108 Media is well known for cross-cultural content. One of their latest projects is an animated series of the comic The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye. The comic was created by Sony Liew. It provides a fascinating look at Singapore’s culture and political struggles. The comic tells the story of Charlie Chan, a comic writer that never found the success he desired.

Sony Liew says he created Charlie Chan to be the comic artist Singapore needed, but didn’t have. He wanted Charlie Chan to rival, but be more adaptable than, the Japanese and American iconic artists. Perhaps more importantly, Liew wanted to create an artist who had lived through some of the most challenging times in Singapore’s history. Someone who could channel provocative political opinions into exciting and moving comics.

108 Media explains that the book appears as a dossier of a failed artist work. It includes pencil sketches, comic strips, and even excerpts from Charlie’s failed magazine, Dragon. Singapore is well known for censorship. 108 notes that the government withdrew support for the graphic novel, but stopped short of banning it. The book provides an intimate look at Singapore’s politics and history, which most Western countries know little about.

When Sony Liew is asked about the 108 Media adaptation, he says “As a comic artist, you have a lot of control over the product, whereas once you let it go into the world and other people get involved, it will change. It’s going to be interesting to see how the other people involved see this in a new medium.” Given 108 devotion to telling unique culturally diverse stories, it’s exciting to see how the series will take shape. It will be a six-part animated series, and will be filmed in Singapore. Liew says he was approached by other production companies, but no one was committed to the project until 108 media.

108 Media is on a mission to change the way people view content. They focus on diversity, quality, and new ideas. Artists and writers become part of a collaborative effort within the 108 ecosystem. Blowback and Darklands are a few of the series currently in development, along with Charlie Chan. Eerie and Long Walk are films released by 108 . 108 Media has 7 locations around the world. Their headquarters is in Singapore.