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Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation Paperback – July 6, 2021

by Damian Duffy (Adapter), Octavia E. Butler (Author), John Jennings (Illustrator),

4.7 797 ratings

Part of: Parable of the Sower

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Hugo AwardWinner, 2021

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The acclaimed graphic novel adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s groundbreaking dystopian novel, Parable of the Sower, is a don't-miss classic that resonates today more than ever. As The Washington Post noted: "A 1993 dystopian novel imagined the world in 2024. It’s eerily accurate."

This Hugo Award Winner for Best Graphic Story or Comic is the follow-up to Kindred, a #1 New York Times bestseller.

In this graphic-novel adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower by Damian Duffy and John Jennings, the award-winning team behind Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, the author portrays a searing vision of America’s future.

In the year 2024, the country is marred by unattended environmental and economic crises that lead to social chaos. Lauren Olamina, a preacher’s daughter living in Los Angeles, is protected from danger by the walls of her gated community.

In a night of fire and death, what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: a startling vision of human destiny . . . and the birth of a new faith.

“Alarmingly prescient and relevant. This accessible adaptation is poised to introduce Butler’s dystopian tale to a new generation of readers.” —Publishers Weekly

“The graphic novel is faithful to Butler, yet still fresh in its world building.” —USA Today

Includes an introduction by SFWA Grand Master Nalo Hopkinson

From the Publisher

Octavia E. Butler's Parable of the Sower, now a graphic novel adaptation.

WARNING: California’s Proposition 65

Editorial Reviews

Review

“…alarmingly prescient and relevant…This accessible adaptation is poised to introduce Butler’s dystopian tale to a new generation of readers.”―Publishers Weekly

“…the graphic novel is faithful to Butler, yet still fresh in its world building.”―USA Today

“…Jennings’ work in the book is beyond stunning…”―The Beat

“The Parable of the Sower graphic novel… is as faithful an adaptation as you can get. Not only does it hit all the plot points, it perfectly portrays Butler’s balancing act in regard to how far society has fallen apart.”―Kirkus

“Duffy and Jennings have done justice to Butler’s work, losing none of the story’s richness and adding an exciting visual element that makes the reading experience even more visceral and engrossing.”―Foreword Reviews, STARRED review

“John Jennings’s work succeeds as sequential storytelling and approaches the level of iconography regularly.”―The Believer

“Jennings and Duffy are some of the most skilled and hardest working comics creators doing the work to radically transform and diversify the comics scene.”―Comicosity

“Jennings has captured [Butler’s] words with visual imagery in such an afrofuturistic, horror-esque way that the images jump off the page with every turn.”―Flickering Myth

About the Author

Octavia E. Butler (1947–2006) was a renowned African American author who was awarded a MacArthur “Genius” Grant and PEN West Lifetime Achievement Award for her body of work. Since her death, sales of her books, including Wildseed, Imago, and Kindred have increased enormously as the issues she addressed in her Afro-futuristic feminist novels and short fiction have only become more relevant.

Damian Duffy, author of Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation and Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, is a cartoonist, scholar, writer, and teacher. He holds a MS and PhD in library and information sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he is on faculty.

John Jennings is the curator of the Megascope list and illustrator of the graphic novel adaptations of Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred and Parable of the Sower. He is a professor of media and cultural studies at the University of California, Riverside.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harry N. Abrams (July 6, 2021)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 141975405X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1419754050
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 13 years and up
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 8 and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.7 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.55 x 0.85 x 9.45 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #24,760 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #11 in Historical & Biographical Fiction Graphic Novels
- #120 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books)
- #462 in Dystopian Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.7 797 ratings

