Shoto Press surprised the world with its breakout hit, the graphic novella Garlands of Moonlight. Garlands won a coveted Xeric Award for independent comics and went on to earn a nomination for a Will Eisner Comic Industry Award, the top honor for comics and graphic novels, and a Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award nomination as well. The story begun in Garlands continues in the Malay Mysteries series, alternating stories of good and evil: a compelling look at the rich world of Malay folklore and ghost stories.

Set in the Indonesian islands in 1910, near the end of the Dutch colonial period, the books weave together the adventures of Marsiti, an old herbalist, and Hidayat, a skeptical young schoolteacher, with tales told by the characters they encounter, island legends, and the events of the early twentieth century.

The third book in the series, Island of Glass and Ashes, has just been released, with the fourth (Sita's Shadow and Other Stories) due out in the spring.

The Malay Mysteries are conceived and written by series author and creative director Jai Sen, and illustrated by Indonesian, Philippine, and American visual artists. The books are printed in specially formulated black and silver inks using high-definition imaging to simulate daguerreotype photographs from the time period of the stories, an effect that has attracted as much attention and praise as the stories themselves.