Mama Came Callin’ by Ezra Claytan Daniels
William Morrow Paperbacks (February 2026)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage
Ezra Claytan Daniels is a mixed-race (black/white) multidisciplinary artist and creator of the award-winning graphic novels Upgrade Soul and BTTM FDRS (with illustrator Ben Passmore). Ezra’s work has been featured on the Criterion Channel, at Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art, and is in the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum. Ezra currently resides in Los Angeles, where he writes for film and television, including Doom Patrol, for HBO Max. His newest graphic novel is Mama Came Callin’.
Kirah was born from an improbable interracial relationship that, in central Florida’s infamous Asurupa County, defied all the odds. But her idyllic childhood was shattered by an urban legend come to life. The “Gatorman” was a nightmare on the lips of kids and grown-ups alike all the way back to Jim Crow: a monster with the body of a man, the head of an alligator — and a taste for Black children. That’s who crawled into Kirah’s window when Kirah was just five years old. According to the police, it was Kirah’s own father who put on that gator mask and tried to kill her.
Twenty years later, Kirah works hard to build a life unburdened by the traumatic events of her childhood. Just when it seems like she’s managed to find her stride, her dad, fresh out of prison, crashes back into her world with a chilling message: “He’s coming for you.” What follows is an exciting mix of swamp noir, slasher horror, and social satire sure to entertain horror readers.
Camilla Sucre’s illustrations really help propel the narrative forward. Sucre primarily uses black and grey washes, occasionally touched with a dusty gold or sepia. The color palates are muted and murky, perfect for murderous adventures and serial killers in Florida swamps, and the limited use of color only serves the emphasize the horror thoughout the book.
There’s a lot to be said in praise of Mama Came Callin’. The narrative, which balances the horror of a serial killer with the horrors of social injustice and systemic racism, is well-written and paced perfectly. This story is further enhanced by Camilla Sucre’s muted illustrations, which add a muddy, shadowy depth to the narrative, perfect for blood-soaked terror in a swamp. Any fans of slasher horror, political horror, and swamp noir will want this book on their shelves.
