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Who watches the watchers?
In Singapore, it’s eagle-eyed comic book fans who, the day after the Singapore government dismantled its squad of superheroes, called the artist behind the plagiarism project.
Look, here is the question of intention: it can be good, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to equally good execution. In April 20, 2020, the Singapore government devised a superhero-themed campaign to muster positivity amid the dark and gloomy times of COVID-19. Titled the Virus Vanguard, the five-member team was assigned a unique power to fight the virus.
However, the effort was widely criticized.
Negative comments from the masses prompted the government to withdraw the post the same day that the heroic health “heroes” made their debut.
The reason? The heroes’ abilities, ranging from easy virus detection to using empathy to “absorb all negativity,” were seen by some in light of a pandemic that has infected and killed more than 2.5 million and 170.00 people worldwide, respectively. Others had the feeling that everyday border lines, like healthcare workers, should have been the focus. Soccer enthusiasts, meanwhile, disagreed with the creation of MAWA Man, whose name – You must always walk alone – is an obvious work on Liverpool’s motto, You will never walk alone.
The government acted quickly in response to public opinion, shutting down the Virus Vanguard segment on the official website and published a post explaining that a review is underway. The answers were many, but the one that caught the most attention came from a certain Mas Shafreen, who admitted to being the character’s artist, and wrote the following:
I am the artist who created the characters. I apologize because the characters seemed callous. Gov.sg did not ask me to make this comment. I am doing this to clear things up. Band of Doodlers is a local art group and was founded by me, hence the association. It started because a group of us, including me, wanted to create superhero characters to show appreciation for our leaders, including healthcare workers, and how we can combat this together. It is also a way for artists to collaborate together while practicing social distancing. It was then that I was asked to develop a series of comics to help raise awareness of the measurements of circuit breakers.
As for MAWA Man, I’m a fan of Man Utd and I’ll be the first to admit that Liverpool is fine, unlike Man U. MAWA Man had more to do with how we should practice safe distancing, but the goal is for him to realize that it leads us all, regardless of the team we support, to overcome this together. And we cannot do this alone.
The current situation has affected us all and, as an artist, I know that I greatly appreciate those opportunities given that it is difficult to find work. I am sorry for the problems caused and I hope that local artists can be supported with creative projects.
– Mas Shafreen, character artist for Virus Vanguard and founder of Band of Doodlers.
Shafreen’s response comes after the government’s name left Band of Doodlers as the collaborating party, whose graffiti-style illustration in public spaces has served them well. Because the government did not name the group of artists behind the project, but instead identified them in the original post explaining the shooting, it was seen as an act of throwing the group under the bus.
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While the long-term apology was successful in tempering some of the outrage, both sides appear to have their own flaws.
Also, Shafreen’s first attempt was pretty good – the influence of other superheroes was definitely unmistakable, though we’d say it was a good job overall:
How it went from the above to the final product is a mystery to us.
A deeper look at the subject revealed more than a scandal over insensitivity and misplaced good intentions. As a result, some of the Virus Vanguard characters could have been tracked, as various Facebook users suspect in the comments section.
In a thread under the Singapore subreddit, user dodgethis_sg brought up the first instance of plagiarism. Putting Circuit Hero’s hero design next to a Peni Parker fanart by Korean artist @SteelScarlet produces quite a bit of similarities, including a mecha pilot, and the same fierce facial expression on both teens. For reference, here is the original work on Twitter:
Yes, the robot is different, but look at the girl – both postures and posture, including arm locations, facial expressions, and even hairstyle are practically a copy. Hello Multiple Man, show yourself.
See for yourself –
It could be a coincidence, except that the eagle-eyed individuals detected more tracing acts. By superimposing the character of Care-leh Dee (pronounced Care Lady) on top of X MenIn Ororo Monroe, or Storm, the similarities are extremely prominent: the long flowing hair, the costume design and the placement of the pendant of the two figures. Hello … do you mind more ma’am?
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(We care if you know who the original Storm artist is (below), let us know in the comments.)
While the above is not a definitive confirmation that Shafreen (and Band of Doodlers, by extension) has really compromised the crawl, the impression that was formed certainly does not bode well for the Singapore-based artist. After all, tracing is seen as taboo in the art community, as it reflects a complete lack of respect for the original creator. For those in the trade, doing so is blatant blasphemy.
The concern here is that the Singapore government puts its weight (and name) behind this effort. In an age of fake news, legitimacy and moral authority is a very valuable currency that must be handled well.
When consulting the founder of Band of Doodlers, a quick search on LinkedIn reveals that the man had actually worked in PUB, and for almost 10 years to start.
The government has not yet provided detailed reasoning to remove Virus Vanguard, although there is a possibility that art theft is the most important factor. Considering the popularity of Band of Doodlers, this fiasco will definitely affect your chances of returning to the local art scene.
And it seems like Singapore superheroes bit the dust faster than a snap of the fingers with the Infinity Gauntlet.
If Jia is a casual geek at heart, or just as casual as someone with the Sephiroth theme on her Spotify playlist. A fan of Japanese movies, games, and culture, Si Jia’s biggest weakness is the Steam Summer Offer. Or any Steam sale, really.
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