Bitter Root (2018), Volume 1

August 1, 2019

For years, the Sangerye family has defended Harlem from supernatural monsters created when greed, jealousy, or racism infects the souls of their fellow humans. Following a mysterious tragedy that sees many of their kin lost or killed, the surviving members of the clan suffer an ideological split as to how to proceed, with some cousins remaining in Harlem, continuing to brew herbal remedies in the apothecary shop they use as a headquarters to cure their enemies, and others wandering through the American South, gladly destroying their foes wherever they find them. When a terrible new enemy emerges, they're forced to reunite in a battle for the souls of every man, woman, and child on the planet. VERDICT Walker (The Life of Frederick Douglass), Greene (Black Comix Returns), and Renzi (FBP) present the relentless action that takes place across Issues 1-5 gathered in this volume in a kinetic style that makes good use of 1920s period details to anchor the story, which develops slowly before kicking into high gear halfway through and concluding on a legitimately exciting cliff-hanger.

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