in 2003,  who is in charge of writing the group's script, shared "During their studying at school, we have acquired a lot of knowledge and skills that are the foundation for us to be able to pursue our passion for drawing comics".

In order to have strong, flexible strokes that express the depth of the characters' inner thoughts and best convey the plot of a famous work, the group has taken on the task of drawing storyboards for a number of foreign films.

Aside from making the group's common comics, each member also has their own creative comic products or takes on additional jobs related to their major such as drawing characters, and designing logos and posters in order to earn meaningful income.

Teacher Nguyen Tien Viet, a lecturer of the Faculty of Architecture and Applied Arts of the Duy Tan University, who always accompanies the Tin Soldiers group, expresses that he always encourages students to boldly realise their passions of drawing comics. This helps create a healthy and useful playground for not only Duy Tan students but also young people in Da Nang who are passionate about drawing and comics.

Reporting by MAU DON - Translating by M.DUNG