Chronin Volume 1: The Knife at Your Back

(Paperback)

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Description

2042, New York City: A day in the life of college student Mirai Yoshida means studying Japanese history, learning swordmanship, flirting with her TA, and preparing to travel to Japan in 1864. Everything changes once she goes back to the past. Mirai and her classmates are ambushed by rebel samurai. Her friends are killed, her time travel machine is lost, and Mirai ends up marooned. In order to survive, she disguises herself as a wandering samurai and is hired by Hatsu, a tea waitress, as bodyguard for her travels. The two set out, but neither are prepared for the rebellion simmering among the peasants. Mirai has to find her way back to the future soon, or else she may be the first casualty on the bloody front lines of a conflict that is destined to shape a nation. Mirai's story will reach a thrilling conclusion in Chronin, Volume 2: The Sword in Your Hand, coming September 2019!

Reviews

"Chronin is an affecting time-travel journey: heartfelt and immensely satisfying." --Carey Pietsch, artist and co-adapter of The Adventure Zone graphic novels

"Chronin is an elegantly rendered, insightfully layered time-travel adventure that creatively explores the complex tensions around identity, power, and constructions of history. This technically adept graphic novel showcases the power of the comics medium and gives us the gift of a wonderfully dangerous world that is filled with so many amazing possibilities!" --John Jennings, artist of New York Times bestselling Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation

"I liked the fish-out-of-water premise, with history students getting stranded in history and discovering that their book knowledge doesn't necessarily make it easier to survive in the past. There are some other surprises and twists in the story, so if you like time travel and samurai stories, it's worth checking out!" --GeekDad

"Clever dialogue and detailed black-and-white images create an intense and moving story with plenty of heart and a mystery readers will want to solve." --Publishers Weekly

"[T]he story has a truly fascinating premise and plumbs impressive depths, particularly in Kuji and Mirai's arguments over rebel factions during the period, which raises thoughtful questions about how ideology influences how we view history as well as the dangers of romanticizing rebellion. Deepening mysteries about Mirai and Kuji's time travel program make for a compelling cliffhanger ending to this genre-blending series starter."--Booklist

"Chronin is a tense, entertaining time travel caper, charmingly drawn and filled with endearing, complicated characters that you can't help rooting for." --Faith Erin Hicks, Eisner-Award winning author of The Adventures of Superhero Girl and The Nameless City trilogy

"A fascinating, intricate story, and Benjamin's love for the period is evident in every scene." -- Tony Cliff, author of Delilah Dirk series

"Chronin delivers a solid story that touches on the importance of identity and history, and how they go hand in hand. With its lush historical setting and an ear for sharp dialogue, Benjamin A. Wilgus's first solo outing shows the promise of a fresh voice to comics." --Ethan Young, Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated author of Nanjing: The Burning City

Author Bio

ALISON WILGUS is a New York Times-bestselling writer for comics and prose. Her most recent graphic novel is Science Comics: Flying Machines (with illustrator Molly Brooks). Wilgus's comics work has been published by DC, Del Rey, Dark Horse, and Bongo Comics; her prose has been featured in Strange Horizons and VICE Magazine; and she has also done animation screenwriting for Cartoon Network. She lives in Brooklyn, NY. alisonwilgus.com Twitter: @aliwilgus Instagram: @aliwilgus Tumblr: alisonwilgus.tumblr.com