taproot a story about a gardener and a ghost

He's suddenly transported to a dark grey forest, before appearing back in the flower shop. Instead, Blue befriended Hamal and showed him the plight of the other town ghosts, eventually convincing him to help them find peace by interacting with the living world on their behalf.īack in the present, Blue's internal monologue reveals he's in love with Hamal. Until one day the man he followed home from the market turned around and asked Blue to leave him alone. A flashback reveals how Blue and Hamal met, one year prior Blue felt lonely and isolated from the living, and entertained himself by following people around.

Takashi and customers think he talks to himself. Hamal works at a flower shop filled with ghosts, including his friend Blue. The novel has also won awards for its art, including the Florida Authors & Publishers Association award for best cover design, and Newsarama's Best of Best Shots 2017. Taproot was received positively, appearing on several LGBT booklists such as the Rainbow Book List Best Graphic Novel of 2017 and The Advocate 's Best LGBTQ Graphic Novel. Over the course of the novel, the two discover that Hamal's ability is caused by an imbalance between life and death, leading a figure resembling the grim reaper to begin stalking them. The novel is primarily a love story between a ghost named Blue and Hamal, a gardener who can see ghosts.

Published by Lion Forge Comics in 2017, Taproot is Young's first work. A shorter version was released as a webcomic before it was lengthened by 40 pages and published in print.

Their work is character-focused, and they use action, romance, and mystery to explore LGBTQIA characters and themes, since those are the stories they always looked for growing up, but could rarely find.Taproot: A Story About A Gardener and a Ghost is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Keezy Young. Their stories are cute, eerie, and often dark, but almost always hopeful at their core. Today, Keezy writes, draws, and designs their own young adult comics.

Although their art is self-taught, they credit Digimon, Hiromu Arakawa, Trina Schart Hyman, Arthur Rackham, and Studio Ghibli as important influences. Any opportunity to con their teachers into letting them illustrate a book report instead of writing one was taken. They grew up drawing on their walls, stealing a few extra chapters by nightlight after bedtime, making graveyards for lost animals in the forest with their brother and sister, and adding monsters and flowers to the margins of every homework assignment. Keezy Young is a queer comic artist and illustrator from the Pacific Northwest, currently in Seattle, WA.

Taproot a story about a gardener and a ghost