In honor of Little Women‘s 150th anniversary,  Little, Brown Books Books for Young Readers is revamping Louisa May Alcott’s beloved classic with a modern spin. 

 

The publishing company is collaborating with Tapas Media to bring color to the pages of this classic with a new graphic novel which will feature a muilticultural version of the March family.

 

150 years after Little Women enchanted readers everywhere, audiences across the world have become immersed in more diversified cultures and will find themselves better able to identify with the March family ever more than before.

 

^{Image Via Bre Indigo/Tapas Media}

 

Written by Rey Terciero and illustrated by Bre Indigo, this graphic novel, titled Meg, Joe, Beth, and Amy, will honor Alcott’s incredible characters while acknowledging the dramatic cultural shift that has occurred in the last 150 years.

 

“Bre and I wanted to see ourselves in the characters, too, which is why we made the family diverse,” Terciero said. This representation will go beyond skin color, however, as the graphic novel will also feature an LGBTQ character.

Terciero comments:

 

I wanted to play with the subtext that may not have been available 150 years ago, but that we can speak openly about these days. Being LGBT myself, I’m just happy to be creating a book that I wish I could have read as a young reader.

 

^{Image Via Bre Indigo/Tapas Media}

 

Mirroring Alcott’s version, the graphic novel will dive into some heavy topics including sexuality, maturity, sisterhood, identity, and more. However, the colorful illustrations will help to bring light to the dark matters and maintain an uplifting tone.

 

“It’s also very PG, and very sweet,” Terciero said. “I wanted to be sensitive with the heavy topics while staying true to Alcott’s vision of empowering young women.”

 

^{Image Via Bre Indigo/Tapas Media}

 

Indigo spoke of her desire to see modern audiences find a new reliability in the diverse characters.

 

She said:

 

Meg, Joe, Beth, and Amy have so much in common with today’s youth and hopefully when young readers pick up the book they can find themselves in the girls and apply their growth to their own lives. My personal goal as an artist is to help others to embrace empathy, to relate to one another and grow as individuals. And I think our book does just that.

 

Meg, Joe, Beth, and Amy will premiere as an episodic series online, with the first episode available this week. A paperback version along with e-book editions will be released in November 2018.

 

Feature Image Via Bre Indigo/Tapas Media