(Click images to embiggen)
Welcome to the goofy, bizarre, charming and slightly macabre world of Toronto-based author/illustrator Eric "Maddy Kettle" Orchard.
Marrowbones is a swamp where it is always October and it is always night, and it is the home of a very plucky and haunted heroine named Nora. She has a number of very unusual friends, including a rather adorable vampire named Ollie (who lives off of bug blood and is a bit of a scaredy-vamp), a ghost named Mrs. Strump, Nora's Uncle Ravenbeard (a werewolf), the mysterious Rat Lieutenant, and the Librarian, our narrator, who reminds me of a friendly cross between the Crypt-Keeper and Mike Mignola's Screw-On-Head (the Librarian appears in the first image above).
Ollie the Vampire is kind of a nervous fella.
This first foray into the world of Marrowbones largely concerns Nora's origin story, but also saves room for her very first battle, against the redoubtable Kitchen Litch, a confused undead wizard of great power and great befuddlement who sics a horde of dough zombies on Nora and Ollie.
(Note: this is a black and white image from Eric's in-process teaser series on his website. Part of the fun of modern comics fandom is getting to watch things develop from early concept to finished project!)
If I had kids, this is totally the kind of book I would want to cuddle up and shiver and giggle over with them. As it is, I'm pretty sure I know what my little cousins are going to get for random presents soon.
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UPDATE: Marrowbones is now for sale! Digital only for now, but Eric is considering print later on. Go get you some!
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