One of the best comics of the past decade was upgraded soul by Ezra Clay Tundanniels. This is a multi-level story about aging, mad science, race and family that could be one of the best sci-fi graphic novels of all time. Since its release in 2018, Daniels has worked with BenPasmore on BTTM FDRS and has taken some time to work on the Doom Patrol TV show, but he has been barely on the shelf.
That changed in February next year, with the release of Mama changing Callin ‘Come Callin’, a swamp noir set in Florida about deadly family secrets. As Daniels wrote and written by newcomer Camila Soule, we look at the final cover and exclusive four-page excerpt first. Storyline:
Kira was born out of unlikely interracial relationships in central Florida’s infamous Athulpa County, which ignored all odds. However, her idyllic childhood was shattered by the return of urban legends to life. “Gateauman” is a nightmare of children’s lips and adults’ lips, dating back to Jim Crow. A monster with a man’s body, a crocodile head, and a taste of black children. That’s who raw into Kira’s window when Kira was only five years old. Police say it was Kira’s own father who tried to kill her by wearing the gator mask.
Twenty years later, Kira works hard to build a life that is unbearable for the traumatic events of her childhood. When it appears she was able to find her walk, her dad crashes into her world with the horrifying message, “He’s coming for you.”
“I’m a huge fan of silver-age crime cartoons like Greg Racka and Steve Lieber’s Whiteout, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ books, the entire run of dizzy crime books, and especially Don Alcala’s Donald Goyne’s Papa Cour’s Graphic Graphics for “Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Books,” Daniels tells the beat. “Mama Cam Karin started out as my own take on a fun pulp thriller, but honestly, it became perhaps the most difficult thing I’ve written because I really went deep into a personal and sensitive subject.
“Thankfully, the hard part was alleviated by the excitement of working with new artist Camilla Sour,” he continues. “Her art is so fresh, she has style and personality. Every time I got a new batch of pages it felt like Christmas morning. I also felt like a six-year-old. Drawing graphic novels is an insane amount of work, growing as an artist and not changing. It motivated me to go back to the saddle again.”
Sucre told us. “As a longtime reader and fan of graphic novels and comics, Mama Come Come Callin’ was an absolute privilege and dream come true. I love mystery and thriller, and it gave me the opportunity to do justice for this project.
William Morrow’s Ariana Sinclair is the editor, and Aperture Entertainment’s Adam Goldworm deals in television/film rights. Chad Luibl of Janklow & Nesbit Associates sold global rights at auction (to Vedika Khanna originally when he was in William Morrow). This book will be released on February 3, 2026.
And this is looking inside!
Like this:
Like loading…
