Exclusive Preview | John Jennings + Damian Duffy + David Brame adapt Octavia E. Butler’s ‘The Parable of the Talents’

The timely graphic novel about a nation under the grip of a fascist regime arrives in stores this week.

Courtesy of Abrams ComicArts, we’re pleased to share a preview of The Parable of the Talents, an adaptation of the novel by Octavia E. Butler.

The graphic novel reunites John Jennings and Damian Duffy, who worked on the Hugo Award-winning adaptation of Butler’s The Parable of the Sower. They are joined by artist David Brame.

“Being chosen to adapt the Parable duology by Octavia E. Butler into a graphic novel is both an honor and a very serious responsibility,” said Jennings. “Those two books were so prescient and incredibly accurate with their forecasting that we are still amazed by the insightful creative acumen of Butler. It’s our hope that we did the story justice and that the underlying messages resonate through every word and every panel.”

The Parable of the Talents continues Butler’s story from the first volume, known collectively as the Earthseed series. Set on a war-torn continent under the control of a fascist state, the story follows Asha, who searches for answers about her own past while struggling to reconcile with her mother’s legacy. While Butler’s original novel was published in 1998, it feels very timely today — not only does it feature a country under the grip of a Christian fundamentalist denomination, but that group even used the slogan “Make America Great Again” in their propaganda.

The Parable of the Talents is available in stores this week. Check out the preview below.

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‘Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation’ wins the Hugo Award

Writer Damian Duffy and artist John Jennings adapted Octavia Butler’s dystopian novel into a graphic novel last year.

The graphic novel adaptation of Octavia Butler’s novel Parable of the Sower has won the Hugo Award for “Best Graphic Story or Comic.”

The book was adapted by writer Damian Duffy and artist John Jennings, and published by Abrams Books. The story is set in the year 2024 after unattended environmental and economic crises lead to social chaos. Lauren Olamina, a preacher’s daughter living in Los Angeles, sees a vision of the future and goes on to establish her own religion, Earthseed, and gathers a diverse community of believers.

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Comics Lowdown: Outhungering ‘Hunger Games’

Brian Fies reflects on going through the California fires a second time, Jamal Igle shows how he draws a cover, J. Caleb Mozzocco explains War Bears.

Passings: Coila Davis, longtime editorial cartoonist for the Rockford (Illinois) Register Star, has died at the age of 72.

Freedom of Expression: The nonfiction comics blog Cartoon Movement notes that they are currently blocked in China, Iran, Russia, and Turkey.

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Comics Lowdown | Chinese authorities crack down on Rage Comics

Censorship: The Chinese government has banned rage comics (Baozou Manhua, or Baoman) channels from a number of online platforms, claiming violations of the recently enacted Law on the Protection of Heroes and Martyrs. In addition to the censorship, the article discusses how rage comics migrated from 4Chan to Chinese youth culture and why this is important: They are now a big-money business.

Besides the shutdown of the various social media channels, the closure of the baozoumanhua.com media empire is a huge blow to its fans and creators. The website’s founder Wang Nima’s net worth is estimated to be around 4 billion yuan (±US$628 million), according to Daily Economic News (每日经济新闻).

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