“Bitter Root” #9 raises the tension as the stakes heighten and the mystery deepens. beware spoilers!
Written by David F. Walker and Chuck Brown
Illustrated by Sanford Greene
Colored by Sofie Dodgson
Lettered by VC’s Clayton CowlesWhile searching for Adro, the Sangerye family find themselves trapped in a southern town full of jinoo that want them dead. Meanwhile, in New York, Blink faces a horror beyond imagination. Sylvester realizes the true nature of Adro, but will he survive long enough to do anything about it?
“Bitter Root” #9 by David F. Walker, Chuck Brown, Sanford Greene, Sofie Dodgson, and Clayton Cowles is a building chapter in the current arc to the fresh monster-hunting epic that the team is telling. The script’s quick pace and control of the action really gives a sense of something coming. Artistically Greene and Dodgson are doing some excellent work in making “Bitter Root” look like nothing else out right now and creating an exciting chapter in the story.
“Bitter Root” #9’s script feels like rising action in the different plot threads that this current arc has been following and does an excellent job checking in on these various threads and locations without feeling muddled. We follow Ma Etta figuring out why the Jinoo are writing these symbols, Blink and Enoch getting outside help, and then the group in Georgia is split up, and there’s Dr. Sylvester’s plot. Overall there is a LOT to follow in “Bitter Root” #9 but it’s never a struggle to follow and everything feels like it’s going somewhere. Walker and Brown do a great job in terms of balancing tone as well. The tension in this issue is ramped up but there are still brief moments of levity, through one-liners or Johnny-Ray’s solo mission w/ the little creatures in the Sengeyre truck. These scenes don’t feel incongruous to the more dire and dramatic scenes with Dr. Sylvester and the threat of Hopeville, Georgia.
Walker and Brown are also very good at incorporating a lot of deep themes in “Bitter Root” #9 and that’s evidence in this issue. Primarily the scene with Blink reaching out to Wiley, a monster hunter in Chinatown not only serves to show Blink pushing up against the limitations of her role as a woman during this time but shows a sense of solidarity across racial lines towards a common enemy. This scene makes a somewhat temporal leap with a slip of paper floating with “Asian Flu” when Blink and Enoch arrive which feels timely in the time where Asian American and Black American solidarity is a must right now with anti-Asian sentiment during this pandemic and the heightened visibility of anti-Black racism. In a broader sense, this is a decent gesture towards current events, and within the frame of the story it adds a lot in terms of world-building and the cross-cultural dealings with the monsters of “Bitter Root”.
Greene’s dynamic page layouts utilizing double-page spreads in storytelling keeps the stories fast pace and large scale. Greene is able to make these monsters and the fights against them feel big and action-packed without the story decompressing to fit them. Particularly Wiley fighting the dragon in Chinatown was an excellent spread. Greene’s textured linework and exaggerated forms and features add to the book’s drama, horror, and action. Cowles lettering follows suit with sound effects keeping just enough arc and texture to feel like they are coming directly from the settings themselves. Dodgson’s colors are really transfixing with purples and greens that really sell the otherworldly and unnatural but highlight the action.
The essay by Damian Duffy and the interview with Brandon Massey are also excellent additions with Duffy breaking down the logo for “Bitter Root” in an engaging matter that gives the logo both historical and graphical weight and cement so much thought in the making of the book. The interview with Brandon Massey is a great spotlight on a Black horror writer and a nice insight into his influence and advice.
Overall “Bitter Root” #9 is the rising action chapter in an ongoing story that continues to build on deep themes and keeps a quick pace. Artistically Greene and Dodgson are on top of their game and creating a singular look for this unique title.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – “Bitter Root” #9 is a part of a whole and keeps the story moving. Not the best jumping on point but gives returning readers a reason to keep going.
