Jai Sen’s Eisner-nominated folklore series returns in November 2026 with a sixth book set in Bali, alongside The Collected Malay Mysteries, gathering the first five volumes with new artwork and a retrospective introduction
PORTLAND, Ore. — August 15, 2026 — Shoto Press today announced two additions to the Malay Mysteries, Xeric Award-winning and Eisner-nominated graphic novelist Jai Sen’s series drawn from the folklore, monster myths, and ghost stories of colonial-era Southeast Asia. Purnama, the sixth book in the series, and The Collected Malay Mysteries, which gathers the first five volumes into a single edition, both arrive in November 2026 in print and in digital editions for Apple Books and Kindle.
The Malay Mysteries follow Marsiti, a traditional medicine woman, and Hidayat, a skeptical schoolteacher, as they travel the villages of colonial Indonesia as unlikely ghost hunters—where the onrush of the twentieth century collides with the restless spirits of the island’s mythical past. The first book, Garlands of Moonlight, won a Xeric Award and was nominated for two Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, comics’ highest honor. Critic Johanna Draper Carlson has named books in the series “Comics Worth Reading.”
“The Malay Mysteries are very close to my heart after the years I lived in Indonesia,” said author Jai Sen. “Even though the books are set in the country’s colonial past, it’s a way for me to revisit that familiar place and the stories I heard there. It fills me with joy that readers love these tales too.”
Purnama
Purnama takes its name from the Balinese full moon festival. Marsiti and Hidayat travel to Bali to investigate a haunted painting that appears to show what took place the night of a historical battle. The book is illustrated by series artist M. Reza Aribuwana.
Sen has dedicated the book to his sister, who died earlier this year.
“My sister passed away this year, a devastating loss for my family,” said Sen. “Bali was her favorite place, and she was fascinated by Balinese beliefs about the interplay of the visible and invisible all around us. Some of my fondest memories are of our time there together. I am honored to dedicate the book to her.”
The Collected Malay Mysteries
The Collected Malay Mysteries brings together the first five volumes of the series—Garlands of Moonlight, The Ghost of Silver Cliff, Island of Glass and Ashes, Sita’s Shadow and Other Stories, and The Dark Colony—in a single 576-page edition, the first time the sequence has been available complete in one volume.
The collection is not a straight reprint. It opens with a new retrospective introduction by Sen, looking back across the series. And Sita's Shadow and Other Stories has been substantially redrawn for this edition by series artist M. Reza Aribuwana, bringing the volume into visual continuity with the books around it. Shoto Press is also issuing updated digital editions of all five books this fall.
Printing and production
Both books preserve the printing technique the series has been celebrated for: a black-and-silver duotone that evokes the silvery tonality of turn-of-the-century photography. In the new editions, that technique has been refined and enhanced.
About Jai Sen
Jai Sen is the author of the Malay Mysteries, a series of graphic novellas drawn from the folklore, monster myths, and ghost stories of colonial-era Southeast Asia. Garlands of Moonlight, the first book, won a Xeric Award and received a Will Eisner Comic Industry Award nominations, comics’ highest honor, alongside works by Lynda Barry and David B., plus a Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer nomination. His work has also been nominated for a U.K. National Comics Award.
His full-color alternate history The Golden Vine imagines a world in which Alexander the Great survived to unite his empire, told through the distinct visual styles of three Japanese artists. Beyond comics, Sen is a scholar of colonial history, folklore, and South and Southeast Asian culture, as well as Greco-Roman history with a specialization in Alexander the Great.
About Shoto Press
Shoto Press is a publisher of fine speculative fiction and graphic novels, known for the Xeric Award–winning, Eisner-nominated Malay Mysteries series and for Jai Sen’s The Golden Vine. The press is recognized for its high production values and the use of opulent materials.
Also from Shoto Press in 2026
A 20th anniversary edition of The Golden Vine, Jai Sen’s alternate history of Alexander the Great, arrives in December 2026 in print and digital editions, meticulously re-lettered, with fully restored artwork and an expanded use of gold ink. Shoto Press has also announced Jamshid’s Cup, the second book of The Golden Vine trilogy, currently planned for 2028.
Book details
Purnama — The Malay Mysteries, Book 6
| Author | Jai Sen |
| Illustrator | M. Reza Aribuwana |
| Publisher | Shoto Press |
| On sale | November 2026 |
| Price | $9.99 |
| Pages | 112 |
| Trim size | 7" x 5" |
| Formats | Print, Apple Books, Kindle |
| ISBN (paperback) | 978-0-9717564-8-9 |
| ISBN (ebook) | 978-0-9717564-9-6 |
The Collected Malay Mysteries — Books 1–5
| Author | Jai Sen |
| Illustrator | M. Reza Aribuwana |
| Featuring the work of | Eric Bryden, Rizky Wasisto Edi, Ronny Hardyanto, and Michael John Keegan |
| Publisher | Shoto Press |
| On sale | November 2026 |
| Price | $29.99 |
| Pages | 576 |
| Trim size | 7.5" x 5" |
| Formats | Print, Apple Books, Kindle |
| ISBN (paperback) | 978-0-9840014-0-8 |
| ISBN (ebook) | 978-0-9840014-1-5 |
Pre-order at shotopress.com
Media contact
Review copies, interview requests, and high-resolution art: shotopress.com/contact