Introducing myself: Dr. Vee the manga comics creator without borders

Dr. Vee the Manga Comics Creator Without Borders

If you've been there with me in 2005, you would have seen me achieve a dream. Here I am, wearing a white coat and I'd carry the degrees on my shoulders: MB, BCh, MBBs.... I have a wardrobe full of designer clothes and a sports car in my garage. I'm living a dream!

But it's someone else's dream.

What about my dream? Does it matter? And what was my dream...?

This was taken during my elective in Ghana as a medical student, vaccinating Pramso village children.

I studied in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and practiced as a clinical doctor in Dublin, Ireland 1998-2005.

Let's go to 1986 and find out what happened.

Me : "Mommy, I've made my very first comic book ever, would you take a look and tell me what you think?"

Mother : "Wow! You're only 6 years old and you've created all these? They look amazing! Someday you'll be a rich and famous artist. Don't forget mommy when you do!"
She said with a smile.

But things start to change as I grew older...

Me, my dad and my brother in Ooshima, Japan. my mother took the picture. We carried around sketchbooks everywhere we went.

One day, that familiar face that look like the older version of myself wore the kind of expression I've never seen on her before (serious and intense).

Mother: "Look, I understand that this manga-comic book thing is really important for you, you get praised by your friends and teachers and it feels good... but you've got to understand, this is just a hobby, it's not going to earn you a living. You're already 14, you're not a kid anymore so you have to start thinking about your future! But don't worry, your father and I have thought of a perfect career path for you. You're going to study hard, pass the exams and study to be a medical doctor. We will pay for your tuition. You can do that for me right?"

Me: "Mom... don't get me wrong... I apprecite your thoughts, and I know that dad's a famous and successful gynaecologist and that is why we have a good lifestyle, but I've been telling you the same thing since I was aged 2, that what I want to do in life to be a successful cartoonist, somebody like Walt Disney! You can understand right?"

My mother's face contorted in anger.
Mother: "I am sick and tired of this conversation. You never ever ever listen to what I say. This time, if you don't get into medical school, YOU ARE NOT MY DAUGHTER ANYMORE, UNDERSTAND!!? End of discussion!"

Have you ever had a time in your life when you feel like there is someone or something that is just in the way of your dreams?

It reminds me of the story about circus elephants.

Do you know how circus elephants are trained? Their 4 legs are chained and shackled down in one place since they are babies. Baby elephants don't like this and will try to break away, but they will fail again and again. At certain point, the elephant will give up and stop struggling anymore. It will not try to run away even when it's grown into a big animal that can easily break the chain, because it has learned... that NO MATTER WHAT, YOU CANNOT ESCAPE FROM LIFE'S CIRCUMSTSANCES...

So this elephant grew up, wearing a white coat, working day and night without knowing why... until one day, I found myself there...

On the floor.

With blood gushing from my forehead.

I have finally collapsed from overworking.

That night my best friend Irina came and visit me. She had a big frown on her forehead.

Me (left) and Irina (right)

Irina: "Vee, what happened to you?"
Me: "Irina, I have been stressed because everyday I work, and work, and work, from morning till night without even knowing why... and the worst thing is, there's a cancer patient in front of me, but I DIDN'T GIVE A DAMN because all I want is GET TWO HOURS OF SLEEP. Is that called LIFE? Is that called MAKING DIFFERENCE IN OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES!!? I HATE MY LIFE!!"

Irina: "................................................"
Irina: "Vivian, do you remember that time when we sneaked into an event as volunteer students to meet our hero, the author of The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho? He signed your copy of The Alchemist and wrote a personal message. I think you should take a look again and remember."
Me: "A personal message? From Paulo Coelho, the author of The Alchemist...?"

Me and Paulo Coelho. This photo was taken in 1999... I think... at The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Irina, myself and another classmate of mine Zanetor snuck into the event to meet our hero. We ended up having a nice conversation with Paulo for an hour after the book signing by some great strike of luck!

Me: (Reading the message from Paulo) "*Pay the price of your dreams."

• This excerpt had been edited form the original speech I gave at the National Achievers Congress in Singapore 2013 as I referred back to my copy of the Alchemist, and it seems that I confused what he wrote and what he said at the time, but the essence of the message remains unaltered. "No matter what happens in life, stay faithful to your dreams. Love, Paulo."

