New Comics Movement — Exploring the Internet Political Cartoons in Hong Kong

This essay provides an overview of the development of political cartoons in Hong Kong before moving onto a focused analysis of the internet political cartoons that has gained its traction in the last decade. The four areas of analysis are: 1. Interaction between the cartoonists and the readers: the internet enables an “invisible covenant” between the cartoonist and followers, which both connects and restricts; 2. Cultural identity changes of the political cartoonists: while traditional political cartoons aim to comment and criticize, internet political cartoons aims to promote followers’ actions; 3. Breakthrough of formality and content: the design background shared by many of the internet political cartoonists have equipped them to explore new formats and language of communication. Charts and plotless panel organization are examples among others; 4. Depoliticization: new generation political cartoonists turn their attention from “hard politics” to daily life politics. This turn can be read as a reflection of the political reality of Hong Kong at this point of time.