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Umbra

9781952119620
pages
Mcsweeney's Literary Arts Fund
Overview

Gremlyns march across the land
Turning green to ash and sand.
The magician in his watchful keep
Takes his flame to dungeon deep.
In darkest dark of blighted halls
Will the ancients hear his call?
Or will the gremlyns burn it all?

In Umbra, an intrepid magician sets out on an epic quest to save a mythic world under siege. Across vast forests and desiccated wastelands, past slumbering giants and barbecuing goblins, a hero journeys to an underground labyrinth, where a secret power rests—but can it save the world from destruction? Like a Lorax reboot by J.R.R. Tolkien—complete with slime monsters, goblin hordes, and a flying pirate ship—Jordan Speer’s wordless, jaw-dropping, astonishingly detailed picture-book debut is a dazzling medieval odyssey for adventure-seeking readers of all ages.

Author Bio

Jordan Speer lives and works in Kentucky, where he has been independently creating comics, short films, video games, and other digital art for more than a decade. His illustrations have been featured in various publications, such as The New York Times, Bloomberg, and The New Yorker, while his animation work has appeared across numerous platforms, including Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, and Adult Swim.