It sits in a place of beauty, incongruously bordered between Japanese stone art and a vivid blue ink painting: "2000 A.D.," a classic British comic book from the 1980s. The apocalypse orange cover shrieks "Revenge of the Warlock" but — muted by a plastic overlay to protect its condition — the sci-fi work somehow blends effortlessly with its serene Asian backdrop.
As a Scotsman living in Kumamoto, its owner, Sean Michael Wilson, comic book creator, appreciates the harmonious mismatch.
Wilson dreamed of creating comics ever since he first peeled back the cover of Pat Mills' and Kevin O'Neill's classic. It was just days before his 12th birthday, and he keeps the comic in his home now to acknowledge that initial inspiration. In an serendipitous twist, one of Wilson's main publishers is Top Shelf, the same company that produces "2000 A.D."