Part of Series
A graphic novel steampunk reimagining of Frankenstein set in colonial Mexico. In the Republic of Santander, non-Christian magic is frowned upon, if not outright prohibited. But when Cristina Franco, an apprentice shaman, is killed by witch owls, her brother Enrique cannot let her go. With forbidden alchemy and engineering, Enrique brings her back to life: part human, part machine. Though her very existence is an abomination to Santander's citizens, Cristina vows to use her new abilities to protect her country from attack. With help from a handsome skinwalker named Mateo, Cristina and Enrique track down the witch owl coven and uncover a sinister plot to bring Santander under the rule of the Witch Owl Parliament, whose legendary cruelty would dismantle the country's hard-won freedoms. At the same time, Indigenous folks and immigrants are disappearing from Santander—including Enrique's beloved, Gaspar. Could the attacks and the disappearances be related? As the witch owls attack more trains and more refugees go missing, the trio must uncover the witch owls' origins to understand their weakness.
Authors
Damian Duffy is a cartoonist, scholar, writer, curator, lecturer, teacher, and Glyph Comics Award-winning graphic novelist. He holds a MS and PhD in Library and Information Sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His many publications include academic essays (in comics form) on new media & learning and art books about underrepresentation in comics culture. On his off hours he teaches classes on cultural politics of computers and/or wrestles his children. A co-founder of Eye Trauma Studios, Damian has given talks and lead workshops about comics, art, and education internationally.
David Bowles is a Mexican American author and translator from south Texas. He has written several award-winning titles, most notably THEY CALL ME GÜERO and MY TWO BORDER TOWNS His work has also been published in multiple anthologies, plus venues such as The New York Times, Strange Horizons, School Library Journal, Rattle, Translation Review, and the Journal of Children’s Literature. Additionally, David has worked on several TV/film projects. In 2019, he co-founded the hashtag and activist movement #DignidadLiteraria, which has negotiated greater Latinx representation in publishing. He is presently the vice president of the Texas Institute of Letters.