You would have seen tears falling from my eyes. At that moment, I made a decision to start living my dreams. To be my authentic self. Have you ever had a time in your life when you feel like you need to be your authentic self? I do things not because of obligation or out of respect for somebody, but just to be... me.

The years following that was not at all easy, because I have to learn to break out of the "shackle". People say things... stuff like: "You're aged over 30, you can't make a break in teenage market", "You're not even Japanese, and you're trying to be a best selling manga creator in Japan? Be realistic!", "Even if you speak Japanese fluently, only 1 in a million can be a professional. How special do you think you are?"

These voices are loud. Louder than the small voice inside of me that speaks in the voice of Paulo Coelho: "Pay the price of your dreams.", but I listened, and did exactly that.

My first comic book which is curated and published by Indonesia's PT Elex Media Komputindo, adviced by Machiko Maeyama, titled PramBanana.

To my surprise, things gradually begun to change. First, I started winning manga competitions. Then I got a job as an apprentice and assistant to a best-selling manga creator, Kenjiro Hata, the creator of Hayate the Combat Butler 「ハヤテのごとく！」

My professional debut work in Japan from 2011, published by Club Sunday (digital version of Shonen Sunday), Shogakukan Inc.

Me and 畑健次郎先生(Kenjirou Hata)

My big break came when as the first Indonesian citizen, I made my professional debut in a major manga publisher in Japan. With that I suddenly got a lot of media attention. First I was asked for magazine and newspaper interviews, then radio shows, and TV programs. I got invited to talkshows and even Fortune magazine Indonesia wrote a whole page (!!!????) of article about me. I can't stop wondering: WHY???

PramBanana was first published in Indonesia's first original manga magazine, Splash in 2006. The lady next to me wearing glasses is one of my mentors, Machiko Maeyama sensei.

Fortune magazine

Guojiribao newspaper

TV interview

Detik news, holding out my mentor, Kenjiro Hata's drawing given to me by him. From his bestselling book, Hayate the Combat Butler.

()
Dr.Vee Mangaka Club, my online manga school, teaching story writing, story boarding and drawing for manga comics production

Invited to speak as special guest at Popcon Asia 2012

Dr.Vee interviewed by Danny Choo at AFA ID 2012

A touching moment for me: a teenage reader tearing up as I signed her copy of my first published book, PramBanana.

Comic con Tunisia 2017. Attending events takes a lot of effort and time, but it makes me feel close to my readers and fans. I receive as much from them as they do from my works.

That is when I heard the term for the first time... "Dr.Vee, an entrepreneur...".

EN-TRE-PRE-NEUR.

...What? What does it mean? So I looked up the definition:

Entrepreneur
ˌɒntrəprəˈnəː
noun

a person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit.
"many entrepreneurs see potential in this market"

I'm a risk taker. Grand.

The word worked something in me... and it reminded me of my original dream. I want to be the facilitator of a revolution, a vehicle for social change where manga comics, an important medium to spread ideas in the form of story reaches all corners of the globe. Some might say it has, but not really. The truth at this current stage as I am writing this post on Monday 4th September 2017 is that Japan is the only country in the world where manga content creators are appreciated on a national level. This serves no justice for the talents, hidden wealth of knowledge and experience outside of Japan that finds so little way to express themselves(and believe me, Japan is only a small fraction of this large community). This is why I started a company in 2015, an original manga magazine written in the world's lingua franca, the English language. This magazine is called Manga Big Bang!®
This is where you can check out more about it: www.mangabigbang.co.uk

The dream is so big that achieving it seem daunting, but with the help of my team, we managed to publish our prototype book, and produce and nurture several titles by various creators from all over the world along with the multi-media tie-up such as soundtrack and radio drama. As the CEO and Editor in Chief, I lead the way and have started publishing the monthly series created by myself titled The Rose of Buckingham Palace, a fictional story about a lost teenage boy Freddie Butler as he accidentally found a way to Buckingham Palace in 1981 and serve princess Diana.

So, remember my dear reader:

No Matter What Happen in Life, Stay Faithful to YOUR Dreams. Pay the Price of YOUR Dreams.

Thank you for reading, I hope you've enjoyed the story.

In case you'd like to watch the video, here's the youtube link to my speech at National Achievers Congress Singapore 2013 alongside my public speaking mentor, Andy Harrington: