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Carl Bowen Books in Order

This page lists Carl Bowen books in order, with quick summaries, series guides, and tips on where to start across his graphic novels and tie-in fiction.

Last updated: July 7, 2026

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43 books

Project Utopia

by Carl Bowen

1999

This Aberrant sourcebook explores the world's most powerful nova organization, from its heroic public face to its darker edges. Team Tomorrow, Project Proteus, and the politics of superhuman power all come into view.

Predator & Prey: Vampire

by Carl Bowen

2000

A brush with the undead pulls an ordinary man into the cold, predatory politics of vampire society. Once he sees the truth behind the night, going back to normal is no longer an option.

The Directive

by Carl Bowen

2000

This Aberrant tie-in digs into the secret intelligence group that watches, studies, and manipulates superpowered novas. It is less about capes and battles, more about surveillance, leverage, and hidden agendas.

Predator & Prey: Mage

by Carl Bowen

2001

After surviving a terrible car crash, Adrian Cross starts seeing his quiet Michigan town differently. What he finds is a hidden battle of power, secrets, and dangerous magic.

Silent Striders & Black Furies

by Carl Bowen

2001

Nomads and warrior women from two Garou tribes collide in a story steeped in prophecy, rage, and spiritual war. The fight is not just against monsters, but against distrust inside their own ranks.

Silver Fang & Glass Walkers

by Carl Bowen

2002

Two very different werewolf tribes, one bound to old nobility and one shaped by city life, are forced into the same dark war. Ancient grudges and modern pressures make every alliance fragile.

A Day Dark as Night

by Carl Bowen

2004

Harmonious Jade is newly Exalted, deadly with a bow, and haunted by old memories. Her hunt for the cultists who shaped her life leads to Nexus, where allies and enemies look dangerously alike.

Pillar of the Sun

by Carl Bowen

2005

A barbarian horde sweeps through the Hundred Kingdoms, leaving fire and ruin in its path. Panther, an ex-pit fighter remade by Exaltation, becomes one of the few warriors who can stand against it.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

by Carl Bowen

2008

This graphic retelling follows Professor Aronnax into the deep aboard Captain Nemo's submarine, the Nautilus. Wonder, danger, and the mystery of Nemo drive the voyage.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

by Carl Bowen

2008

A London doctor hides a terrible experiment that lets his darkest self roam free. Bowen turns Stevenson's classic split-personality nightmare into a brisk graphic adaptation.

Return of the Scarlet Empress

by Carl Bowen

2009

In the world of Exalted, rumors of the Scarlet Empress carry enormous weight. As power players maneuver around her possible return, loyalty, ambition, and survival start pulling in different directions.

Aladdin and the Magic Lamp

by Carl Bowen

2010

A poor boy finds a magical lamp and a chance to change his life, but sudden power attracts dangerous enemies. This graphic retelling keeps the adventure moving without losing the tale's wishful magic.

BMX Breakthrough

by Carl Bowen

2011

A young BMX rider chases a breakthrough result while balancing nerves, crashes, and fierce competition. It is a quick sports graphic novel about skill, courage, and pushing past fear.

Julius Caesar

by Carl Bowen

2011

Rome trembles as ambition, loyalty, and fear collide around Julius Caesar. This graphic version of Shakespeare's tragedy keeps the betrayal and politics sharp and readable.

Black Anchor

by Carl Bowen

2013

American mercenaries seize a Chinese oil platform in Cuban waters, setting up a global headache. Ryan Cross and his team must free the hostages before the situation becomes an international crisis.

Eagle Down

by Carl Bowen

2013

Sergeant Edgar Brighton wakes up bound, blindfolded, and in enemy hands. While he fights to survive captivity, Shadow Squadron has to track him through hostile terrain and a mission gone very wrong.

Elite Infantry

by Carl Bowen

2013

This opening Shadow Squadron collection introduces Ryan Cross and his covert team through four globe-spanning missions. Fast, tactical, and easy to read, it lays out the unit's mix of discipline, danger, and trust.

