Under the Cottonwood Tree

el susto de la curandera

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Pub Date 15 Dec 2019 | Archive Date 15 Feb 2020

Description

In the deep confines of the beautiful and majestic Rio Grande bosque, a fable is told of a simpler time concerning the rich tri-cultural communities of New Mexico. Join brothers Amadeo and Carlos Lucero in this enchanting story of magic and adventure. Discover how the power of love and family triumphs and turns an old witch back into a healer.


“Virtuoso visual cuentista, brothers Paul and Carlos Meyer powerfully mesmerizes with this breathtaking epic. Margaret Hardy's kinetic paneling, deft line work, and earthy color palette bring to life a New Mexico and people many might be familiar with, but never really knew. The Meyer brothers awaken us to a world where animals speak, humans willy-nilly shapeshift, and curanderas need healing. With Under the Cottonwood Tree Paul and Carlos Meyer assuredly joins our pantheon of Southwest greats: Rudolfo Anaya, Willa Cather, and N. Scott Momaday.”

Frederick Luis Aldama, editor recently of Tales from la Vida: A Latinx Comics Anthology and author of the Eisner Award winning Latinx Supherheroes in Mainstream Comics

“A bite of one enchanted bizcochito turns a family's life upside down in this engaging comic. Packed with love, humor, magic, Southwestern mythology and monsters, it's sure to grab readers' attention and enchant them too!”

Cathy Camper, Author Lowriders in Space series

In the deep confines of the beautiful and majestic Rio Grande bosque, a fable is told of a simpler time concerning the rich tri-cultural communities of New Mexico. Join brothers Amadeo and Carlos...


Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9781733773003
PRICE US$19.99 (USD)

Available on NetGalley

Download (PDF)

Average rating from 49 members


Featured Reviews

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
***
Under the Cottonwood Tree is a story about family, friendship, love and kindness.

Let me first take a moment though to address how beautiful this comic was. The art was gorgeous, the color palette perfect and the paneling was unique and wonderful. This comic is a feast for the eyes.

The story is about the younger brother whose mischievous nature and ways gets him in trouble with the local curandera (a healer) that then extends to the rest of the family. This story is a quick fast read that was about loving your family and remembering you love your family (even as your younger brother gets into trouble which gets you into trouble as well), being thankful for the love and family you have, and don’t let yourself become overtaken by negativity. Amadeo gets all these important lessons as he does his best to look out for younger brother Carlos.

There was interesting mythology included that has piqued my interest and has me excited to look into Latin America mythology and folklore.

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Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for granting my wish for ‘Under the Cottonwood Tree’. I have a good time reading this book. Though I don’t know much about Spanish words, it is still fun for me.

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Under the Cottonwood Tree is well-written and enjoyable. It works somewhat like a fable. I would gladly buy a hard copy of this title.

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ARC Copy...flowed like an old folk tale of long ago where magic did exist in particular the magic of family both biological and pure friendship based. I did like the "bad witch" did have a more sympathetic and complex manner/motive to her actions. The lush illustration are also a highlight.

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Under the Cottonwood Tree: El Susto de la Curandera is a wonderful story about family, magic and kindness, set in a simpler time.

In this new fable, the youngest brother gets turned into a calf because he teased the old curandera again, calling her an old bruja. The trouble expands to the whole family while they try to change him back into a boy. This is easier said than done and the family (and some family friends) have to deal with a whole bunch of magic and revisit old family connections.

The storyline isn't the most logical, but that's because it is based on a dream. That fact completely changed my perception of this graphic novel and made me respect it even more. There are weird details and strange elements but those make this so unique.

The illustrations were gorgeous and I especially liked the scenery. The drawing nicely fitted the atmosphere. This graphic novel also taught me more about the tri-cultural communities of New Mexico and expanded my Spanish vocabulary.

Overall, a nicely illustrated graphic novel with an unusual storyline and a wonderful message.

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Thank you Netgalley for granting my wish for Under the Cottonwood Tree!

A beautifully illustrated and well written tale, full of fun, family spirit, adventure and magic!

Under the Cottonwood Tree is a magical little tale that follows brothers Amadeo and Carlos on an enchanting adventure to reverse a curse placed on the youngest sibling.

I thoroughly enjoyed this magical tale and felt swept away to another world on this adventure. A fantastic little read!

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I got this comic as an ARC through Netgalley and the publisher.

First of all, I must say that I was surprised and delighted to find a comic book that involved not only curanderos and native american mysticism and lore, but also Mexican American representation! Being Hispanic and from the Southwest USA myself, I loved reading this story! The bits of Spanish were just enough that I could understand and feel at home with the characters. I come from a large family so it was easy to relate to Carlos and Amadeo's sibling relationship and with their family and friends as well. This modern take on the curanderos and the importance of family, even with changes that occur in life, made me appreciate what I do have now and hope to pass on to future generations within my own family. The colors of the comic were vibrant and rich, definitely adding to the atmosphere and intent the comic aimed to share with the reader. The ending makes me think there may be more to this family and their friends so I hope to see more about them and their experiences with the supernatural and the power of love. I look forward to reading more comics like this with Mexican heritage and traditions influences and wish all the best for the author and illustrator. Good job!

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This story is so beautiful, especially when combined with the stunning art all throughout this graphic novel. There is something so beautiful about this story and the way it combines elements from folk tales and ideas. It does a great job adding in Latin American and magical realism elements throughout, representing a culture that does not get a lot of positive representation.

I love the art in this graphic novel and how rich and fall-like it feels with all the cottonwood trees on most of the pages. This is a graphic novel that I would purchase and read in the fall because it is so beautiful and atmospheric!

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I received an eARC of this graphic novel through Netgalley, in exchange for my honest review.

The art is beautiful, with lots of details and gorgeous scenery.

It`s a short story about family bonds, friendship and respect, unravelling in a Mexican folklore universe. It follows the story of little Carlos Lucero, who`s trying to find the magic golden leaf (from a children story his mum would tell). In his search his adventuring into the old currandera`s hut, who everyone thinks is an evil witch, and steals a cookie he found on the table. After eating it, Carlos turns into a calf and it`s up to Amadeo, the older brother in charge of looking after him and the rest of his family to find a way to turn him back to normal. An adventure that helps them discover some tales are true and puts them all in danger.

The story comes with a strong message about the ways we`re treating people around us and how it can affect them, and important lessons about love and honesty and how they can save the day.

It`s a lovely little fable and i think kids would be delighted to read it.

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