By Correspondent Rufang Zhao and Staff Reporter Zhongping Wu
A university graduate who came to Yiwu from Chongqing to work has created a special piece of artwork based on his job-hunting experiences - a photo-comic. In this work, he is no longer alone but instead accompanied by a super-powered sprite. It's a fantastical, comedic story performed jointly by real people and cartoon sprites.
This university graduate is named Jiao Hua, and the work is called "Blood Sprite Mama."
Based on his job-hunting experiences, Jiao Hua created this photo-comic work.
The storyline of the first season of "Blood Sprite Mama" is very simple: University graduate Fang Xiaoyu comes to Yiwu from another place to look for a job. After being repeatedly rejected during multiple interviews, he accidentally meets Mama, a blood sprite with peculiar superpowers from an otherworldly paradise. The two form a friendship.
Jiao Hua says that the main character Fang Xiaoyu is his own incarnation. Born in 1979, Jiao Hua graduated from university in 2003. At every company where he applied for a job, they all asked him if he had work experience; without it, they wouldn't hire him. After attending numerous job fairs, he finally secured his first job, earning a monthly salary of six or seven hundred yuan.
In May 2004, Jiao Hua came to Yiwu, where his girlfriend worked. On the second day, he went to the Yiwu Talent Market to look for a job and interviewed at two companies. During the interview, they also asked him if he had work experience. With his previous work experience in Chongqing, on the third day, an advertising company notified him to start work.
Three years ago, Jiao Hua had a son, but since both he and his wife had to work hard in Yiwu, their son could only be left as a left-behind child.
The online click rate of the work has exceeded ten thousand.
In 1996, Jiao Hua watched a movie - Jordan's "Space Jam." The combination of the real-life Jordan and the cartoon animal Bugs Bunny left a deep impression on him. At that time, he conceived the idea of creating a work with real people and cartoon characters as the main characters.
In March last year, Jiao Hua decided to use his job-hunting experiences as material for creation.
The format of the work is somewhat special, with cartoon comics interspersed among real-life photos. Jiao Hua gave this format a name - photocomics.
Initially, Jiao Hua spent half a month drawing each scene. Then he took photos, playing the role of the protagonist himself. In October last year, the first season of "Blood Sprite Mama" was completed. Jiao Hua sent the work to several websites. From the reactions of netizens, there were more praises than criticisms:
Netizen "ccy": Real-life comic, truly impressive, still looking forward to it.
Netizen "Xingshi xs": Support, always wanted to make something using this method, but no one would take pictures for me.
...
Currently, several websites have signed promotion agreements with Jiao Hua. The agreement stipulates that mobile users will subscribe to this work, and then Jiao Hua will share profits with the websites. On some websites, the click rate of "Blood Sprite Mama" has already surpassed ten thousand.
At the beginning of this year, Jiao Hua resigned. Soon after, he brought his son from Chongqing to Yiwu. While taking care of his son at home, Jiao Hua is creating the "Mama Q Edition Comedy Series." This series is a four-panel comedic animation that doesn't require real-life appearances.