Two recently published graphic novels draw on distinct episodes from Singapore’s past to explore complex social histories through compelling visual storytelling.

Sean Lam’s "Raffles Hotel: The Grand Dame And The Waving Blade" takes inspiration from a well-known event in 1902: the killing of an escaped circus tiger at the Bar & Billiard Room of the iconic Raffles Hotel. Lam, who served as the hotel’s fifth writer-in-residence and its first to produce a graphic novel, spent a year immersed in the hotel’s environment. Rather than focusing solely on the grandeur of the building or its notable guests, Lam found creative stimulus in the hotel’s antiques—describing elements such as an 1887 German Polyphon music box and a venerable grandfather clock as silent witnesses to the hotel’s layered history.

Lam’s research incorporated archival materials from the National Archives of Singapore and periodicals such as BiblioAsia, along with input from the hotel’s historian. He was particularly drawn to Singapore’s multilingual and multicultural character in the early 20th century, reflected in the local English newspapers’ inclusion of Malay and Chinese dialect words. His dialogue in the novel similarly blends British English with Malay poetry and diverse speech forms to recreate the era’s linguistic texture.

The narrative moves beyond the hotel’s aristocratic setting to depict the vibrant life of surrounding neighborhoods, including what was once known as “Little Japan” along Malay Street. The story centers on a love triangle linking three characters of different ethnic and social backgrounds: Joseph, a Chinese hotel staffer; James, a British businessman; and Asha, a princess of the indigenous sea people. Through this intersection, Lam portrays the daily lives and social dynamics of migrants in colonial Singapore.

In contrast, Felix Cheong’s "A Mild Case Of Mass Hysteria" delves into a lesser-known medical episode from October 1967, when approximately 97 men were hospitalized in Singapore General Hospital with a delusion that their genitalia were retracting into their bodies—a phenomenon medically recognized as Koro. Cheong uncovered this episode while conducting research for earlier graphic novels and viewed it as a lens to examine masculinity, anxiety, and societal tensions during a period of new nationhood and the introduction of compulsory national service.

Cheong’s story follows three male protagonists—a farmer’s son, an upper-middle-class doctor, and a gang member—drawing on medical journals, records of secret societies, and historical information about military conscription. The graphic novel incorporates authentic newspaper clippings within its illustrations to ground the narrative in historical detail.

Collaborating with India-based illustrators Ritwick Roy and Riddhi Trivedi, Cheong adopted a screenplay-style manuscript, allowing the artists to interpret the staging. Their cultural distance from Singapore provided an unencumbered artistic perspective, lending the book a stylistic tone akin to neo-noir films, with high contrast imagery and dynamic camera angles. The illustrators also expanded engaging scenes such as a chase sequence to enhance tension. Cheong noted that the visual elements carry significant storytelling weight, with words serving to complement the artwork rather than dominate it.

Both Lam and Cheong are advancing new projects. Cheong is working on "Tropic Of Cancer," a creative non-fiction effort with Roy and Trivedi, while Lam is preparing an art exhibition inspired by the calligraphic and watercolor techniques used in his graphic novel. Together, their works represent innovative efforts to connect contemporary readers with Singapore’s multifaceted historical narratives through the immersive medium of graphic literature.