Manhoa

Truyen tranh (Chu Han: Chuan Zheng ) means comic in Vietnamese (aka Vietnamese Comics). This term has the English name Viet comics created by Floral Age Bimonthly magazine in the 1960s to refer to comics originating in Vietnam. It is sometimes called by the older name Man hoa (Chu Han: Man Hua ). In Vietnamese sometimes it will be called by longer names such as: Truyen tranh Viet Nam, truyen tranh Viet, truyen tranh noi, truyen tranh ta, truyen tranh trong nuoc,... to distinguish it from other types of foreign comics such as: Truyen tranh Au My (Western comics), truyen tranh Nhat Ban (Manga),...
History
Pre-1900
During the Medieval Annam, "Viet comics" often be called man hoa (Man Hua , comics) or lien-hoan hoa (Lian Huan Hua , sequential drawings) which was affected by China and sometimes India. They illustrated philosophy or tales which were printed by wood-blocks. There were some drawings for the educating females which were called "moral books" (Luan-ly giao-khoa thu).
French Indochina (1900 - 1953)
After the establishing of the Federation indochinoise with a long peace, the printing technology developed strongly to make books and newspapers became more. "Viet comics" has appeared gradually as cartoons which was called hoat-ke hoa (Hua Ji Hua ), hi hoa (Xi Hua ) or biem hoa (Bian Hua ).
About 1930s when Europeanisation movement was, "Viet comics" becamed an independent art with a big number of artists and readers. Customs&Mores Weekly (Phong-Hoa tuan-bao) and Today Weekly (Ngay-Nay tuan-bao) had known with three comic characters Bang Banh - Xa Xe - Ly Toet, Official's Son Weekly (Cau-Am tuan-bao) with the Three adventurous kids (Ba dua tre mao-hiem), Drake Weekly (Vit-Duc tuan-bao) with sequential drawings what often satirized Annamese writers, Indochinese government, especially the Governors-General... "Viet comics" always be called chuyen bang tranh (stories by drawings).
After WWII, there were comics what asked Vietnamese people against French Army and satirized French Government. In Hanoi and Saigon there were more comics what based on romance novels or knight tales. Besides, there were some comics with the topic of Vietnamese history and mythology.
Nguyen Tuong Tam (Dong Son)
Le Minh Duc (But Son)
Nguyen Gia Tri (Rigt)
To Ngoc Van (To Tu, Ai Mi)
Le Pho
Nguyen Thu Le (Le Ta)
Nguyen Tuong Long (Tu Ly)
Nguyen Van Thinh
Nguyen Minh My
Ta Ty
Luong Xuan Nhi
Bui Xuan Phai
Northern and Southern Vietnam (1954 - 1975)
From the late 1960s, comics flourished in the Republic of Vietnam by the Freedom of the Press. Firstly, the Floral Age Bimonthly (established in 1962) called "Viet comics" as Tranh-truyen Viet-nam (Vietnamese pictorial-stories).
These led to an increase in the number of comic artists. The most famous illustrator and comic artist at the time was Vo Hung Kiet and he was also an illustrator for stamps. His comics were much loved by children and even women. Topics often as : Family, friendship, adventure, detective, science fiction, wuxia, fairytales... which was affected by French comics, American and Hollywood, even Jules Verne, Conan Doyle, Jin Yong's works.
In the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, comics usually appeared on Pioneer Magazine, Children Magazine and Kim-Dong books. Their contents were about family, friendship, moral, war, fairytales... Northern artists' style always be affected by Soviet art.
Le Van De
Dao Si Chu
Tu Duyen
Nguyen Hai Chi (Choe)
Vo Hung Kiet (ViVi)
Huong Duong
Nguyen Tai
Nguyen Dinh
Doan Duc Tien
Vit Mo
Kien Vang
R. Nguyen
Vu Tan
Ngo Manh Lan
Hoang Dzu (Dzim)
Bui Quang Ngoc
Era of Subsidy (1976 - 1985)
After the Reunification Day, Viet comics' style was more and more un-diversity because the print has been difficult. However, in 1980s there were some Kim-Dong's artists who started drawed in do paper because they were very cheap. Topics often be fairytales and war for avoiding the censorship.
Nguyen Phuoc Vinh Khoa (VINK)
Nguyen Thi Giang (CINE)
Ta Thuc Binh
Ta Luu
Nguyen Huu Thu
Era of Reform (1986 - 2006)
Viet comics have changed much since 1987 as they steadily developed though the years and gradually became similar to American comics with a growing number of comic artists and comic genres. Meanwhile, in response to the needs of children, the government attached special importance in encouraging the creation of comics. The most famous artist was Nguyen Hung Lan whose comics were popularly read (Hero Hesman, Vietnamese supermen, Vietnamese fairytales...). The content of these publications was broadly educational and offered lessons in moral philosophy for the reader. Many artists often "borrowed" international comics and animated films for imitating, as : Well just you wait, Superman, Jurassic park, Tom and Jerry, Charlot...
Everything was to change in 1992 with the import of manga by Kim-Dong and Youth. Since 1995 when the manga storm would really hit, suddenly Viet comics with educational and moral stories were overwhelmed and dull by comparison. Manga was able to engage with a broad readership and was readily available ; it saturated the market even though most was then illegally printed. That changed in 2004 when Vietnam finally signed an expanded version of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, and copyright was discussed and respected. The management of sales and content of manga has since become strictly controlled.
Nguyen Hung Lan
Nguyen Ha Bac
Mai Long
Pham Minh Tri
Nguyen Thai Hung
Vu Kim Dung
Tran Minh Tam
Dao Hai
Mac Can
Era of Recession (2007 to now)
Despite the "invasion" (called by 2000s Vietnames newspapers) of manga-manhwa-manhua fighting for a place in the Vietnamese market, 4 the rise of comics in a Vietnamese style was slow to gain pace given lingering prejudices, the feeling that comics were for children. Yet gradually, Vietnamese artists started to produce comics. In 2002, the Phan Thi Company published the comic series titled Vietnamese child prodigies (Than-dong dat Viet) and this was a turning point in Viet comics. It attracted many young readers and became a long-selling comic with more than 120 volumes produced. The comic might be considered similar to manga in panel layout and onomatopoeia (the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named), and the style in which characters are drawn.
Moreover, Youth Laughs Monthly, Hoa Hoc Tro Weekly and Truyen Tranh Tre Magazine (Youth Publishing House) also worked positively. They called Viet comics as man hoa'' for dream about the comics compared "triman" (manga-manhwa-manhua).
Marcelino Truong
Ta Huy Long
Tran Quang Duc (Van Trai)
Thiet Kien
Le Linh
Bui Dinh Thang (Thang Fly)
References
A Vietnamese family's refugee story, told through comics
Awakening Luc-van-Tien fairytale after 100 years
Arts of Vietnam
Comic books