Bitter Root Vol. 1: Family Business
David F. Walker, Chuck Brown & Sanford Greene, creators; Rico Renzi & Sanford Greene, color artists; Clayton Cowles, letterer.
Image Comics, 2019
This is a horror story with a difference. On the surface it's an exciting monster story about the monster-hunting Sangerye family, a Black family based in Harlem who specialize in curing the souls of those infected by hate using conjure roots and herbs. At a deeper level it is rooted in American race relations. If that isn't obvious when we see the Jinoo revert to white human beings after treatment, there is additional backstory from a cousin in Mississippi.
Another demonic race appears which is even more dangerous: stronger than Jinoo, their condition is also contagious. Even alchemy doesn't work on them (the story is a mash-up of all sorts of horror tropes). After losing a family member to a mysterious void, the battle seems lost. But reinforcements emerge from the void, including several family members thought dead. It's a joyful reunion until one of them warns "we have to get ready. Hell is coming."
Bitter Root is an exciting, action-packed horror tale with a family of protagonists who happen to be Black: that representation alone is remarkable. Walker, Brown and Green created a striking group of characters, distinctive in their speech patterns as well as their physical appearance. Readers who don't want to consider the deeper implications still get a good read. In addition to including striking alternate covers and character designs the collection concludes with several essays exploring race and horror, rootwork and conjure, folktales, and more. It makes for a deep reed, and feels like homework after the lurid action in the comics. I can't recall a comparable feeling of manifesto in a comic collection.
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