IDW’s Euro Comics imprint, a collaboration with the Library of American Comics, is bringing some of the best European comics to the English speaking world; “The Silence of Malka” is the most recent example. An award winner at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in 1997, this work by Jorge Zentner and Ruben Pellejero is rooted in Jewish mythology, and is based on a story Zentner’s grandmother told him when he was a child. We are thrilled to share an exclusive preview of the book, which hits shelves on June 27th.
Written by Jorge ZentnerCover by Pellejero
Illustrated by Ruben PellejeroFor the family of the little red-headed Malka, trading the Russian shtetl for the Argentine pampas isn’t so easy. Even in a country eager to populate its vast territories, the immigrants discover that their new home isn’t the promised land. They encounter hostility from both man and nature as they struggle through droughts and locusts in an attempt to cultivate the arid soil. When misery pushes them to the extreme, Malka’s uncle is visited by the prophet Elias, who advises that he create a Golem—the mythical creature fashioned from earth and endowed with life by engraving on his body the word “emet” (“truth”)—to pose as a man and aid the immigrants. Years later, when the adult Malka is visited by Elias, the events of her youth force her to decide whether or not she can maintain her silence—with fate and divine justice hanging in the balance.
HC • FC • $24.99 • 112 pages • 8 1/2” x 11” • ISBN: 978-1-68405-287-5
Bullet points:
● Winner of the Best Foreign Graphic Album award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival.
● A sweeping and poignant story of Ashkenazi Jews fleeing the Russian pogroms at the end of the 19th Century, as well as a parable of the making of a modern society and the extent to which religion and mysticism meet.
● Inspired by a story told to the author by his grandmother.
● Cover by Ruben Pellejero
Thanks to IDW for the preview, and make sure to pick up the book on Wednesday!
