Comic book aids cultural preservation in Cambodia

ANU Archaeology lecturer Dr Dougald O’Reilly knows how to tell a story.

Dougald has released Wrath of the Phantom Army as a digital comic book on iTunes. The action-packed story has an important message—that looting is destroying Cambodia’s great past and risking its future.

Set in provincial Cambodia, Wrath of the Phantom Army tells the story of angry spirits disturbed by the desecration of their graves by looters.

“We produced this comic to reach rural Cambodians engaged in the looting of prehistoric sites,” said Dougald.

“We needed a medium to effectively communicate the harm looting does, but in an entertaining way, that can be appreciated by the literate and illiterate alike.”

The comic was produced for Heritage Watch, a non-profit organisation working to preserve heritage in Cambodia. All proceeds will go towards publishing the book in Khmer.