Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation

by Octavia E. Butler, Damian Duffy (Adapted by), John Jennings (Illustrator), Nalo Hopkinson (Introduction)

Overview

The acclaimed graphic novel adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s groundbreaking dystopian novel, Parable of the Sower, is a don't-miss classic that resonates today more than ever.As The Washington Post noted: "A 1993 dystopian novel imagined the world in 2024. It’s eerily accurate."

This Hugo Award Winner for Best Graphic Story or Comic is the follow-up to Kindred, a #1 New York Times bestseller.

In this graphic-novel adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower by Damian Duffy and John Jennings, the award-winning team behind Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, the author portrays a searing vision of America’s future.

In the year 2024, the country is marred by unattended environmental and economic crises that lead to social chaos. Lauren Olamina, a preacher’s daughter living in Los Angeles, is protected from danger by the walls of her gated community. However, in a night of fire and death, what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: a startling vision of human destiny . . . and the birth of a new faith.

“Alarmingly prescient and relevant. This accessible adaptation is poised to introduce Butler’s dystopian tale to a new generation of readers.” —Publishers Weekly

“The graphic novel is faithful to Butler, yet still fresh in its world building.” —USA Today

Includes an introduction by SFWA Grand Master Nalo Hopkinson

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419731334
Publisher:	Abrams ComicArts
Publication date:	01/28/2020
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	328,412
Product dimensions:	6.70(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Octavia E. Butler (1947–2006) was a renowned African American author who was awarded a MacArthur “Genius” Grant and PEN West Lifetime Achievement Award for her body of work. Since her death, sales of her books have increased enormously as the issues she addressed in her Afro-Futuristic, feminist novels and short fiction have only become more relevant.

Damian Duffy, author of Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation and Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, is a cartoonist, scholar, writer, and teacher. He holds a MS and PhD in library and information sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he is on the faculty.

John Jennings is the curator of the Megascope list and illustrator of the graphic novel adaptations of Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred and Parable of the Sower. He is a professor of media and cultural studies at the University of California, Riverside.

Interviews

John Jennings lives in Riverside, CA.

Damian Duffy lives in Champaign, IL.

Editorial Reviews

12/02/2019

This nimble graphic adaptation of Butler’s 1993 novel of capitalism-ravaged California feels alarmingly prescient and relevant. Duffy and Jennings (Kindred) skillfully rework the tale told through the eyes of teenage empath Lauren Oya Olamina, who navigates a world transformed by drought, gun violence, and exploitation. Lauren, daughter of a preacher, pushes back against her family and friends, who naively hope life will return to the good old days. “The old days aren’t coming back,” Lauren says, as she shares her own spiritual message, the Earthseed, which declares “God is Change.” The adaptation captures the heart of Butler’s message: survival depends on evolution, but also on breaking through isolation to build communities of trust and love. Jennings’s color palette flames with reds, oranges, and yellows, evoking both vibrant Los Angeles sunsets and the city choked with smoke and fire. His blocky, busy line work portrays the brutal violence of Lauren’s life (mobs of desperate people commit murder, rape, and mutilation every day) without lingering on the gore or turning the empathetic story into a grotesque thriller. Instead, the pain Lauren witnesses and feels as she travels across the state reinforces her resolve to become a leader. This accessible adaptation is poised to introduce Butler’s dystopian tale to a new generation of readers. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

…the graphic novel is faithful to Butler, yet still fresh in its world building.”—USA Today

“…alarmingly prescient and relevant…This accessible adaptation is poised to introduce Butler’s dystopian tale to a new generation of readers.”—Publishers Weekly

“…Jennings’ work in the book is beyond stunning…”—The Beat

“The Parable of the Sower graphic novel… is as faithful an adaptation as you can get. Not only does it hit all the plot points, it perfectly portrays Butler’s balancing act in regard to how far society has fallen apart.”—Kirkus

“Duffy and Jennings have done justice to Butler’s work, losing none of the story’s richness and adding an exciting visual element that makes the reading experience even more visceral and engrossing.”—Foreword Reviews, STARRED review

“John Jennings’s work succeeds as sequential storytelling and approaches the level of iconography regularly.”—The Believer

“Jennings and Duffy are some of the most skilled and hardest working comics creators doing the work to radically transform and diversify the comics scene.”—Comicosity

“Jennings has captured [Butler’s] words with visual imagery in such an afrofuturistic, horror-esque way that the images jump off the page with every turn.”—Flickering Myth

From the Publisher

…Jennings’ work in the book is beyond stunning…

The Beat

Jennings and Duffy are some of the most skilled and hardest working comics creators doing the work to radically transform and diversify the comics scene.

Comicosity

“Duffy and Jennings have done justice to Butler’s work, losing none of the story’s richness and adding an exciting visual element that makes the reading experience even more visceral and engrossing.

STARRED review Foreword Reviews

Jennings has captured [Butler’s] words with visual imagery in such an afrofuturistic, horror-esque way that the images jump off the page with every turn.

Flickering Myth

John Jennings’s work succeeds as sequential storytelling and approaches the level of iconography regularly.

The Believer

…the graphic novel is faithful to Butler, yet still fresh in its world building.

USA Today

“Duffy and Jennings have done justice to Butler’s work, losing none of the story’s richness and adding an exciting visual element that makes the reading experience even more visceral and engrossing.

STARRED review Forward Reviews

…the graphic novel is faithful to Butler, yet still fresh in its world building.

USA Today

11/01/2020

In a postapocalyptic CA, teenager Lauren leaves what's left of her family to trek north, away from the chaos and death toward a hopefully safer place to live. Developing her own religion she calls "Earthseed," she shares her ideas with friends and allies she gathers along the way. Adapted from Butler's searing dystopian novel in blocky art with colors of flame and earth.

Library Journal