Nearly four decades after bringing one of Singapore's most iconic comic characters to life, Mr Kiasu's creator Johnny Lau is embarking on a new chapter in his life.
Creator of Mr Kiasu Johnny Lau on Sep 23, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Lim Li Ting)
Creator of Mr Kiasu Johnny Lau on Sep 23, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Lim Li Ting)
At 62, Mr Johnny Lau did not expect to find himself back in a classroom, introducing himself to fellow students on his first day at art school.
Neither did he intend to tell them that he was the man behind Mr Kiasu, one of Singapore's most recognisable comic characters, until his course supervisor let the cat out of the bag.
Among his six classmates, aged from their 20s to their 50s, only the older students were familiar with his creation.
"The ones in their 20s definitely don't know of him," he said with a chuckle.
For those who grew up in Singapore in the 1990s, however, Mr Kiasu would need little introduction.
With his oversized glasses and protruding teeth, the cartoon character named after the Hokkien term for "fear of losing out" became an instantly recognisable caricature of the sometimes absurd lengths some Singaporeans would go to in their pursuit of success.
Nearly four decades after he drew the first comic strip panels of Mr Kiasu, Mr Lau is embarking on a new artistic endeavour.
Earlier this year, he was awarded a scholarship from the National Arts Council (NAC) to pursue a two year full-time Master of Fine Arts at the University of Arts Singapore, which he started this August.
The suggestion to become a student again came from the school.
While attending an event there, Mr Lau struck up a conversation with some staff who asked him if he would consider joining the university.
"I had taught there before, so naturally I thought, 'Oh, you're asking me to come and teach' ... They said, 'No, we're saying why don't you come back to school as a student?'
"I'm like, are you kidding me? Do you know how old I am?" he recalled, adding that he mulled it over for five months before enrolling in the programme.
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Artist Johnny Lau is able to draw his comic creation, Mr Kiasu, at lightning speed. (Photo: CNA/Lim Li Ting)
ARCHITECT OR ARTIST?
As a youngster, Mr Lau taught himself to draw, and by Primary 5, he was set on making a career of comics.
Artist Johnny Lau is able to draw his comic creation, Mr Kiasu, at lightning speed. (Photo: CNA/Lim Li Ting)
ARCHITECT OR ARTIST?
He drew his first comic at just four years of age, and still has a copy.
It is a simple panel sequence depicting a character going through an adventure and fighting bad guys.
"During that time, there's no such thing as a comic class. So what we did was we'd buy those comics that we like and copy," said Mr Lau.
Later in life, he came to admire MAD Magazine, an American satirical magazine that boasts cover to cover comics, and was inspired by how it poked fun at contemporary events.
"When it came time for me to tell my family that I want to be a full time comic artist, they said, 'No, there's no way you can survive with this'," he said.
At his parents' insistence, he persevered through a five-year architecture degree at the University of Southern California in the United States.
"(My parents) probably felt like it's the closest thing to drawing, but it's totally different. In architecture, you're drawing a lot of straight lines, which I actually dislike," said Mr Lau.
He said he barely passed the first three years of university as he spent most of his time taking courses outside his degree, including pottery, fabric painting, glassblowing and filmmaking.
Unfamiliar with instruments like a set square when he first entered school, Mr Lau would trade drawing human figures for his friends' assignments for their help with drawing straight lines.
"I was not the conforming type. My models were very different – I actually included real water, real clay, sculptural pieces that I built into the building, and had music coming out," he recalled.
"So people were like, 'Hey, what are you doing? Are you going to be an architect or are you going to be an artist?' Even then, for me, the line was always blurred."
After graduating and completing his National Service upon his return to Singapore, Mr Lau put his degree to use at an architectural firm, where he spent his days drawing floor and roof tiles for Ngee Ann City.
"Of course, I dreaded going. Every day, drawing a floor tile, do you think I woke up, thinking, 'Wow, today I'm so happy to go and draw one more floor tile?'"
After just six months, he handed in his resignation letter.
After announcing he planned to quit, his boss replied: "Actually we were just thinking of promoting you. We have a few hundred staircases we need."
Mr Lau re-enacted his response that day for me. He gave an exaggerated bow and showed the way he handed his resignation letter over again.