Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Jude-broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness-has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. YA)īlack is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy. Don’t confuse this hefty, respectful adaptation with some of the other recent ones this one holds nothing back and is proudly, grittily realistic rather than cheerfully cartoonish. The artist’s use of color is especially striking: His battle scenes are ample, bloodily scarlet affairs, and Polyphemus’s cave is a stifling orange he depicts the underworld as a colorless, mirthless void, domestic spaces in warm tans, the all-encircling sea in a light Mediterranean blue and some of the far-away islands in almost tangibly growing greens. Lush watercolors move with fluid lines throughout this reimagining. Gods mingle with the mortals, and not heeding their warnings could lead to quick danger being mere men, Odysseus and his crew often make hasty errors in judgment and must face challenging consequences. Following Odysseus’s journey to return home to his beloved wife, Penelope, readers are transported into a world that easily combines the realistic and the fantastic.

Hinds adds another magnificent adaptation to his oeuvre ( King Lear, 2009, etc.) with this stunning graphic retelling of Homer’s epic. Jo and her family are cued as Filipino Orla and Mamo read White. The lessons Orla learns about trauma, love, and legacy resonate and build to a satisfying ending. Milledge’s attention to detail is especially present in her character designs that are expressively human and stylish. Intoxicating art, combining natural and fantastical elements and rich, glowing, perfectly chosen colors sweep readers up in magic that feels just this side of possible. While the characters are a bit thinly fleshed out, they’re charming to follow as they make their way through a gorgeously illustrated world. Jo adores her family as much as Orla resents hers, and she insists on joining the friendless Orla as part of her own quest to save the town she loves and never wants to leave. But when prickly Orla meets bold, determined Jo Manalo, who needs help to free her mother from a sleeping spell, things begin to change.

Strange natural events are wreaking havoc, and if she doesn’t give Mamo a proper burial, her worst nightmare could come true: being cursed to stay in Haresden forever. Her bones are buried around the perimeter of town, leaving Orla stuck with the responsibility for it. Orla O’Reilly, a practicing teen witch herself, is cleaning up the mess: The woman in question is Mamo, the grandmother who treated her cruelly.

Mamo sas milledge