Pride Month may be coming to a close, but Maverick just announced a new queer, young adult graphic novel debuting this winter and The Beat has all the details. Hitting shelves in December, Wrack & Rune is written by Chris Kappel, drawn by Alex Arizmendi, colored by Warnia Sahadewa, and lettered by Dave Lanphear and Rob Jones. The story centers on a teenager born into a secret, magical society who falls in love with a boy from the Outside and has to reckon with privilege, power, and what it means to grow into your own.
Nineteen-year-old Rory Denborough is a Translator who can control the world through shape-shifting, telekinesis, shape-shifting, teleportation, and time travel. Nothing is off-limits for him thanks to his bloodline and the secret language his family has taught each new generation. However, all of this power requires intense secrecy—and Rory is tired of existing in such an insular way. He sneaks out of his family’s apartment to explore New York City alone and meets Tyson, an Outsider, who has no knowledge of the Translators.
When Rory and Tyson fall in love, Rory decides to reveal his powers. Tyson immediately ends their honeymoon phase by asking why magic has to be kept secret, forcing Rory to examine his upbringing, the truth of the Translators, and what it truly means to wield his gifts. Danger lurks behind these queries, as it often does when power is at play.
“I grew up reading stories about secret magical societies and families with extraordinary gifts. The powerful figures in those stories taught me about privilege—the ones that I had and the ones that I didn’t—and they taught me that not all power comes from spells or wands or ancient books,” said Kappel. “Recently, we’ve seen figures with enormous power leverage it against people they deem powerless. With my incredible collaborators at Mad Cave and Maverick, I wanted to tell a story like the ones I was raised on, but which asserts that no one is powerless when we stand together.”
Wrack & Rune will be available everywhere books are sold on December 2. Pre-orders are available now.