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Octavia E. Butler
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OCTAVIA E. BUTLER (1947–2006) was the renowned author of numerous ground-breaking novels, including Kindred, Wild Seed, and Parable of the Sower. Recipient of the Locus, Hugo and Nebula awards, and a PEN Lifetime Achievement Award for her body of work, in 1995 she became the first science- fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Fellowship ‘Genius Grant’. A pioneer of her genre, Octavia’s dystopian novels explore myriad themes of Black injustice, women’s rights, global warming and political disparity, and her work is taught in over two hundred colleges and universities nationwide.
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John Jennings
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JOHN JENNINGS is a Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of California at Riverside (UCR). Professor Jennings received his MA in Art Education in 1995 and the MFA in Studio with a focus on Graphic Design in 1997 from UIUC. He is an interdisciplinary scholar who examines the visual culture of race in various media forms including film, illustrated fiction, and comics and graphic novels. Jennings is also a curator, graphic novelist, editor, and design theorist whose research interests include the visual culture of Hip Hop, Afrofuturism and politics, Visual Literacy, Horror and the EthnoGothic, and Speculative Design and its applications to visual rhetoric. Jennings is co-editor of the Eisner Award winning collection The Blacker the Ink: Constructions of Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art (Rutgers) and co-founder/organizer of The Schomburg Center's Black Comic Book Festival in Harlem. He is co-founder and organizer of the MLK NorCal's Black Comix Arts Festival in San Francisco and also SOL-CON: The Brown and Black Comix Expo at the Ohio State University. Jennings' current projects include the graphic novel adaptation of Octavia Butler's Kindred (with Damian Duffy), Tony Medina's police brutality themed ghost story I Am Alphonso Jones (with Stacey Robinson), and his Hoodoo Noir graphic novella Blue Hand Mojo (Rosarium Publishing). Jennings is also a Nasir Jones Hip Hop Studies Fellow at the Hutchins Center at Harvard University.
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797 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book engaging with nuanced themes. They appreciate the wonderful artwork and color that enhances the story. Readers describe it as a great read, faithful to the original novel. The story is captivating and terrifyingly real, conveying emotion through its vivid storytelling.

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Pacing Artwork Readability Story quality

11 customers mention "Pacing"11 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging with nuanced themes. They appreciate the art that brings the story to life. The topics are evident throughout, along with heavy commentary on social issues. Readers also enjoy the author's take on religion and how humans use it to justify themselves.

"...I loved the art, so moving in detail and color that it heightened all of the emotions of the novel...." Read more

"...I also loved her take on religion and how human beings use it to justify Their actions when choosing to attack someone that does not believe the way..." Read more

"...Despite this, the topics were evident throughout, along with heavy commentary on social inequity and capitalism...." Read more

"The art work of this novel really resonates with the story and brings it to life...." Read more

7 customers mention "Artwork"7 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the artwork. They find it detailed and colorful, enhancing the graphic novel's storytelling.

"...I loved the art, so moving in detail and color that it heightened all of the emotions of the novel...." Read more

"This was a great graphic novel. Many of the situations that were talked about in this book Are relevant in the here in the now...." Read more

"...Overall, this graphic novel was a great introduction, but it felt like it captured the heart of something without the nuance and it left me wanting..." Read more

"...What I can say is that the artwork is breath-taking, illustrating the bleakness of the world in which Lauren lives, while also conveying the hope..." Read more

7 customers mention "Readability"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable. They praise the writing and graphic novel adaptation.

"This was a great graphic novel. Many of the situations that were talked about in this book Are relevant in the here in the now...." Read more

"...Great adaptation of one of my favorite novels." Read more

"The book was very good" Read more

"Good read" Read more

5 customers mention "Story quality"5 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the story's quality. They find the story captivating and terrifyingly real, conveying much of the emotion of the tale. The graphic novel adaptation is faithful to the book, with great fidelity.

"...It conveyed so much of the emotion of the tale, alternating between grotesque, horrifying, terrifying, yet at times still stunningly beautiful...." Read more

"The story is perfect and so is the progression. The tension and fear feel real. The character are compelling...." Read more

"...You can really feel the faithfulness of this Graphic Novel to the book. Lauren's Earthseed parables are greatly reflected here through every panel...." Read more

"The art work of this novel really resonates with the story and brings it to life...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

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denise
Nice addition to the book.
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2025
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My grandson 10 lives it. Allows him to be part of our book club lol

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TammyJo Eckhart
I Loved It almost as much as the Novel
Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2020
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I have loved Octavia Butler for decades and I loved the Parable series and was deeply disappointed when it did not continue after Power of Talents. I always wondered if some brave media company might try to make a tv series from it but lacking that, a graphic novel is a good middle step. In the hands of Damian Duffy and John Jennings, it is a great step.

