The Malay Mysteries
Eisner Nominee / Xeric Winner / Ninth Art Lighthouse Nominee / U.K. National Comics Award Nominee
Shoto Press surprised the world with its breakout hit, the graphic novella Garlands of Moonlight.
Garlands won a coveted Xeric Award for independent comics and went on to earn a nomination for a Will Eisner Comic Industry Award, the top honor for comics and graphic novels, and was favored by the Eisner Committee with a Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award nomination as well. The Malay Mysteries have also been named “Comics Worth Reading” by noted critic Johanna Draper Carlson and a "Read This or Die" selection by Sequential Tart.
The story begun in Garlands continues in the Malay Mysteries series, alternating stories of good and evil: a compelling look at the rich world of Malay folklore, monster myths, and ghost stories.
The Malay Mysteries are conceived and written by series author Jai Sen, and illustrated by Indonesian and American visual artists. Printed in specially formulated black and silver inks using high-definition imaging, the books will be once again available in both print and digital formats, now including a beautiful new omnibus edition of the first five books collected into one giant volume.
The Collected Malay Mysteries Volume 1: Books 1-5
The first five graphic novellas in the Eisner-nominated series, in one giant volume. Due for release in November.
Written by Jai Sen. Illustrated by M. Reza Aribuwana. Featuring the work of Eric Bryden, Rizky Wasisto Edi, Ronny Hardyanto, Michael John Keegan. 576 pages.
Malay Mysteries in this book
Book 1: Garlands of Moonlight
Marsiti the medicine woman knows that something is wrong in what appears to be an ordinary village.
A creature of darkness has come to prey on the unsuspecting. The village becomes a battleground as the onrush of the twentieth century clashes with tradition—and the restless spirits of the island’s mythical past.
Book 2: The Ghost of Silver Cliff
The little village of Silver Cliff is a beautiful place–rich in oil palms, protected from the sea by a natural bay, and perfumed with fragrant wild jasmine. But no one who wants to live through the night goes there: legends say that the village is under the protection of a vengeful spirit.
Book 3: Island of Glass and Ashes
A volcanic island of black sand beaches harbors a terrible secret: a hidden evil guarded by the walking dead. Two stories of ill-fated love and a dark temple high on the slopes of a volcano hold the keys to an ancient curse.
Book 4: Sita's Shadow and Other Stories
Three tales of the supernatural: Marsiti recalls her first ghost hunting adventure, in which she was asked by a Dutch plantation owner to exorcise a ghost; a traveling merchant tells the story of a fisherman who faced the wrath of a sea goddess; and an old priest describes how a haunted shadow play forever changed the people of his village.
Book 5: The Dark Colony
Marsiti and Hidayat hear a heartbreaking tale of nature gone horribly wrong. A beekeeper’s hives take on an evil aspect as her home is engulfed by their ever-growing colony. Children begin to disappear from the village after a gruesome murder. What are the bees building, and who is controlling them?
The Malay Mysteries book 6: Purnama
Our characters travel to Bali, where they investigate the mystery of a haunted painting that shows what took place the night of a historical battle—or does it? Two warrior spirits, one Balinese, one Dutch, tell their accounts of the fateful night.
Written by Jai Sen. Illustrated by M. Reza Aribuwana. 112 pages.
