I’ve been meaning to read Octavia Butler’s Kindred for years, so when I saw that it had just been adapted as a graphic novel I jumped at the opportunity to finally read it while continuing to feed my insatiable appetite for comics. Mind you, I’m not trying to claim that reading this version should serve as a substitute for reading the novel itself. However I do think that illustrating Butler’s story makes it all the more gut-wrenching. Kindred is the tale of a modern African-American woman’s repeated experience of being suddenly transported from her home in 1970s California back to the antebellum South. It’s a very powerful story of courageous survival, both that of Dana, a modern woman forced to adapt to life as a black person in the era of American slavery, as well as the people of the period, whose lives become intimately intertwined with Dana’s. By following Dana through her repeated and increasingly long and dangerous visits to an antebellum plantation in Maryland we form an emotional connection with her that serves to help modern day humans better comprehend the myriad horrors of slavery as well as the strength of those who endured and overcame it. It’s dark fantasy with a vital purpose and I wholeheartedly recommend it.