Roots of Madness Collected

Writer	Stephanie Williams
Artist	Letizia Cadonici
Paperback:	Sep 23, 2026, $19.99

When traditional remedies meet a new frontier of science — can long kept family secrets help the world, or doom us all to cosmic oblivion? In a terrifying body horror reimagining of Madam CJ Walker’s life, Etta Knight must break a generational curse or succumb to the maw of madness! At the turn of the 20th century, a young Black woman named Etta Knight picks up the tradition of her late mother for creating special medicines using natural ingredients and secrets passed down from generation to generation. Her mother has passed on a book of recipes and formulas, but it’s also full of strange symbols and dark musings that she doesn’t quite understand. Within her community, one of the problems she hopes to fix is counteracting the poisonous and abrasive solutions women of color are sold for straightening her hair. So, when the Meridian Fellowship reaches out and offers her a spot at their institute in Savannah, GA, to use their facilities to do her research, Etta jumps at the chance. She packs up her mother’s book and heads to the school, but what she finds there is a secret society and a campus surrounded by natural wonders that may point the way to understanding the more mysterious parts of her mother’s work…if dark forces don’t claim her first. Inspired by the life of Madame CJ Walker, this alternate history combines tradition with the supernatural for something truly modern and unique. more