Greymist Fair

Incorporating elements from several Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales, Zappia (Katzenjammer) delivers a darkly enchanting collection of interconnected stories centering the insular village of Greymist Fair and the treacherous forest that surrounds it. Following an atmospheric introduction, opening story “The Girl Who Outran Death” follows teenage tailor Heike as she stumbles across the bloody boots and clothing of carpenter’s apprentice Tomas on the road leading out of town. She initially assumes he fell prey to—and became—a warg, one of the vicious spirits created when Greymist residents die violently. But wargs have never before ventured past the tree line or left behind traces of their victims, prompting Heike to brave the woods in search of answers from an enigmatic forest witch. The tales that follow are each told from a different individual’s perspective and shed light on a new piece of the puzzle surrounding the wargs and Tomas’s disappearance. This skillfully written and thoroughly cohesive narrative gratifies as a mystery while illustrating the revolutionary power of love, kindness, and community. Zappia’s ominous full-page b&w art, which features settings from each subsequent story, introduce the individual entries. Heike cues as white; secondary characters are racially diverse. Ages 13–up. Agent: Louise Fury, Bent Agency. (Mar.)