Tag: Graphic novels

‘Modern Natives’: Reimagining Coast Salish Myths for the 21st Century

‘Modern Natives’ blends myth, fiction, and illustrations. Photo: Amazon

Book Spotlight: ‘Modern Natives‘

An Illustrated Collection of Reimagined Coast Salish Myths by Andrea Grant

For the Coast Salish peoples of the Pacific Northwest, stories are more than entertainment, they are truth. Rooted in deep cultural tradition, Modern Natives brings to life the ancient belief that the world is surrounded by supernatural beings who shape, challenge, and guide us. Unlike typical mythology books, these stories are not treated as fiction; they are sacred teachings and oral records offering insight into the laws of nature and the spiritual connections between all living things.

Where Ancient Spirits Meet Urban Reality

In this collection, storytellers are the knowledge-keepers. Andrea Grant honors this tradition by reimagining supernatural beings and ancestral figures in contemporary settings, from the crowded sidewalks of New York City to quiet suburban apartments.

These luminous stories move between past and present, dreamtime and urban reality. It is a world where:

  • Water serpents haunt your sleep.
  • A trickster god orders whiskey in a Tacoma bar.
  • Wolves appear beneath the flickering streetlights of Manhattan.

Story Highlights

Modern Natives explores themes of identity, transformation, and mythic inheritance through several standout narratives:

  • The Water Dream: Noah is haunted by a sea serpent stalking her dreams. As her family life fractures, the boundary between myth and reality dissolves, forcing her to dive into the very waters she dreads.
  • Coyote Dances With Destiny: The immortal Trickster, haunted by loss, encounters the mysterious “Destiny” in a smoky blues bar. As they dance between temptation and fate, Coyote must decide if his memories are a curse or his only proof of existence.
  • The Isle of Women: When a young girl goes missing, two sisters follow their elders to a secret island to reclaim ancient power. This story powerfully merges the tragedy of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement with a mythic tale of vengeance and survival.

A Visually Driven Experience

The book is a multidimensional feast for the senses, blending short fiction and poetry with illustrations from:

  • Qwalsius–Shaun Peterson: Acclaimed Coast Salish artist.
  • Bowera Studio: Contributing high-impact visual storytelling.

With Grant’s professional background spanning Condé Nast editing, graphic novels, and short films, she brings a cinematic perspective to the genre that translates beautifully from the page to the mind’s eye.

“This book invites readers to step into a world where animals speak, ancestors walk among us, and the unseen is just as real as the seen.”

About the Author: Andrea Grant

Andrea Grant is a Canadian-born writer and multimedia artist of mixed-blood Coast Salish Native ancestry. Her work is renowned for its unique melding of mythological stories, poetry, photography, and live performance.

An alumnus of Kwantlen University College, Grant has been recognized with several prestigious First Nations Storyteller grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the B.C. Arts Council, and the First Peoples’ Cultural Council.

Action thriller King of Killers now available on Blu-ray and DVD

Action thriller King of Killers. Courtesy photo, used with permission.

In today’s movie news, if you like action thrillers, King of Killers is now available on Blu-ray™ and DVD. Written and directed by Kevin Grevioux, the cast includes Alain Moussi (Nobody), Marie Avgeropoulos (“The 100,” 50/50), Georges St-Pierre (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), Stephen Dorff (Blade, Old Henry), Frank Grillo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier), and Kevin Grevioux (Underworld). (EG-PR, 2023)

Based on a graphic novel by writer-director Kevin Grevioux, King of Killers follows former Agency hit man Marcus Garan (Alain Moussi) as he attempts to unravel the mystery behind a tragic incident. When offered a $10 million contract to eliminate the world’s greatest assassin, Marcus travels to Tokyo to meet the client (Frank Grillo), but discovers other professional killers have been invited as well. Now Marcus and the others must confront this deadly, mythical assassin or die trying.

Blu-ray/DVD Specs:

Number of Discs: 2
Screen Format: 16×9 (2.39:1) Presentation
Language/Subtitles: English, Spanish Subtitles, French Subtitles, English SDH
Audio: 5.1 Dolby Audio, 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio™, DESC. AUDIO (AD-DVS)
Rating: R for strong/bloody violence
Run Time: 92 minutes
CC: No
Color: Color
Copyright: © 2023 Dovetale Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Television adaptation: Snowpiercer by Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette

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Snowpiercer the series premieres Sunday May 17 on TNT. Photo: google

Jacques Lob and Jean-Marc Rochette are French comic book creators who created the post-apocalyptic French graphic novel Le Transperceneige.  It was first published in 1982 under the title Le Transperceneige and later retitled The Escape. An English translation was released in 2014 by Titan Comics, consisting of two volumes: Snowpiercer: The Escape and Snowpiercer: The Explorers. A third volume, Terminus, was released in 2016, followed by a prequel series in 2019. In the graphic novel, an attempt to stop global warming via climate engineering catastrophically backfires and creates a new ice age, the remaining humans now ride the Snowpiercer, a circumnavigational train. It was adapted into the 2013 South Korean-Czech science fiction movie Snowpiercer starring Chris Evans and Octavia Spencer, John Hurt and Ed Harris.  Now it is an upcoming television drama series that will premiere on TNT on Sunday May 17 and stars Daveed Diggs and Jennifer Connally.

In Snowpiercer, humanity rides in a 1,001 car train called Snowpiercer starting in 2014.  By 2031 they have become segregated by class with the elite in the extravagant front cars while the poor are forced into squalid tail compartments by armed guards. In the movie, Curtis Everett is a member of the lower class tail section who leads a revolution against the elite of the front of the train. The series is a reboot of the film’s continuity. It questions class warfare, social injustice and the politics of survival and has already been renewed for a second season.

Television adaptation: Deadly Class by Rick Remender

deadlyclassRick Remender is an American comic book writer and artist and is best known for his work on Image Comics such as Deadly Class, Fear Agent, Black Science as well as Marvel Comics’ Uncanny X-Force. Deadly Class is an action genre graphic novel which follows students enrolled at King’s Dominion Atelier of the Deadly Arts, a secret high school in San Francisco as they train to become the next generation of top assassins for crime families across the globe. The television adaptation will premiere on Syfy on Wednesday January 16 and stars Benedict Wong, Benjamin Wadsworth, Lana Condor, Maria Gabriela de Faria, Luke Tennie, Liam James and Michel Duval.

Deadly Class begins with the story of teenage orphan Marcus Lopez Arguello as he transitions from living on the streets to being enrolled into a school of assassins. The academy is run by Master Lin and is composed of children of mob bosses and mass murderers who are learning the same trade as their parents. It then continues to follow the stories of the individuals enrolled in the academy and many of their eventual downfalls. Volumes in the series include Reagan Youth, Kids of the Black Hole, Snake Pit, Die for Me, Carousel, This Is Not the End, Love Like Blood and Never Go Back.