UNDER 18 x KLEPET brings together the comic & movie worlds

Writer: Heidi Hsia

Malaysian cinema gets comic book treatment

6 Jun - In conjunction with the launch of the action-comedy film "KLEPET", which will be released this year, production company Respected Citizen has entered into a special collaboration with Kadokawa Gempak Starz to publish a special edition comic, the "UNDER 18 x KLEPET" Exclusive Box.

The unique collaboration between the UNDER 18 comic and the "KLEPET" film not only combines two creative worlds, but also sparks a new phenomenon in local visual storytelling.

Speaking about the collaboration, which was launched at the KL International Book Fair earlier, Kadokawa Gempak Starz Chief Executive Officer, Chris Yew stated that it is a great opportunity for them to further develop in the local industry.

"We feel lucky to have been chosen by Respected Citizen. We see that 'Klepet' is very compatible with the Under 18 concept, so we did not hesitate to make this project a success. We hope that more collaborations like this can be realised in the future," he said.

Meanwhile, producer Aeril Zafrel stated that the idea of combining the film and the comic sparked in the early stages of the film development.

Nadhir Nasar with "Under 18" comic artist Zint Lu

"From the beginning, we had already announced that this film would have a comic section, so we saw that UNDER 18 was the most suitable for collaboration based on their characters. That's where we got the idea to produce this special comic."

"KLEPET" tells the story of three friends, Pali, Jani and Wadi who are drawn into an extraordinary adventure after meeting a Ukrainian woman who is escaping from a fraud syndicate.

The Under 18 X KLEPET was launched at the KL International Book Fair (KLIBF)

Respected Citizen and Kadokawa Gempak Starz working together for the first time