🏆 Real Superheroes

Author’s Caption

This week, we celebrate Total Defence Day. 
A day to remind Singaporeans to defend our country under all circumstances.

Judges’ Comments

Josef Lee included Superman in his salute to healthcare workers at the pandemic frontlines. It struck a chord immediately on Instagram, garnering not only thousands of likes, but an outpouring of stories from healthcare workers, which inspired his series, #IAmAHealthcareHero 

Author’s Reflection

What is your personal takeaway from your SOAP story?
The "Super Salute" drawing was one of many pieces of illustration and comics that I did between Jan to Jun, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. I was quite surprised at how viral the drawing became (so much more than all the other works combined) and how many people were touched by it, as it was just a single image on a FB/IG post. But this also demonstrated to me how powerful images can be in storytelling and how much the world is connected through social media.

Now that your story has been published for some time, do you have any reflections to share post-publishing?
My illustration was shared in mid Feb, relatively early when COVID-19 just started spreading in Singapore. It was then reported in the media that many uniformed healthcare workers were being shunned in public or even refused rides by cabs and private-hire cars, so I did this drawing to show my respect for them. It has been months since then and there are now numerous stories captured by the media to raise awareness for the sacrifices by healthcare professionals. The situation is definitely a lot better now, especially in Singapore, and what we are instead hearing more nowadays are about how healthcare workers should be appreciated more for their efforts.

What did you hope to convey to readers through this story?
The illustration of Superman saluting to the healthcare workers was really a tribute to all healthcare professionals, as a respect to them for their sacrifices in the frontlines. I was really delighted when many healthcare workers wrote to me to share how much they were touched by this illustration, and requesting to use this drawing for various purposes.

How do you feel for being recognised for your work?
I'm very honoured to win the award and happy that I can contribute in a small way to bring some positivity in this time of distress.

Illustrated by
Josef Lee

Thursday,
13 February 2020

Visual of the Month Winner