Gabriel’s Trumpet: Jai Sen
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Born in Hyderabad, India, Jai
Sen lived in Indonesia for seven years acquiring a taste for supernatural
folktales and a propensity for observing the human condition. A founder of Shoto
Press, he is proud to have contributed to their philosophy and mission, which
simply put is to bring the best speculative fiction to comic book readers. Jai
said “the company was started in part to serve a real need in the industry for
experimental and unusual work with substance. We try to infuse all our books,
from The Malay Mysteries series (of which “Garlands of Moonlight” is the first
book) to The Golden Vine with real depth. So far, I’ve worked on all the initial
graphic novels we’ve published, but we’re currently involved in projects led by
five different authors, including a number of prose books. Part of our
philosophy is to bridge the gap between sequential art and work done in pure
images or prose; at the root, a good story is a good story.”
In the
“Garlands of Moonlight”, the first in The Malay Mysteries series and the winner
of the 2002 Xeric Award, a village in Indonesia, around the turn of the 20th
Century, is ravaged by threats of not only an ancient, supernatural evil but the
rising modernity of the times. Only one hero can stand against both, and she is
the most unlikely of heroes! It’s a fantastic blend of east meets west, with
Manga-infused art beautifully rendered by Rizky Wasisto Edi. Most exciting to
note is that within the past week, the book has been nominated for a coveted
Eisner Award, much to Jai’s delight. “I’m still completely overwhelmed. I feel
very undeserving of this tremendous honor, but at the same time know what
incredible love and hard work lead illustrator Rizky Wasisto Edi and I put into
“Garlands of Moonlight.” It’s my firm belief that Rizky earned most of the
credit for this recognition through his captivating artwork, and it means so
much to me to share this honor with him and his fellow members in ArtSpot, the
Indonesian artist consortium to which he belongs.”
Jai’s most recent work
from Shoto Press, The Golden Vine, is an alternate history based on the empire
of Alexander the Great; based on his empire because even though Alexander is
without question one of the largest personalities to have ever appeared in human
history, he’s not the primary character of the story. It’s more about what he’s
built in this alternate version of events, how he did it, and what his legacy
is. Most of the story is told through the quest of his son, Alexander IV, to
learn the secrets by which the world was united. On one level, the story is a
pretty daring construction of a unified world government in 300 BCE–but more
important is its foundation: a tale of fathers and sons, their lovers, and a
very interesting family.
Jai’s work is indeed spellbinding. In his
writing, the lines between imagination, folklore and reality are so craftily
interwoven that I had to ask him where his ideas hail from. Jai answered,
“Mythology and history are definitely big inspirations. I can’t learn about
either without my imagination taking hold and wondering about the hidden facts
or how things might have turned out differently, or how the forces described
influence peoples’ lives. So I would say it’s about half various inspirations
and half where those inspirations take me.”
Readers can order books
directly from the Shoto Press store at www.shotopress.com. (Not only do
they give great discounts on our products, but books can also be signed, sealed,
and personalized with an inscription–free!) Books are also available at
Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble Online and through Diamond Previews. If
you don’t see them at your local store, ask them to order you a copy!
Until next time…
This is a weekly column from our friend
David Jay Gabriel, Executive Director and Founder of the New York City Comic
Book Museum. You can find out more about the museum at www.nyccbm.org.
d, since we’re now
celebrating 120 years since the Brownies, it’s becoming evermore clear that
comic character collecting is a hobby related to the history of our society.
<br><br>The real enemy at hand is lack of information. That’s why we’re trying
to explain as much as we know to all ages, and trying to document characters
from the past 120 years that range from the Brownies to Jimmy Neutron. And
that’s why we want to direct your attention to this week’s <i>The Main
Event</i>. Richard Olson, PhD, has written the second installment of our study
of the history behind comic character collectibles and the hobby that we
cherish. Check it out, and be sure to read the first part of the story in
<i>Scoop 4-4-03</i>. Stay tuned to the next two weeks as well, for parts three
and four. Enjoy, and as always, we welcome your suggestions and feedback!
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usiastic I am about
<i>Overstreet’s Comic Price Review</i>,” echoed Heritage’s Fred McSurley.
”Information is the key to successful collecting and investing. With the advent
of internet auctions and standardized grading, this finally makes it possible to
track realized prices in a reliable manner. No serious collector or dealer will
want to go without this invaluable new source of information.”<br><br>”I
appreciate Bob Overstreet’s professional effort to get a handle on the higher
grades, 9.0 -10.0. This market is extremely volatile as more copies become
available,” said retailer Gary Dolgoff. ”Prices change with little or no
notice.”<br><br>”This publication has been long overdue and I look forward to
seeing it,” said Robert Coup of Historicana.<br><br>”Thirty-three years ago