Twin Lotuses by Zhang Xiaoyu
Big thanks to Oni Press and NetGalley for sharing an
advanced copy of Twin Lotuses, an epic historical horror-sci-fi story
that takes place during the Japanese occupation of China in the late 1930s. I
wasn’t sure what to expect with this comic, but it has a lot to offer for fans
of different genres. The story follows two plotlines that are interconnected.
There is a group of war orphans who are struggling with survival in war torn
China. These kids are faced with trying to navigate the traditional and
superstitions of old China, while also seeking out food and avoiding
territorial and gang battles with other groups of marauding kids. Zhang Xiaoyu’s
establishes a few characters who are known primarily by their appearances—for example,
there’s Snot Nose, who seems to have a perpetually runny nose, and Hair lip, whose
got a cleft in his lip. The scenes with these kids are earthy and brutal,
filled with fluids, waste, and often violence, as the kids seek to find
protection and food by aligning themselves with or against other groups. I
loved how Xiaoyu used close-up drawings to draw our attention to these kids’
hard-scrabble existence. The kids are contrasted with Fan, an educated, upper-class
man who presents reason and science as a counter to the superstitions and
traditions of these kids. Fan has designed an early robot, a kind of automaton,
that performs in the opera while he controls this robot offstage. We learn that
Fan’s wife, Mingfeng, was a well-known opera performer who was killed by the Japanese
bombing of China. Fan’s insistence in science is not only an indication of his education
and knowledge, but also serves as a way for him to call for more education to
counter the destructive engineering of the Japanese. He claims that Japan’s
success in dominating China in the 1930s is due to their engineering and
scientific know-how while China maintains its traditional and superstitious
ways. Although this wasn’t the main conflict presented in the story, I loved
how subtly Xiaoyu presents this argument and seems to seek out a way to find
balance between science and tradition.
As Fan’s automaton performer gains greater recognition and
popularity, we learn that Mingfeng survived the bombing but was separated from Fan.
She sent letters to him, hoping to reconnect and eventually finds him with her doppelganger
robot who has seemingly replaced her in performances of traditional Chinese
opera. Fan is elated to reconnect with his lost love, but Mingfeng wants him to
abandon his robotic creation since she finds it unsettling and upsetting. Fan
faces a conflict as he is proud of his ultimate creation, and he struggles with
sending his creation away. Will he abide by his wife’s desire to replace her
replacement? Or will he find a way to accommodate both his human wife and her
robotic double? Xiaoyu sets up a compelling dynamic for a fantastic finish of
the story. There’s double-crossing and back-stabbing throughout the second half
of the story, and it helps to show the kind of chaos that endured during and
after the Japanese occupation. Both Xiaoyu’s story and artwork create two
different worlds that are inhabited by different groups of people. It’s both
evocative and morbidly fascinating, and it highlights the kind of challenges
and struggles that different people have with surviving amid chaos and tragedy.
I really enjoyed this book not only for its story, but also for the creative
and detailed artwork. Highly recommended!
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