Sea Demon

by Carl Bowen

2013

Ryan Cross leads Shadow Squadron into a maritime hostage crisis where pirates control the water. In tight quarters and open sea, one wrong move could cost innocent lives.

Sniper Shield

by Carl Bowen

2013

Shadow Squadron is ordered to protect an Iraqi politician with a bloody past, and Lieutenant Yamashita hates every minute of it. Keeping the target alive may be harder than pulling the trigger.

The Murders in the Rue Morgue

by Carl Bowen

2013

A brutal double murder leaves Paris baffled, until C. Auguste Dupin takes the case. Bowen turns Poe's classic locked-room mystery into a lean, eerie graphic detective story.

Critical Strike

by Carl Bowen

2014

This Shadow Squadron collection brings together four tense missions, from chemical weapons in Syria to slavers in Mali. As the unit's reputation grows, so do the risks, and the hard calls.

Dark Agent

by Carl Bowen

2014

Acting on a CIA tip, Shadow Squadron goes to Yemen to capture an Iraqi bomb maker known as the Professor. When the operation collapses, Ryan Cross learns the most dangerous threat may be the intelligence behind it.

Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

by Carl Bowen

2014

A fresh graphic adaptation of Verne's undersea adventure, this version brings the Nautilus, Captain Nemo, and the ocean's wonders into fast-moving comic form.

Phantom Sun

by Carl Bowen

2014

After an unidentified drone crashes near an Antarctic research station, Shadow Squadron races to secure it. Russian special forces intervene, and civilian lives soon matter as much as the device.

Quarterback Rush

by Carl Bowen

2014

The Otters look great in practice, but their new quarterback freezes when the hits get real. Receiver Steve Michaels tries to help Aaron Corbin toughen up, and learns the problem runs deeper than fear.

Sand Spider

by Carl Bowen

2014

A senator's son may have been kidnapped in Mali, pulling Ryan Cross and his team into a brutal hunt. Their search leads to the Spider, a notorious slaver who knows how to vanish into the desert.

White Needle

by Carl Bowen

2014

Syrian rebels have stolen a chemical weapon called White Needle, and no one knows where they plan to fire it. Shadow Squadron must find the missile and stop the launch before disaster spreads.

Dragon Teeth

by Carl Bowen

2015

Shadow Squadron heads into Iran to grab Carter Howard, a man linked to both the CIA and the team's enemies. The mission gets murkier when Howard claims going dark was part of a much larger plan.

Guardian Angel

by Carl Bowen

2015

When the Secretary of State's helicopter goes down in the Central African Republic, Ryan Cross and Shadow Squadron are sent to recover the survivors. The rescue looks simple on paper, but militias, child soldiers, and bad intel complicate everything.

Long Shadow

by Carl Bowen

2015

A video of a man making terrorist demands leads Ryan Cross to a shocking suspect, a former American soldier from the original Shadow Squadron. Hunting a traitor in Afghanistan forces the team to question what really happened in the past.

Rogue Agent

by Carl Bowen

2015

This longer Shadow Squadron collection follows Ryan Cross's unit through a string of increasingly dangerous missions. New members, betrayals, and rogue operatives make trust as important as firepower.

Steel Hammer

by Carl Bowen

2015

Parachuting onto a moving train in ISIS territory is only the start of this mission. Ryan Cross and his team must seize a deadly weapons shipment before it disappears into a war zone.

Back Burn

by Carl Bowen

2016

Sergeant Heath Rodgers already resents rookie leader Jason Garrett when a wildfire mission in the North Cascades turns personal. A missing hotshot crew, including Heath's younger brother, sends the Firestormers into a desperate search.

Bone Yard

by Carl Bowen

2016

A historic wildfire bears down on a stubborn, isolated community that refuses to evacuate. Amalia Rendon has to win people over fast, before fire tornadoes turn the town into ash.

Fire Front

by Carl Bowen

2016

Privileged newcomer Jason Garrett can no longer coast on his family name when the Firestormers hit a major blaze. On the fire front, survival depends on grit, judgment, and the crew beside him.

