Yes, NINE years. Time sure flies!

My first time at the Comic Art Festival Kuala Lumpur (CAFKL) was back in 2016; my ‘virgin’ experience with any sort of comic / arts convention, so to speak. Back then it was held at Quill City Mall (which is dead these days), but they’ve since moved the venue to Fahrenheit 88 in Bukit Bintang, where they recently held their 9th edition.

For the uninitiated, CAFKL is organised by the same people behind the iconic Comic Fiesta (undisputedly, Malaysia’s largest anime and manga convention, which I’ve never been to because tickets are snapped up immediately and you have to queue hours to get in).

CAFKL, on the other hand, spotlights local comic artists and illustrators. It gets a healthy dose of visitors too, which is heartening. Entry was RM15 (surprised they haven’t raised it since this was the price almost 10 years ago!)

The event occupied the top floor of Fahrenheit 88, and featured hundreds of booths. It was fairly easy to navigate, although it was crowded at times because the space isn’t that large. N, W, and I made our way methodically down each row before circling back to the other end, so we wouldn’t miss anything.

(Above): Whimsical pieces from Lynette (IG: lyn_eht)

Naruto fans will know these booklets!

Creative zines on existential ennui. (FB: Shitty Tahigala Wolf)

Blue ink portraits, where the artist draws you on the spot.

Some of my favourite artwork at the con – Baldur’s Gate 3 (my fave game) prints from IG: blurblur06

Dreamy, girly postcards, posters, and stickers from IG: lenpacca

A lot of cute character illustrations.

Aside from drawn art, there were other collector items too like dolls and toys.

Adorable clay earrings, shaped like traditional Malaysian childhood snacks and kueh mueh.

There were talks throughout the day by guest artists. Here, webcomic artist tahilalats shares his story on how his slice-of-life comics became a massive hit in his native Indonesia.

One of the more interesting activities was this ‘wall of comics’ where members of the public could make their own! There was a section where you were given a theme (Monster) and you’d have to create a one-pager based around the topic. The other was a ‘comic caterpillar’ where you’d have many different submissions – so the person after you would interpret your panel and continue the story.

W has always been the more talented one at drawing in the family lol. If my parents hadn’t forced him to be an engineer, pretty sure he would have been an artist by now.

To recap: while it’s always fun to have events like this supporting the local creative industry, it definitely featured more illustrations than comics and it just felt quite different from CAFKL3, which I attended all those years ago.

I suppose parts of the event have had to change to keep up with current demands / preferences. However, this meant that it was quite similar to the KL Illustration Fair (which I also attended in the same month). Even some of the booths were the same.

I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of disapopintment, as I Had been looking forward to discovering more local mangaka / comic artists. That being said, absolutely no hate, only love for the illustrators – in a world where machines are threatening to take over, any creative work that comes from the heart is great work.

Stay updated at https://www.facebook.com/cafkl.

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