Chinese Name: 蕭言中
Born: July 6, 1965
Died: Nov. 18, 2023
Birthplace: Nantou County (Central Taiwan)
Did You Know That…?
More than just a cartoonist, Loïc Hsiao led the industry as an interdisciplinary creator, engaging in theater writing, directing, and performing, along with hosting radio shows.
Loïc Hsiao has had a passion for cartoons since childhood, often spending time reading American comic book series, such as Marvel and DC, as well as Taiwanese comics by Li Ching-kuang (李敬光, known as Niu Ke, 牛哥), Liu Hsing-chin (劉興欽), and Yeh Hung-chia (葉宏甲). After graduating from the Fu-Hsin Trade and Arts School, in 1984, he started to publish his own comic series. His satirical work, “Stupid Thieves (笨賊一籮筐),” was recognized by famous cartoonists, Chu Te-yung (朱德庸) and Ao Yu-hsiang (敖幼祥), for its unique humor and expressions. Hsiao became the third Taiwanese cartoonist to have his works published in China, after Tsai Chih-chung (蔡志忠) and Chu Te-yung. Along with Chu Te-yung, Ao Yu-hsiang, and Tsai Chih-chung, Hsiao was considered one of the top four cartoonists of that time in Taiwan.
Hsiao was very productive throughout his three-decade-long career as a cartoonist. His debut work, “Short: Fairy Tales Untold (童話短路),” achieved a remarkable sales volume of over five hundred thousand copies. This work featured surprising twists on popular fairy tales from both the West and the East. For example, what would happen if Sleeping Beauty had insomnia and could not fall asleep? What if Niulang (牛郎) had acrophobia and couldn’t cross the bridge to meet his lover Zhinü (織女) on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month?
Hsiao’s other notable work “Let Me Lie! Magic Mirror (騙我吧! 魔鏡)” received the Golden Comic Awards in 2003. It describes a modern world where people are fixated on their physical appearance, which leads to an obsession with plastic surgery and bodybuilding. Upon receiving the Special Contribution Award at Golden Comic Awards in 2020, Hsiao expressed that he had never expected to win the prize, but he was honored and promised to work diligently at the forefront of the comics industry until the end.
