Image Comics’ Bitter Root, about 1920s monster hunters, gets film adaptation

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

David F. Walker, Chuck Brown, and Sanford Greene's Image Comics title BITTER ROOT only started reaching store shelves last November, with issue #5 now available, but it's already set to receive a feature film adaptation. Legendary Pictures has picked up the film rights and Walker, Brown, and Greene will be executive producing the adaptation alongside Sean Owolo of Big Machine. Jon Silk and Disney Hall are overseeing the project for Legendary.

The idea for BITTER ROOT originated with artist Greene and writer Brown, who were "intrigued by the possibilities of a Harlem-based tale that could meld hoodoo magic, African-American culture of the Jazz Age, and the noir possibilities of post-WWI New York City." Writer Walker joined them to help turn their idea into an ongoing story.

The comic book is set in 1924,

against the vibrant backdrop of the Harlem Renaissance where a family of once-great monster hunters is the only line of defense that can protect New York City from an unimaginable evil that is approaching — an invasion by hideous monsters that were once human beings before they were transmogrified by a supernatural force feeding off of prejudice, spite, and bigotry. By all appearances, the Sangeryes family is not up for the challenge. After generations of tracking, trapping, and curing the monsters, the few surviving members of the Sangeryes line are dispirited and divided over their traditionally merciful tactics. The family must overcome the wounds of the past to have any hope of thwarting the supernatural invasion.

I haven't picked up an issue of BITTER ROOT yet, but the idea of monster fighters in 1920s Harlem is definitely a very interesting one.

I look forward to seeing how Legendary's movie version of the concept is going to turn out.