Thirty-one years ago, more than one million students stood at Tiananmen Square in the center of Beijing, China, calling for democracy – the infamous event widely known as the June Fourth Incident, is explored in the upcoming autobiographical IDW graphic novel Tiananmen 1989: Our Shattered Hopes.

Following the same vein as the challenging but vital graphic novels Springtime in Chernobyl, Burmese Moons, and After the Spring, IDW Publishing is proud to share the eye-opening story of Tiananmen 1989 by first-hand participant Lun Zhang, French journalist and Asia specialist Adrien Gombeaud, and artist Ameziane.

Slated for a June 16, 2020 release, Tiananmen 1989: Our Shattered Hopes bears witness to China’s infamous June Fourth Incident – otherwise known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre – through the eyes of a young sociology teacher, Lun Zhang, that witnessed it all. As tens of thousands of students and concerned Chinese citizens took to the streets demanding political reforms, the world didn’t know what to expect…

Many voices and viewpoints are on display, from Western journalists to Chinese administrators, describing how the hope of a generation was shattered when authorities opened fire on protesters and bystanders. Tiananmen 1989 reveals the tragic moment when contemporary China took shape.