A Singaporean graphic novelist has won three comic industry Oscars. Sonny Liew picked up three Eisner Awards for his book, "The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye". The book is a rewrite of Singaporean history. Mr Liew won Best Writer/Artist, Best US Edition of International Material, and Best Publication Design. The awards show was held at the San Diego Comic-Con. Liew said he was surprised his book did well as he never expected an international audience for it. He said: "I always wanted people to read the book and get a sense of how rich our history was."
Mr Liew's book outlines the history of Singapore from its independence from British rule. Liew focused on Singapore's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, and the role played by lesser-known people. He said he wanted to tell the official history of Singapore and, "a more inclusive version of our history". He added: "I hope that's what people reading the book will get from it." Liew first worried that his book would be unsuccessful because Singapore's National Arts Council took away a grant for the book. However, this brought a lot of attention and boosted sales of the book.