Book excerpt: Clara speaks. The finale issue of “The Rat” story arc—set in the classic Golden Age of Hollywood—and the newest installment in the popular mythic fantasy series. “The Rat” is the midway point in the PRETTY DEADLY series, with upcoming volumes including the fourth story arc, “The Butterfly,” which will look backward to reveal Alice’s origins, and the fifth story arc, which will push the series to its conclusion in the Great Depression. “A masterpiece of mythopoeism that many literary fantasists struggle to emulate." —N.K. Jemisin, NYT Book Review “PRETTY DEADLY goes old Hollywood, and pushes the boundaries of comics storytelling in the most wicked ways. I love it.” —Ed Brubaker “A ferocious series of powerful characters born of gorgeous art. It is Sergio Leone crossed with Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, a hellish yet alluring mix of epic mythology from the ancient poets, the relentlessly unforgiving fairy tales of the Old World, and the blood-soaked folklore of the Old West.” —Tor.com