Versify Publishing, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, have announced an original graphic novel called “Brownstone” by Samuel Teer (“VEDA: Assembly Required”) and Marina Julia (“Lumberjanes”). The pair have previously worked together on “Mixed.”
“Brownstone” will follow Almudena Brown, a mixed-race 14-year-old, as she goes to live with her estranged Hispanic father, Xavier, after her WASP mother goes on a dance tour in Europe for the summer. Living in a Hispanic/Latinx neighbourhood, Almudena will have to adjust to life, with the residents having their own idea about how a half-Latinx girl should live, which help her to discover who she really wants to be.
Teer described “Brownstone” as a “story about navigating your heritage even though you might feel like fraud,” with him himself being mixed race. He continued, “This was less about my need to tell a story and more about sending up a signal flare into the world — to say to other mixed race people of all ages, ‘Hey! You are not alone.'” Julia said “I love a good ensemble cast and Brownstone is full of great characters that I’ve really gotten attached to!” She added that they both felt it was important to “highlight all these other people surrounding her, coloring her story through their own lives and experiences.”
“Brownstone” will be released in Spring 2022. In the meantime, you can check out preview pages and more character designs at The Beat here.
