On February 15th 1942, the week-long battle for Singapore culminated with the successful invasion of Japanese forces. Marking not only the largest surrender of British-led forces in history, it has also come to be one of the most significant moments in Singapore history. Today, we memorialise that day as Total Defence Day.
Inspired by the incidents of 1942, as well as movies such as Pearl Harbour and Titanic, Leroy Lam detailed his very own Singapore-set historical romance short story with Hero, written in 2013. Following Yaacob, a soldier in Lieutenant Adnan’s forces in the hours leading up to the national hero’s eventual demise, the tale focuses on Yaacob’s driving motivation to survive the war: his wife, and the home he has dreamt of building with her.
Singapore’s history and Total Defence ideology are recurrent matters that hold a prominent significance in our everyday lives. Similarly, comics have maintained a strong purpose in telling visual stories in dynamic and engaging ways. Simultaneously employing the imagination of readers similar to books, while providing imagery much like film or television comics allow for the best of both story-telling platforms to come together.
– Author Leroy Lam
Funded to 260% of their goal, Hero was adapted for comics by Ryan Mennen of CS Comics, penciller James Pereria, inker Azri Djokoloro, and colourist Ada Chan, with lettering by Mennen, Hero boasts a wholly Singaporean creative from source to adaptation.
Beyond this initial publication run, I plan to use this as a teaching tool to not only reiterate the importance of remembering our history, but to also cultivate an understanding of its role in rich story-telling.
– Mr Lam
Launched on Kickstarter with a goal of S$888 to fund publication, Hero has since raised over S$2300 (>$260) with more than 40 backers across Singapore, the United States, Australia, and more. The novella can be purchased at three different pledge tiers: $8 for a digital copy (included with all physical copies), $18 for a physical copy, and $188 for a copy of each of the nine cover editions with a custom cover sketch.
With 9 variant covers illustrated by 8 art teams (the last one being the fan-favourite Blank variant), here’s an exclusive first look at the pencils of the “Standard Cover” by Hero penciller James Pereira. This pencilled piece will go on to be inked and coloured by James’ co-artists, Azri Djokoloro and Ada Chan.
Consisting 24 pages of fully-coloured illustrations, the first physical print of the original short story, and a Comic Art & Story-Telling (CAST) “making-of” gallery, Leroy’s debut graphic novella is an expansive collection of engaging characters and educational content.
In addition to the dynamic illustrations within the book, Hero boasts eight covers, illustrated by the primary art team, as well as artists born in every decade of Singapore’s history following World War 2: Collin Yap, Haider Amir, Kang Jing & Alan Bay, Tasha Leah Santiago, Zehe Abdul Rahman, and Leroy’s own son Brennan Lam, with more artists to be announced.
Hero’s Kickstarter 31-day campaign concludes on 3rd February, with distribution expected to commence before the 15th of February and can be accessed here.