UMBRA
All first editions ordered from McSweeney’s will include a limited-edition sticker sheet, while supplies last.
Gremlyns march across the land
Turning green to ash and sand.
The magician in his watchful keep
Takes his flame to dungeon deep.
In darkest dark of blighted halls
Will the ancients hear his call?
Or will the gremlyns burn it all?
In Umbra, an intrepid magician sets out on an epic quest to save a mythic world under siege. Across vast forests and desiccated wastelands, past slumbering giants and barbecuing goblins, a hero journeys to an underground labyrinth, where a secret power rests—but can it save the world from destruction? Like a Lorax reboot by J. R. R. Tolkien—complete with slime monsters, goblin hordes, and a flying pirate ship—Jordan Speer’s wordless, jaw-dropping, astonishingly detailed picture-book debut is a dazzling medieval odyssey for adventure-seeking readers of all ages.
Praise for Umbra
“Jordan Speer’s nostalgic picture book is a wordless masterpiece. […] Umbra makes a case for the lone artist forging a path antithetical to the endless array of ‘content’ that sears people’s eyeballs and numbs them to good art.”
—Howard Waldstein, CBR
“I love this book.”
—Jon Klassen, Caldecott-winning author of This Is Not My Hat
“I really love this book, too.”
—Shawn Harris, Caldecott-winning author of The Teeny-Weeny Unicorn and illustrator of the Newbery-winning The Eyes and the Impossible
“I also really, really love this book.”
—Mac Barnett, Caldecott-winning author of The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse
“Jordan Speer must have a portal he disappears into and returns with chronicles like this one. Not since the days of Heavy Metal Magazine have I got such a kick out of a fantasy world—delicious color, magnificent beasts and machines and trees I want to live in. A wonderful trip you’ll want to take over and over with your kids.”
—Wayne White, artist and Emmy Award–winning set and puppet designer for Pee Wee’s Playhouse
“A beautiful magical artifact for every wizard’s library!”
—Pendleton Ward, Emmy Award–winning creator of Adventure Time
“I have no words for this marvelous and startling adventure. Neither does the marvelous and startling adventure.”
—Lemony Snicket, author of A Series of Unfortunate Events
“If you’ve ever wanted to eat mushrooms and play a virtual reality dungeon crawler through the prismatic lens of a kaleidoscope, then this book is for you!”
—Matt Furie, author of The Night Riders
Gremlyns march across the land
Turning green to ash and sand.
The magician in his watchful keep
Takes his flame to dungeon deep.
In darkest dark of blighted halls
Will the ancients hear his call?
Or will the gremlyns burn it all?
In Umbra, an intrepid magician sets out on an epic quest to save a mythic world under siege. Across vast forests and desiccated wastelands, past slumbering giants and barbecuing goblins, a hero journeys to an underground labyrinth, where a secret power rests—but can it save the world from destruction? Like a Lorax reboot by J. R. R. Tolkien—complete with slime monsters, goblin hordes, and a flying pirate ship—Jordan Speer’s wordless, jaw-dropping, astonishingly detailed picture-book debut is a dazzling medieval odyssey for adventure-seeking readers of all ages.
Praise for Umbra
“Jordan Speer’s nostalgic picture book is a wordless masterpiece. […] Umbra makes a case for the lone artist forging a path antithetical to the endless array of ‘content’ that sears people’s eyeballs and numbs them to good art.”
—Howard Waldstein, CBR
“I love this book.”
—Jon Klassen, Caldecott-winning author of This Is Not My Hat
“I really love this book, too.”
—Shawn Harris, Caldecott-winning author of The Teeny-Weeny Unicorn and illustrator of the Newbery-winning The Eyes and the Impossible
“I also really, really love this book.”
—Mac Barnett, Caldecott-winning author of The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse
“Jordan Speer must have a portal he disappears into and returns with chronicles like this one. Not since the days of Heavy Metal Magazine have I got such a kick out of a fantasy world—delicious color, magnificent beasts and machines and trees I want to live in. A wonderful trip you’ll want to take over and over with your kids.”
—Wayne White, artist and Emmy Award–winning set and puppet designer for Pee Wee’s Playhouse
“A beautiful magical artifact for every wizard’s library!”
—Pendleton Ward, Emmy Award–winning creator of Adventure Time
“I have no words for this marvelous and startling adventure. Neither does the marvelous and startling adventure.”
—Lemony Snicket, author of A Series of Unfortunate Events
“If you’ve ever wanted to eat mushrooms and play a virtual reality dungeon crawler through the prismatic lens of a kaleidoscope, then this book is for you!”
—Matt Furie, author of The Night Riders