Firestormers

by Carl Bowen

2016

Jason Garrett joins an elite wildfire crew just as a massive blaze erupts in California's Klamath country. To earn his place, he must face brutal fire behavior, clashing personalities, and life-or-death calls on the line.

Hot Spot

by Carl Bowen

2016

An explosive wildfire threatens lives, land, and the habitat of a rare bird. As activists crowd the scene, Anna MacElreath and the Firestormers must decide what can be saved, and what cannot.

Jak and the Magic Nano-beans

by Carl Bowen

2016

In a battered future world, Jak trades her robotic Cow for mysterious nano-beans and climbs toward a sky kingdom. This wild Jack and the Beanstalk remix mixes scavengers, machines, and a risky chance at a better life.

Norse Myths

by Carl Bowen

2016

This graphic collection opens the door to the Viking gods, giants, tricksters, and end-of-the-world prophecies that shape their stories. It is a lively entry point into Norse legend for younger readers.

Thor and Loki

by Carl Bowen

2016

Ordered by Odin to travel together into the land of the giants, Thor and Loki bicker their way through one peril after another. Their rivalry keeps the adventure funny, tense, and unpredictable.

Thor vs. the Giants

by Carl Bowen

2016

Thor charges out with Mjolnir, ready to humble the giants by force. But in these Viking adventures, brains and bad luck, especially where Loki is involved, matter just as much as strength.

Gods and Thunder

by Carl Bowen

2017

This full-color collection retells major Norse myths, from Thor's battles with giants to the death of Baldur and Ragnarök. It is big, noisy, and packed with gods, monsters, and betrayal.

More Far Out Fairy Tales

by Carl Bowen

2020

This full-color collection bundles five twisted fairy-tale graphic novels, including Jak and the Magic Nano-beans. It is a quick, kid-friendly mix of sci-fi, monsters, humor, and bonus notes on the original tales.

Where should I start?

If you want covert military action: Elite InfantryCritical StrikeRogue Agent
If you want wildfire rescue stories: FirestormersBack BurnBone YardHot Spot
If you want playful fairy-tale twists: Jak and the Magic Nano-beansMore Far Out Fairy Tales
If you want game-world fantasy and horror: Project UtopiaPredator & Prey: VampireA Day Dark as Night

Author bio

Carl Bowen has built a writing career that moves in two very different directions, and that is part of what makes his bibliography fun to browse. On one side, he wrote dark tie-in fiction and game material connected to White Wolf's shared worlds. On the other, he created fast, visual books for younger readers, including military adventures, wildfire stories, sports comics, and offbeat fairy-tale retellings.

He was born on June 22, 1975.

A lot of Bowen's early visible work grew out of White Wolf, where biographical notes describe him as a copy editor, part-time developer, and freelance writer. That background matters. It helps explain why so much of his fiction is comfortable with big systems, hidden hierarchies, and worlds that come with their own rules. Before many readers found him through children's graphic fiction, he was already writing short stories, supplementary material, and tie-in books tied to fantasy, horror, and science fiction settings.

That led to books like Project Utopia and The Directive for Aberrant, along with Predator & Prey: Vampire, Predator & Prey: Mage, and entries in the Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Tribe Novel line. These are shared-world books, so part of the job is helping readers feel the setting quickly. Bowen's work in that space tends to focus on factions, pressure, divided loyalties, and the uneasy line between power and control.

Then his career opened up in another direction.

For Capstone and Stone Arch, Bowen wrote a wide range of books for middle grade readers. Some are graphic retellings of classics, including 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Julius Caesar, and Aladdin and the Magic Lamp. Others are original action series such as Shadow Squadron and Firestormers, where elite teams are pushed into dangerous situations and have to rely on training, judgment, and each other.

That shift from gothic game worlds to kid-friendly graphic fiction might sound abrupt, but there is a through line. Bowen likes stories built around missions, conflict, and high-pressure choices. Whether he is writing about superpowered conspiracies, a covert military unit, or a wildfire crew, he keeps the plot moving and gives readers clear stakes. