As the war in Ukraine rages on, it becomes increasingly difficult for journalists to report the truth whether because the truth is being ruthlessly suppressed or because it has been distorted to the point that they have to sift through and analyze what is true and what is not. One journalist named Gareth Jones travelled to the Soviet Union in the 1930s and reported on the man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine known as Holodomor which killed millions of Ukrainians, using eyewitness testimonies.
Jones was later banned from the Soviet Union for his report and two years later, was murdered. His story and journey to dig through and find the truth has been depicted in the graphic novel In the Shadow of Stalin: The Story of Mr. Jones, written by Andrea Chalupa and illustrated by Ivan Rodriguez, and published by Oni Press.
Chalupa wrote and co-produced the 2019 film Mr. Jones which follows Jones uncovering the truth around Holodomor. Mr. Jones won the Grand Prix Golden Lions award at the 44th Gdynia Film Festival.
The premise of the historical thriller In the Shadow of Stalin: The Story of Mr. Jones can be read below:
In the early 1930s, Gareth Jones is a young journalist with powerful connections after a groundbreaking interview with Adolf Hitler and his chief propagandist, Joseph Goebbels. This notoriety gains him permission to travel to the Soviet Union for a potential interview with Joseph Stalin. Jones hopes to learn more about the Soviets’ mass economic gains but finds himself stonewalled and trapped in Moscow. While looking for a way out, he meets new allies that alert him to the growing man-made famine, or Holodomor, happening in Ukraine under the government’s guidance. Jones, seeking the truth in all its ugliness, embarks on a journey of discovery, strife, and a cover-up of the deaths of millions of people. Can the unrelenting power of truth expose one of Stalin’s greatest crimes to a world that refuses to bear witness?
“The timing of this book could not be more relevant given what has been going on in Ukraine for the past year-plus. Gareth Jones’s story, and the warnings he gave in his writings and reporting, seem to only have been temporarily heeded,” Chris Cerasi, the Oni Press managing editor, said.
“We seem doomed to repeat history as a result; therefore, we could not be happier to be releasing this book now, in the hope of furthering Gareth Jones’s message so that humanity can be reminded of the consequences of turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to the suffering of others.”
Oni Press has shared a set of preview pages and can be viewed below:
Readers can find In the Shadow of Stalin: The Story of Mr. Jones in stores on Sept. 4.
Source: Oni Press
At the size the pages are displayed it is extremely difficult to read or visually scan.
I am interested in the subject matter so it’s too bad.
Allan Rosenberg
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