Enterprise visit | aiming at the Bay Area Culturecom to activate 200 port comics IP

Picture: Guan jiancong, managing director of cultural communication. Photographed by Ta Kung Pao reporter Wen Shu

With the progress of the times, today's urbanites have a wide range of entertainment options. The comics that used to accompany the growth of Hong Kong people have become part of the collective memory. With nearly 200 comic IP (intellectual property rights), cultural Messenger (00343) plans to carry out a large-scale activation project for its IP products. The old IP is expected to be reinvigorated. In line with the "14th five year plan", Hong Kong's cultural status will be written into the national plan for the first time, aiming at the Dawan district market\ Ta Kung Pao reporter Li Jieyi

"The 1970s and 1990s were the best time to inherit Hong Kong's cartoon and film culture." In an exclusive interview with Ta Kung Pao, Guan jiancong, the managing director of cultural communication, pointed out that the success of Hong Kong man and Hong Kong produced films is nothing more than the integration of Chinese and Western cultures, which makes the theme of the works richer.

Cultural messenger sits on popular comics such as "hooligans" (later known as "dragon and Tiger Gate") and "Chinese heroes", which involve multiple characters. Some works take Hong Kong culture as the root and foreign scenes as the deputy as the creative blueprint.

Cultural communication has a long-term cooperative relationship with cartoonist Huang Yulang. In 2000, cultural communication began to authorize Huang Yulang to create the new book dragon and tiger gate until 2020. Guan jiancong revealed that Wenchuan has collected royalties of about HK $70million to HK $80million in the past 20 years. However, the two went to court earlier, and Wen Chuan received a court injunction prohibiting Huang Yulang from publishing "hooligans" and related products without authorization.

Comics of the past added elements of the times

Guan jiancong believes that even the copyright of comics 50 years ago can contain great value. He pointed out that Marvel comics has a history of more than 80 years, but through the activation of the film series, it has accumulated more than US $22.5 billion (about HK $175.5 billion) in box office worldwide. Taking into account derivatives and related business operations, it has driven at least US $100 billion of the industrial chain.

"In the past, in the field of Hong Kong mansions, the characterization of characters was highly personalized, and the cultural heritage became the most unique part of Hong Kong mansions." Guan jiancong believes that traditional paper comics are declining, and it is the most important to inherit an IP. How to make comic IP play better and more suitable for the needs of the times requires adding elements of the times.

Guan jiancong bluntly said that the newly created IP is always less valuable than the old IP. After all, the new IP needs to rely on publicity, investment and other means to let people know, "whether it will be popular later is another matter". He believes that when an IP survives to a certain period of time and is reactivated, the artistic life of the character can continue. "The original IP is a golden hen, which can continuously lay eggs and produce value." Combining the era background, social background and cultural background, superimposing skill creation, originality is more valuable.

Statistics show that the scale of the mainland animation IP industry has exceeded 200billion yuan. Guan jiancong pointed out that the mainland has a good animation production team and technology, but what is lacking is the original IP. If the development of Hong Kong Style comics can adapt to the pace of the times, face the mainland, and fully activate the local cartoon IP that has accumulated for decades, it will derive greater value.

The whole project will take 5 to 10 years

Guan jiancong revealed that cultural messenger has begun to sort out its IP and plans to establish a joint venture with partners to carry out a large-scale activation project for all its martial arts comic IP.

"To activate the Hong Kong man IP, we should not simply authorize or rewrite the story, but re plan all the characters and scenes. For example, only by repositioning the fighting power, appearance and tricks of the protagonist of" Chinese hero ", can we have new ideas." Guan jiancong said that the whole activation project will take 5 to 10 years. He hopes to expand the market of Dawan district and strengthen cultural exchanges between the two places by strengthening the incubation and integration of cartoon and animation IP.