A gothic fairy tale from one of L.A.'s most acclaimed painters.

An original, first graphic novel from the acclaimed California painter Camille Rose Garcia (her work has been shown in Juxtapoz, Art Issues and Paper, and exhibited in galleries and museums up and down the west coast), the first of a proposed series set in the fantasyland of the Lost World of the Peppermint Islands. In The Magic Bottle, Lulu Blackenshoe lives in a gray world dominated by factories, landfills and giant corporations. Nature has all but disappeared in her world, but no one notices because of the antidepressants they're on. Lulu (who never takes her medicine) feels an increasing sense of dread and despair, until her fate changes one cold day when she finds a magic bottle containing a map. Drawn by pirates long ago, this map shows the way to the lost world of the Peppermint Islands, sunk to the bottom of the sea 400 years ago in the great battle between the pirates and the capitalists. Suddenly, Lulu has the chance to save the last remaining wild animals on earth, but she'll have to battle the Peppermint Man and the Great Trading Company in order to defeat the capitalist machine out to ruin the natural world. With the help of her new octopus friend, Mr. Blue, they start their journey to save the Peppermint Islands from annihilation. This is the latest BLAB! storybook, a series of graphic novels showcasing artists from Monte Beauchamp's annual BLAB! anthology, presented in a faux-children's book format, though aimed squarely at adults and young adults.