Foreign, local comic characters liven up Chinese toys

Turning popular comics characters into products has become a commonly used marketing strategy for Chinese toymakers, which in turn stimulates the development of local comics companies.

Toy manufacturer Guangdong Langbowang Industrial used to build products purely based on designs provided by customers. Since 2019, it began designing some of the products themselves by partnering with comics publishers at home and abroad including Japanese media franchise Pokemon.

""What we are doing is integrating supply, production with marketing. We work with (comic) IPs to realize the integration of supply, production and marketing and use factories in Dongguan to facilitate manufacturing," said Bi Jinming, chairman of Guangdong Langbowang Industrial in Dongguan City in south China's Guangdong Province.

The demand from companies making toys and other consumer goods have encouraged domestic comic enterprises to create quality content, especially something with Chinese motifs and cultural references.

Wei Jingxiao has been in comics industry for more than ten years. Drawing inspiration from Chinese myths, he has created a story featuring the battle between two groups of cats.

He said as long as local comics creators can come up with great work, they will win plaudits and business opportunities from the market.

"I believe Chinese comics (companies) just need to do their job. Then, brands will reach us for collaboration. We'll gain increasing recognition," said Wei, the product manager of Guangdong Maojiang Culture Media in Dongguan City.

The 12th China International Animation Copyright Fair is being held in Dongguan from Nov. 18 to 21 this year. The event for the first time set up an area for toys and other products featuring Chinese comics characters.