CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – June 30, 2025 – James Greene, a Cedar Rapids native and 1996 graduate of Washington High School, is set to return to Cedar Rapids on August 2 at Next Page Books between 4 and 6pm to promote the debut of his new comic book series, The Windlords of Io-Wah. The series, which has already garnered national praise, draws heavily from recent and current events including the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 Eastern Iowa derecho.
The Windlords of Io-Wah is a graphic tour de force that explores family dynamics during the turbulent period of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the blurring lines between fiction and reality in the context of public health and conspiracy.The series is informed by Greene’s
firsthand observations of the pandemic's societal impact, working in the largest public library in Florida, which was repurposed as a Regeneron clinic during the pandemic and was featured in national news when Covid-positive patients were shown passed out on the floor waiting for treatment.
The series has been lauded by prominent figures in the literary and indie comic book worlds. Whitney Matheson (Trudy Sellout, USA Today’s Pop Candy) described it as “Creative fire! And a little brimstone,” while Emmy Award-winning cartoonist Dean Haspiel (The Red Hook, Billy Dogma) praised it saying “…Greene exercises a profound ability to put on other people’s shoes and see a global pandemic through their eyes.” Russ Kazmierczak of Amazing Arizona Comics says “Greene delivers unabashedly human characters in a parallel world that’s right beneath our feet. An absolute joy to read.”
Greene’s connection to Eastern Iowa informs some of the comic book’s setting and themes. The climax of the series is to be set during the devastating 2020 Eastern Iowa derecho. The story will delve into the real-world chaos of the "land hurricane"; and the speculative theories that emerged afterwards, including the belief that the state's wind turbines were contributing to extreme weather.
