Benjamin

In the middle of an infinity of worlds, which respect the rule of non-interference, there lives a Savior in the city, who protects the people. Holding his guitar, he has a mission: save each world from its own crisis. Almost every time he succeeds, but always feels a little more gloomy. One day, a shooting star brings an illness to the city which turns people into zombies… (note: Chinese zombies and Western zombies are quite different).

Her name is Orange. She's a young girl in high school, coming of age in the heart of the city. And she has decided she has nothing to live for. Not her shallow friends. Not her parents. Not school. Not even the empty promise of love. Her head filled with morbid fantasies of suicide, Orange finds herself standing at the edge of her rooftop when the drunken, enigmatic young man, Dashu, entered her world changing it forever. A heartbreaking tale of a young woman desperately trying to understand the bewildering world around her, brought to life by the luscious artwork of global manga icon, Benjamin, Orange is a profoundly moving story of loss and redemption.

The first story is about a young depressed man, who lives a love story which he lets die. The second is about a student coming from a far province, who came to the city to prepare for exams to enter university. But he cannot adapt himself to the surroundings and goes mad. Narcissistic and dark, Benjamin writes about and illustrates his life as a cartoonist and graffiti artist in Beijing's seedy rock-and-roll sub-culture. Showing a side of China rarely depicted in the West, this book pulses with the rhythm of the new urban Chinese youth.

Various short stories from an upcoming Chinese Manhua artist, Benjamin. Two stories are in black & white, while two other stories are evidence for Benjamin's profound sense for colored illustrations. The main character of the entitled story, male and contemptuous of how people from his parents generation live their life, spends a day when everything goes wrong. At the end of the story, he realizes that he himself is on the same path as the older generation.

Ten different Chinese authors decided to talk about their own vision of Beijing life, and the changes made to the city due to the 2008 Olympics. Various subjects are drawn here (destruction of old houses, athlete selection, pollution…) and the graphic styles vary from standard black ink to coloured works looking like contemporary art.