In recent years, the rise of Chinese comics is no longer just an empty slogan, but with a solid foundation of works, a lot of Chinese comics have emerged. For example, "One Under One", "Assassin Wu Liuqi", "Soul Street", etc. are very popular among readers. Among them, there is an author who can be said to be very unique. He has not received formal comic training, but has learned to himself by stroke by stroke. It took many years to create a huge martial arts world. He is Xu Xianzhe, the author of "The Detacher".
After achieving great success in "Dart Man", it was spontaneously recommended by Wan Qian, Ma Boyong, Li Dan and other big names. After appearing on Japan's NHK TV three times and causing a sensation in Japan, Ubisoft, the developer of the Assassin's Creed series, joined hands with Xu Xianzhe and the rising star of Chinese animation, Zhang Xiao, to start the creation of the project "Assassin's Creed: Dynasty", using Chinese stories and traditional culture to interpret world-class IP. After the French version of the French version was launched by MANA BOOKS, the well-known French publisher, immediately ignited the European market. A large number of overseas readers expressed their appreciation and love for this Chinese comic on social media such as Twitter. During the process of serialization of comics on major platforms, the books were also compiled and published by CITIC Publishing House, and the single-line volumes of "Assassin's Creed: Dynasty" were launched simultaneously.
Assassin's Creed: Dynasty is a story about a Chinese assassin created in the background of the Anshi Rebellion during the Tianbao period of the Tang Dynasty in China. It tells the story of the Jiedushi An Lushan who developed a separatist faction "Yi Luohe" from the "Golden Tortoise Bag" forces and launched a rebellion in order to compete for the world. The court under the control of Yang Guozhong, the leader of the "Golden Tortoise Bag", was unable to quell the rebellion, the people were chaotic, and the world was in chaos. Assassin Li E and the loyal minister Yan Zhenqing family formed an alliance to fight and turn the tide, and eventually became a master of assassin and established the story of the "Invisible Man", the predecessor of the Chinese Assassin Brotherhood. The story is magnificent, depicting the Tang Dynasty's decline from prosperity and decline, and also showing the family and country feelings of heroes in troubled times.
For Xu Xianzhe and Zhang Xiao's team, the challenge facing it is to fictionalize the image and story of a Chinese assassin, and to interpret a mature IP like "Assassin's Creed" with Chinese history and traditional culture, and to gain the recognition of readers. The challenges it faces are arduous and of course full of fun. Therefore, Xu Xianzhe gave great expectations for this work and devoted great enthusiasm. He admitted himself: "Assassin's Creed: Dynasty" is like "The Detacher", and he has been preparing for a long time. It is a medium-sized work. Teacher Zhang Xiao and I work together to make it the best. This is also a good opportunity to introduce the story that belongs to China to the whole world. We have high expectations for it and have many goals to achieve.
The final result did not disappoint his efforts. Since the comic was launched online in September 2020, it has received more than 200 million views. In terms of 10 points, the average reader score is more than 9 points, and Tencent Animation is as high as 9.8 points. Many readers left messages to express their inner stunning feeling, which can be said to have won extremely high praise.
What is even more commendable is that the comic also achieved the goal that Xu Xianzhe and Zhang Xiao’s team wanted to achieve at the beginning, which was to promote Chinese stories to the world, and at the same time prove that Chinese comics can also go abroad and go to the world. So far, Assassin's Creed: Dynasty has signed distribution agreements with 16 countries and regions in Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea, and 9 languages will be spread worldwide. The French-renowned French publisher MANA BOOKS released the first volume of the work in early April this year, which immediately ignited the European market. A large number of overseas readers expressed their appreciation and love for this Chinese comic on social media such as Twitter.
The detailed character setting, excellent storyboarding and painting, textual historical reproduction, Tang Dynasty poetry that seamlessly connects the plot, etc., all make "Assassin's Creed: Dynasty" an excellent carrier for expressing Chinese traditional culture, allowing readers from all countries to appreciate Chinese history and Chinese culture at a lower threshold.
As China's national strength becomes stronger, China's cultural influence will inevitably continue to rise, and Chinese culture going global is an unstoppable historical trend. But how to spread Chinese culture and tell good Chinese stories in a way that is more readily acceptable to others is something that every creator should consider. "Assassin's Creed: Dynasty" has made a good start in the comics field. It shows with its excellent results that perhaps only by truly rooted in China's historical soil can world-class and important influential works be born.
