Farewell to artist Nguyen Hung Lan - author of the comic series "Hesman the Hero"

Kim Dong Publishing House informed that artist Nguyen Hung Lan, the person who painted the dreams of Vietnamese childhood, has passed away. “Kim Dong Publishing House respectfully bids farewell to artist Nguyen Hung Lan - author of “Hesman the Hero”, “Green Fairy”, “Vietnamese Superman” and many comic books that are associated with the childhood of Vietnamese readers. With simple but imaginative drawings, he lit the fire of many childhood dreams.

Portrait of painter Nguyen Hung Lan. Photo: FBNV

His tireless work and creative career will always be a great source of inspiration for today's generation of Vietnamese artists. My deepest condolences to his family. May he rest in peace amidst the love of many generations of readers. And his works will always be in the hearts of Vietnamese comic lovers."

Artist Nguyen Hung Lan was born in 1956. He is one of the pioneers of Vietnamese comics. His most famous work is the legendary comic series “Hesman the Hero”, which is considered a pop culture icon in the 1990s.

Legendary comic series "Hesman the Hero" by author Hung Lan. Photo: FBNV

“Hesman the Hero” is a 160-episode science fiction comic series adapted and composed by artist Nguyen Hung Lan from 1992 to 1997, published by the Fine Arts Publishing House (episode 160 was composed in 2019).

The first 4 volumes of the series were adapted from the animated film “Voltron - Defender of the Universe”. After that, artist Hung Lan created 156 more volumes based on the existing characters, and also created many other characters, including space heroes from Vietnam.

The series was both created and published, completely done by hand by the artist, without the support of computers and modern technological equipment, and captivated millions of Vietnamese readers in the 1990s. "Hesman the Hero" has been continuously reprinted, most recently in 2019, published by Hanoibooks in association with the Literature Publishing House.

Comic series "Vietnamese Superman". Photo: FBNV

In addition to “Hesman the Hero”, artist Hung Lan is also loved through the comic series “Vietnamese Superman”, “X-Men - Mysterious Friends”, “Green Fairy”, “Thang Bom”, “Luc Van Tien”... During more than 30 years of persistent creation, his legacy includes about 700 comic books of various genres.

Artist Hung Lan shared on his personal Facebook page: “I draw a lot of comics, all genres from fairy tales to science fiction and comedy, but after more than 30 years since the publication of the first book, the series “Hesman Hero” and “Vietnamese Superman” still leave the most impression. Because after all these years, if readers still remember my stories and want them to be reprinted, that is an indescribable joy.”

Besides creating comics, artist Hung Lan also designed dozens of fonts with strong Vietnamese identity, serving the needs of text presentation, book and newspaper design, graphics and printing. Among them, there are fonts HL Calligraphy, HL Comic, HL Ink... widely used in creating comics, design, advertising, art...

The sudden passing of artist Nguyen Hung Lan has left a deep sorrow in the hearts of generations of readers who love Vietnamese comics. Many readers and the publishing and comic book industry have expressed their gratitude to the author.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/vinh-biet-hoa-si-nguyen-hung-lan-tac-gia-bo-truyen-tranh-dung-si-hesman-701814.html