Oni Press and Magnetic Press have released the first-ever English translation of the manhua Twin Lotuses by Zhang Xiaoyu, marking the writer/artist’s North American debut. Today, K-Comics Beat can reveal an exclusive preview from the book.
Twin Lotuses follows an orphan known as Stink Head and his new friend Fan, an engineer and widower whose clockwork automaton performs live at the local theater. The two get to know each other in the midst of war, as the world they know slowly crumbles around them.
Here’s the full synopsis:
Love is never lost . . .
Fan is a young Chinese engineer who lost his wife in a Japanese bombing raid in 1937. Mingfeng was a popular performer at the local opera, and he is devastated by the loss. Distraught, he builds an extraordinary automaton that replaces her at the theater. Meanwhile, war rages throughout the city, and orphaned children run wild under the direction of local potentates in an attempt to thrive and survive. When those potentates take notice of the mysterious beauty, suspicions and desires start to grow. Mix in an American airman and the tensions of war, and things build to an explosive finale.
Masterfully mixing a snapshot of war-torn China with the philosophical sci-fi questions of a Philip K Dick novel, Twin Lotuses is a beautifully illustrated story capturing an ugly time and the flicker of hope, love, and ambition that shone through it all.
Check out a first look below.
Twin Lotuses is available now everywhere books are sold, and will be available at your local comic shop on Wednesday, April 29.
