By Herald Malaysia
Jul 19 2021
PETALING JAYA – Amidst the gloominess of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are individuals who use creative ways such as comic strips to inspire others to make the best of the situation.
One such person, Karen Michaela Tan, says that her idea to create comic strips came about after she grew tired of being bombarded with negative news about the pandemic.
“I wanted to create a series of comic strips that will make people think that they’re not in a bad situation after all,” explained Karen, a parishioner of the Church of St Ignatius who runs a boutique creative agency.
“I want people to look at their lives from another perspective and realise that they can actually help others even with their limited resources.”
After Karen shared the idea with her goddaughter who resides in Melbourne, Australia, the latter connected her with Jon Tham Nam San, an illustrator and artist based in Puchong, Selangor.
Despite not knowing Jon, Karen reached out to him and the synergetic collaboration resulted in a series of comic strips titled, Heart Notes by KMT.
“When Karen asked whether I’d be interested to collaborate with her, I immediately agreed. I was inspired by her determination to spread the message that goodness can come out of a gloomy situation,” says Jon.
With Karen contributing the scenarios and Jon doing the illustrations, the first strip was created within a few days. The duo has now completed ten comic strips.
“I hope that more people, especially those sitting and watching in the background, will be inspired by these comics to come forward and help others,” says Jon.
The Heart Notes by KMT comic series will be published in the HERALD in coming issues. The comic strip is also available on Facebook (search for WFH – Work From Home page). All Karen and Jon ask for is to credit them accordingly. Publications interested in using the comic strips may contact Karen via email: karenmichaelatan@gmail.com. – Herald Malaysia
