Duffy and I met about 12 years ago at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Jazmine Joyner: When did you both meet? What made you two want to work together? (Both authors told the same story so I decided to only include one for the sake of ot not being redundant.) I got the chance to interview both creators, Damian Duffy and John Jennings about their work on Kindred, how they met, and how they came across the opportunity to adapt one of Octavia Butler’s most beloved books. The adaptation of the book is flawless, with the weight of Butler’s work still being felt in every panel. The artwork is brilliant and bright, while still showing an unflinching look at the harshness of Dana being a modern black woman in pre-Civil War America. She travels through space and time to a plantation in Maryland, where she must protect her slave owning white ancestor. The story follows Dana, a young black female writer from California in the 1970s. The graphic novel gives a new breath of life into Butler’s novel Kindred.

Luckily, Abrams ComicArts choose the best creators for the job, Damian Duffy (script writer/letterer), and John Jennings (Artist/Colorist). With that said, I was worried about what the adaptation of Kindred would be like would the adapters be able to capture this beloved story, and revitalize it? Alternatively, would it just miss the mark completely? I love Octavia Butler, and I see her work as the pinnacle of the Science Fiction genre. After that, I devoured The Parable books, Fledgling, and really anything with her name on it. I have loved Octavia Butler’s work since I first read her short story Blood Child in my Women’s Lit class in college. Having seen it in the pages of my Previews catalog, I could not wait to get my hands on this book. When the graphic novel adaptation of Octavia Butler’s Kindred by Damian Duffy and John Jennings arrived at my store, I was elated.

Octavia butler kindred graphic novel