After the rain

eBook - 2021

During a furious storm a young woman's destiny is revealed . . . and her life is changed forever After the Rain is a graphic novel adaptation of Nnedi Okorafor's short story "On the Road." The drama takes place in a small Nigerian town during a violent and unexpected storm. A Nigerian-American woman named Chioma answers a knock at her door and is horrified to see a boy with a severe head wound standing at her doorstep. He reaches for her, and his touch burns like fire. Something is very wrong. Haunted and hunted, Chioma must embrace her heritage in order to survive. John Jennings and David Brame's graphic novel collaboration uses bold art and colors to powerfully tell this tale of identity and destiny. Nnedi Okorafo...r, PhD, is a Nigerian-American author of African-rooted science fiction and fantasy. Her works include Who Fears Death, the Binti trilogy and the Akata series. 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. David Brame is a talented comics artist who has worked on titles such as Box of Bones and Necromancer Bill. He lives in Mexico. John Jennings, illustrator of Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, is a professor of media and cultural studies at the University of California at Riverside.

Saved in:
Subjects
Genres
Electronic books
Graphic novels
Comic books, strips, etc
Published
[United States] : Abrams 2021.
Language
English
Corporate Author
hoopla digital
Corporate Author
hoopla digital (-)
Other Authors
Nnedi Okorafor (-), David (Illustrator) Brame (illustrator), Damian Duffy (letterer)
Online Access
Instantly available on hoopla.
Cover image
Physical Description
1 online resource
Format
Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Audience
Rated E
ISBN
9781683358343
Access
AVAILABLE FOR USE ONLY BY IOWA CITY AND RESIDENTS OF THE CONTRACTING GOVERNMENTS OF JOHNSON COUNTY, UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, HILLS, AND LONE TREE (IA).
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

Through a visit to her grandma and grand-aunt in a small Nigerian village, hard-edged Chicago cop Chioma connects to her past and her Nigerian heritage. In this comics adaptation of a short story by Okorafor, the descriptions of environmental horror and healing come alive through a harrowing visual interpretation. After witnessing intense violence against a young boy in Chicago, Chioma is with her family and readjusting to the rhythms of her family's village in Nigeria. She continually comes across strange fauna, even falling into a portal between worlds on her walk home from the market. Hinting at this slipperiness between worlds, Jennings uses the negative space of panel borders to include drawings of Chioma's current location and mental state, from the plants and animals of the rural Nigerian village to the dark cityscape of Chicago. The unusual force that gets lizards to follow Chioma catches up with her and forces her to confront memories long buried. This exploration of trauma and family history through the body is perfectly adapted to the graphic medium.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Upon Chioma's arrival to the remote Nigerian village where her great-aunt and grandma live, heavy, unseasonable rain begins to fall, in this vibrant, succinct graphic adaptation by Jennings (Kindred) and Brame (Baaaad Muthaz) of Okorafor's short story "On the Road." On the third night of rainfall, a boy with brains busting out of his broken skull calls on Chioma and declares her "it." A Chicago detective, Chioma isn't easily shaken by gore, but even she isn't able to grasp the strange happenings that follow, the unknowable entity that stalks her, and what that entity will do when it catches her. Though, the original is open to interpretation, the adaptation, which was created in conjunction with Okorafor, outright states a moral to the story: "I am Nigermerican... and where those two parts meet is where I am whole again," slightly marring the enigma of the ending. But Brame's bold and arresting use of color and shading lends an unnerving atmosphere to the setting, while his attention to facial expressions injects the panels with emotion. This mostly faithful adaptation honors Okorafor's voice and paints a potent portrait of Nigeria and its folklore. Agent: Donald Maass, Donald Maass Literary Agency (Jan.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

A Chicago cop visiting her Nigerian grandmother submits to a terrifying initiation she doesn't understand. But she comes to realize it will augment powers she hasn't recognized in herself, integrating her Nigerian and American heritages. This is a horror story involving body changes, a monstrous bush deity, and a grotesque supernatural pervading everything. Rich, fantastic colors emphasize purple, rose, fiery gold, and aquamarine, defined by urgent, slashing black strokes.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 9 Up--Nigerian American Chioma's first mistake was not trusting her instincts; her second was opening the door. While she is visiting her Igbo relatives in Nigeria, a wounded child knocks on the door. She's horrified; she's never seen anything this gruesome, not even in five years working as a cop on Chicago's South Side. The boy passes something on to her, a dark energy that she can't quite articulate. Its sulfuric stench lingers in every room of her grandmother's house and seeps into the dark corners of her mind. Chioma turns to her relatives for help, but they tell her what comes must come. In Jennings's adaptation of Nigerian American author Okorafor's short story "On the Road," a woman haunted by her past finds healing in her ancestral home. Brame's artistry is bold; no space on the page is left untouched. Vines and flowers weave menacingly around the minimal panels, heightening the suspense. Jennings and Brame draw attention to the margins and backgrounds, where Chioma's spiritual transformation evolves in a brilliant showcase of West African traditional folklore. VERDICT Jennings paints an initially terrifying reality, highlighting the vulnerability of self-discovery and the tension of being from two different worlds and cultures. Part horror, part magical realism, this #OwnVoices story is a worthwhile addition to any collection.--Elise Martinez, Racine, WI

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.