Drawn to the news(2)

Picking up the pen

Xiao, who was coy about revealing his real name, only divulged that he is 24 years old and a professional comic editor for an unnamed publication. Originally from Hebei Province, he lives in Beijing and has used his Sina Weibo and Sohu microblogs to publish nifty, bite-sized web comics for the last year.

Xiao started drawing as a primary school student, retaining enough patience and creativity to study art at university.

After graduating, he went to work as an editor for a cartoon publisher, but discovered the Internet was a far more useful and interactive platform for his unused ideas.

Among his influences he cites Jean Giraud, a French illustrator renowned for his black humor in publications such as American comic giant Marvel and Franco-Belgian comic series XIII.

Since the 2011 Sina Weibo Event Horizon that saw microblogs reach the peak of their strength at around 250 million users, Xiao has been posting his own parodies of various events.

Ever present in his comic strips is a square-headed character and his suspicious family of lookalikes from the media and current affairs. He admits to having experimented with a few different models of characters before settling on his iconic block-headed archetype.

"It's just my own method of creation. I don't like to think of it as something satirical," he explained. "Every issue has two sides to it and different perspectives. I just choose the one perspective I think is most interesting to explain a topic."

In interpreting China's recent diplomatic calls to Syria to end its unrest, Xiao showed President Bashar al-Assad caught in two manga-esque control beams from what resembles Yu-Gi-Oh!-style power rods.

Closer to home, Beijing's air is depicted in a sequence mimicking the evolution of man; from cavemen to present day, to future man, with an elephant-like trunk.

Topical, timely humor

Just before the migration rush over Spring Festival, a crowning glory of simplicity in cartoons, Xiao published a character using a computer trying to surf the Internet. After testing a few foreign sites and finding they were blocked, he decides to log on to China's own train ticketing website, only to get the same "404 error" message of inability to connect.

Fans, not authorities, serve up the most criticism to Xiao, though he finds it constructive, not harmful.

"I've never really had trouble or too many weird reactions to my work. It's reasonable and understandable that some readers might feel embarrassed, or get their blood pressure up over some of my comics," he admitted.

"It's not an unpleasant feeling [to be criticized], in my opinion. Readers enjoy venting their criticism. If you compare it to the embarrassment and discomfort people experience in real life, my comics are harmless."

Throughout Xiao's escapades, more than 10,000 people have been following him. His most popular cartoons are often reposted by Web users eager to share Xiao's humor with friends.

Despite his popularity and the potential for making money, he insists he's not ready to go big time just yet.

"I just like to express myself during my spare time by posting my comics on Weibo," he said. "If I began to draw for living, I would have to create even if I was unwilling. I fear that would make me lose interest in comics."

To see Xiao's comics online visit: http://www.weibo.com/so7os