LKY: Political Cartoons, Oct/2014

The urban legend goes that Morgan Chua’s first political cartoon of Lee Kuan Yew in the Singapore Herald led to the newspaper’s closure in 1971. Undeterred by this, Lee’s near mythic status became fodder for Morgan’s creative imagination and incisive pen as he continued his satirical sketches of the prime minister in the Far Eastern Economic Review.

For the first time, over 100 of Morgan’s LKY cartoons—along with new ones—have been collected, covering Lee’s pioneering years up to the present day. In LKY: Political Cartoons, the fearless Morgan meets the fearsome Harry.

Praise:
“I really like the bulge Morgan gives [LKY] around his eyebrows, beneath which his eyes are sometimes two slits, sometimes small buttons and rarely open. I’ve never read a biography of someone in the form of political cartoons, but this one works pretty well...There is a delightful section where [LKY] meets foreign leaders.”
—V Sudarshan, The New Indian Express

“If you have always wondered what the epic, unexpurgated life of Singapore's founding prime minister would look like as comic strips, this book by [Morgan] Chua is for you.”
—Corrie Tan and Nabilah Said, The Sunday Times

“A very interesting collection.”
—TJS George, author of Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore

“For those who don't know, Morgan Chua is one our country's rare political cartoonist—hilariously biting when at the top of his game...how often do we get to see LKY satirised in comics? Only Morgan is crazy enough to do it.”
—Justin Zhuang, author of Independence: The History Of Graphic Design in Singapore Since The 1960s

“Who said Singapore doesn't have political cartoonists? Here, meet Morgan Chua.”
—Belmont Lay and Martino Tan, Mothership.SG

“Wonderful book from Epigram Books of our late founding father Lee Kuan Yew who left us early this morning. I love how it humanises and charts the fascinating life of the great man who we all learnt to fear and respect.”
—Ning Cai, author of Who Is Magic Babe Ning?

“Excellent book. Sharper than Lat and Zunar! Long time fan of Morgan since his FEER days. Hope there’ll be an LKY Book 2 coming up.”
—Paul Choo, graphic designer

About the Creator:
Morgan Chua is a Singapore-born cartoonist who started drawing for the Singapore Herald in 1970. When the paper was closed down by the government in 1971, Chua moved to Hong Kong and joined The Asian for nine months.

He then joined the prestigious Far Eastern Economic Review, where he started as an editorial artist and over 24 years rose to creative director. At the Review, he was known for his incisive single-panel political cartoons and for arresting and provocative magazine cover choices. He has also drawn cartoons for Hong Kong’s Next Magazine and Apple Daily. 

Chua has published Tiananmen (1989, 2014), My Singapore (2000, 2008), Divercity Singapore: A Cartoon History of Immigration (2010), In Memory of Madam Kwa Geok Choo 1920-2010 (2011) and illustrated former Singapore President S R Nathan’s 50 Stories from My Life (2013). Most recently, Chua released LKY: Political Cartoons (2014).