Roots of Madness

by Stephanie Williams, Alessandro Santoro (Colorist), AndWorld Design (Letterer)

Genres: Comics, Horror, Fiction, Graphic Novels

144 pages, Paperback

Published September 22, 2026

Reviews

[sam banach · Rating 5 out of 5]

the art is INSANE. need to get my hands on those single issue variant covers

[Roman Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. I read this in single issues month to month as it came out. I'm not usually into horror comics, but this felt more like a thriller with Lovecraftian elements. The story follows Etta Knight, a scientist in the early 1900s, who begins investigating a flower with mysterious properties and ties to her own family history. As Ella tries to untangle the roots of this mystery, she falls deeper into a conspiracy.

In the past year, I've become a huge Stephanie Williams fan after reading Roots of Madness, Temporal, and her DC work. Roots is my favorite project of hers and it feels truly unique. The art by Letizia Cadonici is excellent and captures the vibe of the story. The covers by Juliet Nneka are amazing too; the cover for issue one was so striking, it's what piqued my initial interest in the book. Highly recommend.

[Devvie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun and gorgeous comic series! It's a retelling of Madame C.J. Walkers story with a body horror twist. Etta just wants to help her community. And while it does lead her down a dangerous path. Sis has to navigate unfamiliar species, hiveminds and an unexplained immortal being/undisclosed family member. This seems like a packed plot, but its handled well in the 6 issues we are given. Based on the ending of Issue 6, I can't wait to see how Etta's influence has affected her descendant Imani. Has she left the world better than she found it ?

[ketall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the premise of this book so much. The connection between science and the unknown was explored so well in this book, as well as consequences of exploring that unknown.