Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Jeremy Love's Bayou

A graphic novel set in 1930s Mississippi, Bayou is an American fairytale that is equal parts history and fantasy. The child heroine Lee watches in horror as a monster rising from the swamp kidnaps her white friend. Lee's innocent father is then accused of murdering the missing white girl.

To clear her father's name and save his life, Lee sets out on a fantastical journey to rescue her friend, journeying through a landscape populated by supernatural creatures based on Southern cultural archetypes - Br'er Rabbit,  lynching victims metamorphosed into winged fairies, and Bayou, the mighty green swamp dwelling creature who becomes Lee's guide. [Image on left is from Bayou Volume 1]

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Teshkeel Media Group's "The 99"

Created by Kuwaiti psychologist Dr Naif Al-Mutawa, and executed by the artists at Teshkeel Comics, The 99 is a comic book series about 99 superheroes from around the globe. Each superhero is the personification of one of the 99 virtues of Islam, but individual characters are not necessarily Muslim.

According to the official site, The 99 was born out of "a need for new role models that children from China to Chad to Canada could relate to as their own without the parochial influence of any nation, religion or individual."

Here is a sample of characters hailing from non-European countries:

From left-to-right:
  1. Abena "Liza" Dagate, aka MUSAWWIRA - THE ORGANIZER, from Ghana/USA
  2. Nizar Babikr, aka SAMI - THE LISTENER, from Sudan/France
  3. Hope Mendoza, aka WIDAD - THE LOVING, from the Philippines
  4. Toro Ridwan aka FATTAH - THE OPENER, from Indonesia
  5. Haroun Ahrens, aka BARI - THE HEALER, from South Africa
  6. Dana Ibrahim, aka NOORA - THE LIGHT, from UAE
  7. Nawaf Al Bilali, aka JABBAR - THE POWERFUL, from Saudi Arabia

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

John Jude Palencar's cover art for Octavia Butler's Earthseed series

The 1995 February mass-market cover for Parable of the Sower.

For cover image and more information on this edition, click thumbnail to go to publication listing on Internet Speculative Fiction Database.

The 2001 November mass-market cover for Parable of the Talents.

For cover image and more information on this edition, click thumbnail to go to publication listing on Internet Speculative Fiction Database.


Suggested by Queena Deboever.