Bleeding Scars: The Calamity of Canning [Maple Comics, 61 pages] by Chua Kok Yee takes readers to the suburbs of Ipoh, spinning a haunting tale rooted in local urban legend. At the heart of this graphic novella is the story of a chee cheong fan seller, Uncle Chin, on whose life and livelihood the events of the story converge, in darkness and tragedy.

Chua Kok Yee weaves a story that feels grounded in the familiar, both in the sense of its setting, and also the tropes and features commonly found in the scary stories Malaysians love to exchange during social gatherings. The black-and-white artwork adds a moody, almost cinematic layer to the narrative, while providing dramatic contrasts that stress and intensify the rawness of the characters’ experiences.

Read More »