Shawn Kuruneru is a Canadian comic artist, and writer living in Montreal who has Chinese and Sri Lankan ancestry. He illustrated comics authored by others and also published a growing body of works that he both authored and illustrated. Kuruneru is also a painter but keeps his comics work separate from his fine art practice.
Fiction (Graphic novel)
Burn Man
Shawn Kuruneru
Synopsis
A man attempts a burn ritual in New York City and begins a terrifying journey that reflects his own turmoil. He encounters drugged out possessed cannibal punks, mass clusters of subway rats, the Grim Reaper and an old lady licking a toad.
Fiction (Graphic novel)
Cave Grave: Wild West Tales
Oni Press, 2026.
This is a duology.
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
In Cave Grave, the art of double-crossing is taken to a new extreme as three struggling thieves attempt to pull off the heist of a lifetime—only to realize they’ve stolen more than they bargained for.
In Poor Moon, a cowboy searching for purpose turns to bounty hunting. Catch, return, reward—it’s simple, until he picks up a bounty that’ll change his life forever. Until the hunter becomes the hunted . . .
Fiction (Comic / Graphic novel)
Elvis and Daisy
Shawn Kuruneru, 2020.
Synopsis
Elvis and Daisy by Shawn Kuruneru collects a series of comics starring two robots who don’t remember where they came from. Elvis, a small robot with a guitar, and Daisy, a larger robot with plants growing out of their back are the only friends each other have on a mysterious tropical island. Together they will search for hidden treasures, and care for each other.
Fiction (Graphic novel)
Fool’s Wish
Montreal: L’Epee Press, 2024.
Originally pubished in 2019 in two volumes.
Synopsis
Fool’s Wish is a mythical samurai story by Shawn Kuruneru. When his brother Tomi disappears in the Kagami Mountains, Kyozetsu must go and find him. Tomi has gone on a journey to find a tree shaped like a skeleton that is said to grant wishes. The farther we venture up the mountain, and the more denizens we meet, the more it seems these wishes are far more trouble than they’re worth!
Fiction (Graphic novel)
Someday Soon
Shawn Kuruneru
Synopsis
Someday Soon by Shawn Kuruneru collects a series of cascading vignettes set in an unnamed war-torn city. War—and a featureless army of soldiers are suffocating the city’s citizens with indescriminent violence and belligerence. Small groups of people attempt to rebel, exact vengeance, steal, or simply survive, but the violent force of war is overwhelming and all-consuming.