Sam has been creating funny drawings since 2010, kicking things off with NO! A Lesson in Love — a picture book about her beloved mini schnauzer Jang Gun (Korean for “army general” because of his beardy face!) Living in Malaysia at the time, Sam self-published NO! A Lesson in Love, had it added to the national library’s archives, and even organised her own book launch event at the Annexe art gallery. NO! A Lesson in Love explored messages of responsible and loving dog ownership in a way that was both relatable and humorous. She credits that experience as her first ‘big project’ and the one that gave her the storytelling bug.

From copywriter to cartoonist

But she wasn’t always a cartoonist. Sam started her career in advertising, working as a copywriter for agencies including McCann (where she started as a plucky intern!), Dentsu, Y&R, and M&C Saatchi. There she wrote TV and radio scripts, newspaper and magazine advertisements, and helped create big campaigns for brands like Nestlé, Petronas, and Al-Rajhi Bank.

While in advertising, Sam got back into drawing — something she had loved as a young girl obsessed with Sailormoon — and in 2015 started a comic strip called Welcome to Agency X, inspired by the bizarre world of advertising agencies (if you know, you know).

Sam got her first big break when Welcome to Agency X was picked up by Malaysian newspaper, The Star, and published every day for a year to more than 1.8 million readers nationwide. The comic strip struck a chord with kids and office workers alike and was later compiled into a collection and released by Malaysian indie publisher Keropok Comics.

Since 2016, Sam’s pen (and Apple pencil!) has been busy with Questionable Quotebook, a satirical quote of the day cartoon published by Universal Uclick (GoComics) and enjoyed by over 2,500 readers every Sunday. The cartoon is equal parts ridiculous and wise, full of pithy musings on society, relationships, politics, family and more. Sam is also the creator of a semi-regular comic strip called ET CETERA, where she unleashes her most random thoughts and hot-takes onto her unsuspecting social media followers.