Every morning, thousands of readers turn to The Star for the day’s top stories, business updates and sports highlights
But for many, reading the newspaper wouldn’t be complete without looking at Kee’s World, the daily comic strip in the StarLifestyle’s comics page.
For more than four decades, Kee’s World has brought smiles to readers with close to 15,000 comic strips.
Through his beloved cartoon strips, award-winning cartoonist CW Kee, 65, has skilfully captured the quirks of everyday Malaysian life with familiar characters, timely observations and gentle humour that continue to resonate across generations.
Kee joined The Star in 1981 as an editorial artist. Yet after all these years, he says every new strip still begins the same way: with a deadline.
“What motivates me is the deadline,” he quips.
“When the deadline looms, your brain somehow starts working. By hook or by crook, you will come up with an idea,” shares Kee, who hails from Petaling Jaya, Selangor.
Kee draws inspiration from newspaper headlines, current affairs and everyday frustrations.
“My brain works with images. It could be something that annoys me like a badly parked car or someone littering.
“It could also be current news like the recent FIFA World Cup, the durian glut or soaring food prices.”
Sometimes, the inspiration is personal.
“When my children had dengue recently, I did a comic about dengue because it affected me.
“I wanted to create awareness,” says the father of two, who has four comic books – It’s A Durian Life, Marvellous Durian Life, 220 Durians And A Cat and More Durian Life –
Even those closest to him are not spared. Recently, one of Kee’s cartoons was inspired by this writer and her colleague, Tech writer Angelin Yeoh, who sit behind him. His comment?
Kee’s World comprises a bald husband, his cheerful, food- loving wife dressed in pink and their two children that have become instantly recognisable fixtures to readers.
“The bald man is partly because I was going bald,” he jokes.
Each family member has a distinct personality.
The husband is thrifty while the wife enjoys food and shopping, creating a dynamic that mirrors countless Malaysian households.
Could Kee’s own family have inspired these characters? One can only wonder!
Even the colours of the comic strip were carefully considered.
After researching other comic strips such as The Simpsons, Kee deliberately chose neutral skin tones so readers would not associate his characters with any particular race.
“They celebrate every festival because they represent everyone.”
For Kee, drawing is the easy part.
“The idea takes up about 70% of the work. Sketching is only 15%, inking 10% and colouring 5%. If you don’t have an idea, you can’t draw anything.”
Each week, he brainstorms around 15 concepts before narrowing them down to the strongest handful.
“It can be funny to me, but that doesn’t mean it’s funny to everyone.”
Earlier in his career, he would gather fellow editorial artists around his desk to gauge their reactions before submitting his work.
“If two out of three laughed, then I knew I had something.”
Years of experience have sharpened that instinct, but his golden rule has never changed.
“You must never disappoint your readers.”
Kee believes successful newspaper cartoons must be understood instantly.
“A reader should get the message within seven seconds,” he says.
“That’s why over the years, my drawings became simpler.
“As I got older, my eyesight also became less sharp, but more importantly, I realised unnecessary details only distract from the message.”
His philosophy echoes the work of Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali, whose later works became increasingly minimalistic.
“For a newspaper, the message is the most important thing. If it were a comic book, I could spend time adding details.”
While the characters remain constant, the stories evolved with the times.
One of his most memorable creations was Sg Way Cat, an adventurous tuxedo cat inspired by fictional archaeologist Indiana Jones from Steven Spielberg’s adventure movies.
Instead of a conventional comic strip, Kee created a month-long series where each daily instalment ended with a cliffhanger.
“I loved how Indiana Jones always escaped impossible situations,” says Kee, who is also a movie buff and military model- making hobbyist.
“So I thought, why not make readers come back every day to see how the cat gets out of trouble?”
The character’s name came from Petaling Jaya’s neighbouring suburb Sungai Way.
“Indiana was named after a place, so I looked for somewhere local. Sungai Way rhymed nicely,” he says with a wink.
Prior to Kee’s World, he introduced a lighthearted comic called Food For Thought in the StarMetro section.
This was followed by It’s A Durian Life in Sunday Star and Take 2 in the StarSport pages.
He also had a drawing stint with Malay magazine, Humor, under a contract between the magazine and The Star.
Despite the thousands of comic strips he has produced, Kee has little interest in talking about his legacy.
“If people are interested in your work, they’ll find it,” says Kee.
In 2008, Kee’s World was the subject of a research paper titled “Kee’s World: Reflections of Evolving Identity”, published in the International Journal Of Comic Art.
Despite this recognition, the humble artist remains modest.
“Aiya, that was a long time ago la,” says Kee, brushing off the praise with a smile.
Nonetheless, he hopes younger artists pursue careers they genuinely enjoy.
“Do what you love and your job becomes your hobby.”
Today, after 45 years with The Star, Kee still looks forward to the next blank page.
Because for Kee, there’s always another event, another trend or another joke waiting to be sketched.
