Fire on the Water
RIGHTS: WORLD
● ● BY S C OT T M AC G R E G O R ● I L LU S T R AT E D BY G A RY D U M M
A novel based on a true tale of heroism and invention in the tunnels beneath Lake Erie in 1916
S E LLING POINTS ●● Timely story of immigrants’ lives in America at the turn of the century ●● Gary Dumm is an important
PRAISE FOR Fire on the Water
figure in the pantheon of
“A fascinating subterranean
artists
alternative American comics
history. Scott MacGregor uncovers a lost story and
S PECIFICATIONS
delivers a tight, sharp
Black-and-white illustrations
narrative. Gary Dumm is at
throughout
the top of his game.” —Derf
288 pages
Backderf, author of My Friend
WIDTH: 6½" • 165mm
Dahmer and Trashed
HEIGHT: 9¼" • 235mm
“Putting historical fiction
Hardcover with jacket
into graphic-novel form is
PUB MONTH: MAY
uncommon, maybe because it
GRAPHIC NOVEL •
is so difficult. But MacGregor’s
HISTORICAL FICTION
work is a perfect example of
ISBN 978-1-4197-4116-6 ISBN 978-1-4197-4116-6 US $24.99 CAN $31.99 UK 5 2£17.99 499
the depth, eloquence, and continuity that is possible in a superb graphic novel.”
9 781419 741166
—US Review of Books
T
ISBN 978-1-68335-825-1
his original graphic novel imagines the lives of blue-collar workers involved in the real-life Lake
Erie tunnel disaster of 1916 in Cleveland. Author Scott MacGregor and illustrator Gary Dumm tell the intersecting stories of a brilliant African American inventor, Ben
AT THE SAME TIME ON THE PLATFORM ABOVE, CARELESSNESS HAD CAUSED THE ALL-WOODEN CRIB STRUCTURE TO CATCH FIRE WITH DOZENS OF MEN INSIDE.
Beltran (based on the real-life Garrett Morgan, Sr.),
JAYSUS CHRIST, KAMINSKI!!— WAKE UP, MAN!!— YER BOILER HAS SET US AFIRE!!
WHAT’S BURNIN’??!!
desperate immigrants tunneling beneath Lake Erie, and
LORD AND SAVIOR!!
corrupt overseers who risk countless lives for profit.
YEP! THERE’S LAVELLE’S SIGNAL! TIME TA GO TA WORK!
SOMETHIN’ BOTHERIN’ YE, MR. GALLAGHER?
As historical fiction, Fire on the Water sheds light not
ALSO AVAIL AB LE
only on one of America’s earliest man-made ecological disasters but also on racism and the economic disparity
ROUST THE MEN UPSTAIRS!! START THE WATER PUMP!!
GET UPSTAIRS ` TELL YA!! WAKE THOSE MEN UP!!!
IT’S THAT DUTCHMAN! ` DON’T TRUST HIM, ` TELL YA. NOT FER A SECOND!
AAAAH! AH! DON’T WORRY. WADD’YA SAY WE DO OUR SHIFT AND THEN TUG OVER TA PADDY GATON’S SALOON!
EH? YE MAY HAVE SOMETHIN’ THERE!
LOOK!!
THE WATER PUMP IS DOWN IN THE TUNNEL!!!!
between classes in the Midwest at the turn of the 44
century.
INT_ARC_FireontheWater_6-5-19.indd 44-45
Scott MacGregor has been writing comic book stories for over 30 years. This is his first full-length graphic novel. He lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Gary Dumm is a
45
6/5/19 4:05 PM
Fire Story ISBN 978-1-4197-3585-1 ISBN 978-1-4197-3585-1 US $24.99 CAN $31.99 UK 5 2£17.99 499
lifelong resident of Cleveland and an artist who worked extensively with Harvey Pekar on American Splendor. Dumm’s cartoons have also appeared in Entertainment Weekly, the New York Times, the Village Voice, and Le Monde.
9 The 7 8 1Bridge 419 735851
ISBN 978-1-4197-3616-2 ISBN 978-1-4197-3616-2 US $18.99 CAN $23.99 UK 5 1£12.99 899 9 781419 736162
ABRAMS COMICARTS
SPRING 2020 ● 75