Mama Came Callin' - by Ezra Claytan Daniels (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"One of the most affecting graphic novels I've read in some time. You'll root for Kirah as she navigates a county's institutional racism, her mysterious family history, and brutal Gatorman murders, written and artistically rendered with care and love and righteous anger. Don't miss this one." -PAUL TREMBLAY, New York Times bestselling author of Horror Movie and The Cabin at the End of the World

A gripping graphic horror novel set in the Florida bayou, following a young biracial woman as she uncovers her estranged father's role in a grisly hate crime.

Kirah was born from an improbable interracial relationship that, in central Florida's infamous Asurupa County, defied all the odds. But her idyllic childhood was shattered by an urban legend come to life. The "Gatorman" was a nightmare on the lips of kids and grown-ups alike all the way back to Jim Crow: a monster with the body of a man, the head of an alligator--and a taste for Black children. That's who crawled into Kirah's window when Kirah was just five years old. According to the police, it was Kirah's own father who put on that gator mask and tried to kill her.

Twenty years later, Kirah works hard to build a life unburdened by the traumatic events of her childhood. Just when it seems like she's managed to find her stride, her dad, fresh out of prison, crashes back into her world with a chilling message: "He's coming for you."

Finally forced to face the hideous family history she's been avoiding, Kirah sets off to discover where, and who, she truly came from. And the more she learns, the more disturbing the whole picture becomes. Turns out there's a lot more to the Gatorman than Kirah thought, and even worse: he isn't through with her just yet.

A clever hybrid of swamp noir, slasher horror, and social satire--and brought to life by Camilla Sucre's vivid illustrations--Mama Came Callin' is a story about family and legacies, both the ones we inherit and the ones we can't escape.

Review Quotes

"[A] satisfying brew of slasher and Southern gothic...Fans of elevated horror will enjoy wading into this unpredictable swampland noir." - Publishers Weekly

"Mama Came Callin' is one of the most affecting graphic novels I've read in some time. You'll root for Kirah as she navigates a county's institutional racism, her mysterious family history, and brutal Gatorman murders, written and artistically rendered with care and love and righteous anger. Don't miss this one." - Paul Tremblay, New York Times bestselling author of Horror Movie and The Cabin at the End of the World

"Mama Came Callin is excellent. Daniels and Sucre weave a cryptid slasher mystery that packs as many moments of heart and introspection as breath-catching shocks and twists." - Adam Cesare, author of Clown in a Cornfield and Video Night

"Fierce and incandescent, a modern noir-mystery that brims with tenderness and heart, Mama Came Callin' reminds us that America has yet to reckon with the horrors of its racist past, or the snaking insidiousness of white supremacy that still permeates so much of our lives today. A striking and important work." - Keith Rosson, author of Coffin Moon and the Fever House duology

"Ezra Claytan Daniels is a masterful storyteller who has the ability to take the most uncanny of situations and make them palpable, relevant and unrelentingly human. His latest effort, with artist Camilla Sucre, helps cement Daniels as one of the most versatile, evocative and gifted creators working today. The haunting yet familiar visuals draw you into Mama Came Callin' and they don't let you go." - John Jennings, Eisner and Hugo-Award winning comics creator

"Mama Came Callin' plays so well with so many different genres: historical, horror, crime and thriller, too. And still it's at its most moving as a story about the power of family, both those we're born into and those we make. The expressive, engaging artwork can feel playful on one page and suddenly deadly serious on the next. I had so much fun reading this Florida swamp caper. You will, too." - Victor LaValle, author of Lone Women