"Insightful and riveting." - KIRKUS

"A tense, thrilling account of escaping a cult." - FOREWORD

It's 1997 and young Amy Rose has always known that something is off about her community. She's forbidden from going to school or even going outside; after all, their leader says there's no use knowing anything about a world that's about to end. When the Hale-Bopp comet soars across the sky for the first time in over 4,000 years, Amy thinks it's a good omen signaling the start of an amazing new future. Instead, it brings news of a horrible tragedy at a similar compound just down the road called Heaven's Gate. Televised news reports invade the temple walls and Amy hears a new word that suddenly explains everything: cult.

Now, she must risk everything to indulge in secret trips to an abandoned off-limits library to learn what she was never meant to know: that Gandhi was not a space alien, that Star Trek wasn't real, that her community was built on a lie, and most importantly, that banned books can give her everything she needs to escape.

Occulted is a shocking graphic memoir about the power of literary freedom. Survivor Amy Rose, Banned Book Club co-author Ryan Estrada, and artist Jeongmin Lee tell a haunting, inspiring tale of bravery and rebellion, about how to recognize those who try to control you, and how to fight back.

About the Author
AMY ROSE is not a Sonic character, but she is just as weird. She exudes West Coast vibes no matter where she's at. Currently living and teaching in South Korea, she tries to get some writing or performing done when she isn't inspiring kids to be as strange as possible. RYAN ESTRADA is an artist/adventurer who travels the world getting into trouble and making comics. He is the co-author of Banned Book Club and No Rules Tonight. He is the creator of the Student Ambassador Series. He has slept on a park bench in a typhoon, was nearly eaten by lions in the Maasai Mara, and was once thrown from a moving train by the police. He deserved it. JEONGMIN LEE (a.k.a Min the Elephant) is an illustrator whose work attempts to introduce a touch of dark fantasy to the mundanity of life. She draws inspiration from dreams, nature, creatures and the macabre.

Reviews

"Insightful and riveting." - KIRKUS

"Rose and Estrada imbue young Rose's harrowing story with emotional heft." - PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"With engaging, manga-influenced art that gives a child's-eye perspective to its events, the graphic memoir Occulted is a tense, thrilling account of escaping a cult." - FOREWORD

"The kind of book I wish I could go back in time and give to the younger version of me." - COMICON.COM

"Rose, Estrada, and Lee have given us a child's-eye view of the little rebellions needed to be an individual against stacked odds. A wise reminder of the many forms of resilience." - Grace Moore, Women at Warp

Book Information
ISBN 9781638991090
Author Amy Rose
Format Paperback
Page Count 176
Imprint Iron Circus Comics
Publisher Iron Circus Comics