I loved the art, so moving in detail and color that it heightened all of the emotions of the novel. Obviously this is not as long nor as word detailed as the novel, but I checked and it does cover all of the major points. In the time of COVID19 this is a particular gut-punch, too, so be warned if you thinking of buying.

If you love Butler's work, you will want this graphic novel. I am waiting for the next one to come out.

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34 people found this helpful

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LaVonda Redmond
A Look at the future
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2021
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This was a great graphic novel. Many of the situations that were talked about in this book Are relevant in the here in the now. It talks about water shortages food shortages and human beings just Devolving to there basic animal instinct. I also loved her take on religion and how human beings use it to justify Their actions when choosing to attack someone that does not believe the way they do or view the world from their perspective . The violence that Was used reminds me of the mass shootings that we experience today. Except in the book they used fire as a weapon to steal and kill under the philosophy of kill or be killed. It was a great read and owed to Ms. Butler's fantastic writing.

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7 people found this helpful

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CJ Simmons
Gotta Read the Novel
Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2025
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I have never read the novel, so this is a review from someone introduced to this dystopia directly through the graphic novel adaptation. I went into this with only two real pieces of information: 1) It’s on the banned book list -therefore a must read- and 2) it takes place on a world ravaged by climate change.

The Art: the art style used to depict this story was absolutely perfect. It conveyed so much of the emotion of the tale, alternating between grotesque, horrifying, terrifying, yet at times still stunningly beautiful. The art sucks you into this world as thoroughly as Lauren’s (fmc) writings do, and many of the scenes will stick with you long after you finish reading.

The Story: this book takes place from 2024-2027 and follows a cast of characters fighting for survival in a violent, brutal world. I didn’t expect this to center as heavily around God and religion as it does. I don’t know if the novel gets more into the intricacies of climate change and the authoritarian politics, but in the graphic novel it felt like those concepts were backdrops for the religion being created by Lauren. Despite this, the topics were evident throughout, along with heavy commentary on social inequity and capitalism.

The story itself is captivating, and terrifyingly real. So much of what takes place within the story reflects happenings around the country today: a warning of where we are headed. Yet, despite every reason in which it shouldn’t exist within these pages, this story is filled with a determined optimism. There is community and love; there are people willing to help each other even in the face of danger. There is hope that in banding together, something new can be created and maybe, just maybe, we can make it through.

Overall, this graphic novel was a great introduction, but it felt like it captured the heart of something without the nuance and it left me wanting to dive deeper. I will definitely be reading the novel.

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One person found this helpful

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Daniel Tooson
Great Book with nuance themes
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2023
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The story is perfect and so is the progression. The tension and fear feel real. The character are compelling. The concept of earthseed is interesting how it relates to traditional African religions.

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One person found this helpful

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Franz
Great Adaptation of the Book
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2022
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Came across this book as a suggestion. You can really feel the faithfulness of this Graphic Novel to the book. Lauren's Earthseed parables are greatly reflected here through every panel. I'm glad this was suggested to me!

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3 people found this helpful

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B
Highly recommended read!
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2020
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The art work of this novel really resonates with the story and brings it to life. I have recommended this book to others who are unfamiliar with Butler's work as a means if introduction and they are always glad they read it. This adaptation and the Kindred adaptation are my top favourite graphic novels to recommend

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10 people found this helpful

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Tee
Diaspora History
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2022
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Although it's intense doesn't stop it from being eye opening

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2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Anna
Wonderful book, beautiful writing.
Reviewed in Germany on February 3, 2025
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Wonderful book. Written in 1993 and set in 2024. I highly recommend it.

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Miss Stephanie
Didn’t enjoy this format
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 26, 2025
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Didn’t enjoy the book in this way much rather a paperback. Was really hard to read.

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