The acclaimed series published by Image Comics, Bitter Root, is celebrating the Juneteenth holiday this year with an all-new variant cover. For those unfamiliar, Juneteenth is a holiday celebrated on June 19th that recognizes the emancipation of African Americans enslaved in the United States. To honor that shining spot in the nation’s history, the creative team behind Bitter Root is launching a variant cover for the release of the corresponding comic issue.
Bitter Root by Chuck Brown, David Walker, and Sanford Greene is an ongoing series following an African American family in 1920s Harlem, New York who are descendants from monster hunters and are now practicing the craft themselves. The Sangerye Family was once known as the greatest monster hunters of all time and specialized in curing hate-infected souls. After a terrible tragedy claimed most of their family, the remaining members became divided between people who want to cure monsters and those who only want to see them dead. Now, a great threat is loose and it takes the whole family to come together as one the prevent the end of the world.
The Freedom Day-inspired variant cover for Bitter Root will be for the comic’s 14th issue in the series. The cover for the Eisner and Ringo Award-winning series will come from artist and co-creator Sanford Greene. The artwork depicts a young Black girl wearing a t-shirt with a picture of gears printed on it who is also wearing a crown on her head while waving the Juneteenth Flag. The symbolism is present and powerful in this variant cover with the specific message of the Juneteenth holiday perfectly encapsulated while remaining open to individual interpretation and self-identification.
In a press release issued by Image Comics on the Bitter Root #14 Juneteenth variant cover, a quoted portion of an interview with David Walker was transcribed. In the quote, Walker describes the thoughtfulness put into the cover and why the whole creative team decided to release one with so much real-world social significance for a comic book about monster hunters. In the interview, Walker says, “Team Bitter Root has always been committed to acknowledging a very rich history within the work we do, and this commemorative Juneteenth cover is our way of celebrating an occasion that speaks to the heart and soul of what this series is about and the culture we honor”. While on the surface Bitter Root is about a family of monster hunters who can’t agree on how to handle potentially world-ending threats, the creative team behind the book makes it clear it is about much more than that.
At its core, Bitter Root is about a splintered Black family in 1920s America who desire reconnection and to rebuild broken relationships. The monsters the Sangerye Family faces in the comic are literal, but their struggle is reminiscent of what an average Black family would be faced with in segregated America, and those real-life monsters haven’t yet been fully vanquished. Racism, injustice, and systemic failings are the monsters African Americans face every day, but on Juneteenth, the nation and even the world is reminded that change is possible and the monster of injustice can be vanquished if enough people are willing to fight for it through mutual respect, empathy, and most importantly a recognition of wrongdoing with the promise of change brought to action. The acclaimed comic Bitter Root celebrates Juneteenth with a variant cover, honoring everything that great holiday means to people across the United States and around the world. Look for Image Comics' Bitter Root #14 on Wednesday, June 23rd.