Journalism, gta, grand theft auto, haircuts, hong kong, rockstar

The Hong Kong Magazine GTA Hommage

For all Rockstar's faults, it does understand how to give something "a look." A memorable, distinctive one at that. Take the Grand Theft Auto box art, for example. Kotakuite Derek writes in:

Attached is a picture I took (sorry about the average quality, I was using my phone) of a magazine I was reading while waiting to get my haircut. Its from the 28/9/2006 edition of Next Magazine in Hong Kong, a magazine that reports on the weird and wonderful lives of Hong Kong celebs, as well as containing in depth articles on current affairs.
When I turned to the page in the photo, I found the picture in the middle very familiar. The article is about the the lives of undercover police officers in Hong Kong. As you'll see, the picture is very similar to the covers of the Grand Theft Auto games. Nothing in the article is game/GTA related which really makes me wonder why the illustrator would directly copy the art sylte from GTA...

Not only do we love it when readers send us tips, but when they send tips while they are getting haircuts. A Kotaku first! Brian Ashcraft

8:22 AM on Wed Dec 6 2006
By Brian Ashcraft
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10 comments

Comments

Toneman at 08:36 AM on 12/06/06
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Nifty!
Gutzman at 08:36 AM on 12/06/06
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I have to admit, that artwork does have a striking resemblance to GTA artwork. Interesting indeed.
calum at 08:42 AM on 12/06/06
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What's an "hommage"? OH, TRAPPED IN A ZING!
Wolfnave at 08:51 AM on 12/06/06
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I just want to know what undercover police officer dresses up like Genghis Kahn (bottom middle), and how much success he meets with in the rough and tumble world of the Hong Kong mafioso.

Perhaps the seedy HK underbelly really resembles "The Warriors." In addition to 'The Kahns', you also have the 'Lotus Assassins' and the 'Rickshaw Killas', whose famous trademark killing style involves impaling their victims with, what else, a full-size rickshaw.

Hell, I'd play that game over GTA any day. Trademark that shit!
caps at 09:42 AM on 12/06/06
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In English, it's "homage."
Dr_Zaius at 12:04 PM on 12/06/06
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they both stole it from the old tv show "Wild Wild West"
OftenNot at 02:15 PM on 12/06/06
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Silly Hong Kongians and their 28 months!
Jonn at 07:01 PM on 12/06/06
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Connectedness Index: 0

I always did like that style.
JacobB at 08:16 PM on 12/06/06
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This kind of cross-cultural reach is exactly why a game like Grand Theft Auto deserves to be studied by academics. It has reached a stature that far exceeds the supposedly simple pleasures of hot cars and hotter coffee.
ryuuseiu at 10:41 PM on 12/06/06
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*ahem* this takes a proper Chinese person and an art student to explain:

the dude in costume at the middle bottom, with the finger at the boob is Guan Yu (might've seen him if you've played Dynasty Warriors). He's a historical, nearly mythical militant character from the Three Kingdoms' era. His statuette is in every police station, (at least in Hong Kong TV dramas) in its mini shrine, nailed to the wall; the patron saint of chinese police officers.

this is obviously a comparison of GTA style corruption and crime to the lives of undercover officers, using the relatively well known GTA art (which is based on the dramatic and exaggerated world of comics/graphic novels) to suggest their connections to each other.

oh yeah, and that bear/yeti on her breast is distracting and a deviation from the original style.