Twin Lotuses by Zhang Xiaoyu (graphic novel review).
In China, twin lotus flowers symbolise love, commitment and enduring happiness. They are also symbols of brotherhood and deep affection between siblings. These are the themes explored in this graphic novel, set against a backdrop of cruelty, greed, violence and war.
The opening scene is set on the Yangtze, China, October 1937, during the Sino-Japanese War, and shows a boat full of passengers being bombed. The relevance of this becomes clear near the end of the book. We then cut to a small village in southwest China, where a gang of boys watch a traditional play from a rooftop. The female lead is a beautiful, talented dancer, or so it seems. The gang leader is Snot Nose, who comes from a well-off family. Another member is Stink Head, a very poor orphan struggling to feed himself and his little sister.
Events lead to Snot Nose becoming involved with the scientist Fan Zhihuai, who reveals that the beautiful dancer is actually an automaton, a construct of gears and metal, controlled via a portable panel. Fan tells the gang leader that he is trained in Western science and that China must abandon old superstitions. Japan, he argues, is winning the war because of its embrace of modern science.
The story brings together several other characters, most of them cruel or morally compromised. There’s the owner of the restaurant where the plays are performed, a mad soldier who has fled the battlefield, an American airman with the Flying Tigers, local gangsters, and the gang of boys led by Snot Nose. Stink Head plays a key role. I found myself reading steadily through the middle section, wondering whose story this was meant to be. In the end, it belongs to all of them. The various strands dovetail neatly, delivering a satisfying conclusion.
The black-and-white artwork, with its subtle grey tones, is easy on the eye and at times recalls Brian Bolland’s exquisite style. The historical setting is well realised, albeit a sombre one. Chiang Kai-shek was China’s leader at the time. As it happens, I recently watched a PBS documentary series on the Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), a conflict often overlooked in the West, and it was even more brutal than the European theatre. I’ve also seen ‘The Flying Tigers’ (1942), a war film starring John Wayne. It used to pop up on Sunday afternoons when viewers had exhausted repeats of ‘The Great Escape’ and ‘The Dam Busters’. It is not especially accurate.
Ultimately, I enjoyed ‘Twin Lotuses’. It’s a fine story with beautiful artwork, well told. It’s refreshing to step outside our usual Western cultural lens now and then and see events from a different perspective. Well worth a look.
Eamonn Murphy
February 2026
(pub: Magnetic Press, 2026. 324-page graphic novel hardback. Price: £26.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-96241-351-0. Ebook: £15.30 (UK))
Check out the website: www.magnetic-press.com
