A modern middle-grade graphic novel retelling of Beowulf, featuring a gang of troublemaking kids who must defend their tree house from a fun-hating adult who can instantly turn children into grown-ups.
BEA WOLF
by Zach Weinersmith
illustrated by Boulet
First Second/Roaring Brook, February 2023
(via The Gernert Company)
Listen! Hear a tale of mallow-munchers and warriors who answer candy’s clarion call! Somewhere in a generic suburb stands Treeheart, a kid-forged sanctuary where generations of tireless tykes have spent their youths making merry, spilling soda, and staving off the shadow of adulthood.
One day, these brave warriors find their fun cut short by their nefarious neighbor Grindle, who can no longer tolerate the sounds of mirth seeping into his joyless adult life. As the guardian of gloom lays siege to Treeheart, scores of kids suddenly find themselves transformed into teenagers, beset by the plagues of hormones and pimples! The survivors of the onslaught cry out for a savior—a warrior whose will is unbreakable and whose appetite for mischief is unbounded. They call for Bea Wolf!
Zach Weinersmith is acclaimed creator of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (smbccomics.com) an online comic with over 250,000 daily readers and over 300 million annual views. He’s the author of the New York Times bestseller Soonish.
Boulet is the critically-acclaimed French artist and cartoonist, most noted for his self published work Bouletcorp which receives over 200,000 visitors a month on the English side alone! His work has been featured on Slate, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and many more. He lives in France.

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