While it’s always exciting to see one of your favorite books come back from a hiatus, the return issue can sometimes be a bit of a slog. Not only does the book have to establish the stakes of the new story, but it’s also an opportunity for the creative team to create a fresh jumping-on point, a chance for those who are just discovering the book to learn a bit of the world and meet the characters. It’s something of a necessary evil that can sometimes become slogged down with sheer information overload. This isn’t a universal problem, however. In the hands of the right creative team, these issues can not only be entertaining but revelations, reestablishing and reshaping themes of a book and getting you excited to rejoin that world. “Bitter Root” #11 is one of those issues, a stellar issue that successfully catches you up to speed while also building tension for the adventures to come.
Written by David F. Walker & Chuck BrownCover by Sanford Greene
Illustrated by Sanford Greene
Colored by Sofie Dodgson
Lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou2020 Ringo Award-winning artist SANFORD GREENE and his co-creators/co-writers DAVID F. WALKER and CHUCK BROWN return in BITTER ROOT: LEGACY, the third arc of the Eisner and Ringo Award-winning series!
As Earth is overrun by hideous creatures fueled by racism, a new evil force known as the Tree of Hate has literally taken root. The Sangerye family of monster hunters once again finds themselves divided, and fighting each other, as they confront their most dangerous threat ever. Family dysfunction meets steampunk during the Harlem Renaissance, and life on Earth will never be the same in BITTER ROOT: LEGACY!
One of the reasons “Bitter Root” #11 works so well is mainly because of its structure. Instead of one long, sustained information dump, David F. Walker and Chuck Brown create a series of small vignettes that explore the different themes of the book and the changing relationships and worldviews of the Sangerye family. While the family successfully defeated Adro and has figured out ways to slow and stall the Inzodo infections spreading through Harlem, all is not well. Many of these smaller stories place two or three of the family members together, questioning their role in all of this, their effectiveness (or lack thereof) in fighting monsters, and the world at large.
While Bitter Root has always had a strong sense of time and place, the newest chapter begins to pull the world’s events at large into the spreading curse of evil and bigotry, referencing monsters of intolerance like Hitler and his fascist machine. As Ma Etta questions, what good is one family against monsters created by prejudice, hate, and intolerance fueled by a leader of pure hate? In general, the pairings of “Bitter Root” #11 are exciting. Blink and her mother had conversations about the role of faith in their lives after they’ve fought the literal devil. Enoch and his brother Charlie argue about the ability to even impact their world, with Charlie’s worldview tainted by his time in Barzakh. But the most intriguing pairing is Ford and Cullen. They seemingly have passed each other in their respective journey, with Ford becoming more tolerant and hopeful of people’s ability to change and Cullen becoming more sullen, closed-minded, and arrogant.
While this all might seem like a lot, “Bitter Root” #11 can temper it with some excellent narration and dialogue. This book features one of the strongest ensemble casts in any book coming out right now. David F. Walker and Chuck Brown have such a strong handle on these characters that any combination of them would create meaningful dialogue and memorable moments. Their ability to write significant conflict is powerful, considering that it feels like the genuine arguments one might have with their relatives. There’s generational strife, sibling rivalries, and the occasional step too far, but you can tell that there is still an undercurrent of love through it all. (Well, maybe not for Cullen.) This also creates an issue that shifts through tones in an exciting way, perfectly mirrored by the book’s narration. You have moments of joy and triumph with characters like Berg, there are doubt and frustration with Ma Etta, Blink, and Charlie, and there is some genuine tragedy with Ford mourning the loss of a friend. If you are a first-time reader, you get a good feel for who these characters are and their deal. As a long-time reader, you can appreciate just how far many of these characters have come.
Continued belowThe writing in Bitter Root is good, but the art team continues to create a book that is a can’t miss. Sanford Greene is truly at the top of his game in this series, creating unique character designs, slick dieselpunk gadgetry, and creating art that transports you to an important moment in African American culture. “Bitter Root” #11 begins with a true eye catching full-page layout that looks like it could be the poster of a movie, with each of the family members on display and the looming specter of evil floating behind them. It’s the kind of page that I would gladly pay money to have a print of on my wall. Greene also does an excellent job of knowing when to create visually engaging backgrounds vs. having splashes of color. Now that many are Inzodo, his group shots can showcase the changing world of 1920’s Harlem. Background extras now can feature pointed ears, hints of a tail, or other semi-monstrous traits. It helps to show just how different their world has become over the years. Backgrounds, too, can help to build the mystery of the scene. Scenes in the Sangeyre family’s shop or Enoch’s club of monster researchers create eye-catching displays of books, artifacts, and mysterious plants to help establish just how much is known about the world as the characters realize they just don’t know anything. Finally, Sophie Dodgson has done some remarkable work with the coloring of the book. With very few exceptions, Dodgson’s coloring focuses on various shades of one or two colors, mainly blues, greens, purple, and reds, making the darker shading and shadowing stand out. It also helps create the moods and tones of the different scenes, with warmer tones like blues and purples for joy, greens and greys for doubt, and reds and yellows for anger or strife.
“Bitter Root” #11 is an excellent and exciting return to form. By connecting the Sangerye’s to the world at large and creating more conflict within the party, it will be exciting to see where this newest chapter goes. The creative team of Bitter Root is firing on all cylinders, and it’s a thrill to be back on the ride.
Final Verdict: 9.0 “Bitter Root” #11 is an excellent jumping-on point for one of the consistently best books to come out in comics, establishing new themes and continuing exceptional art.
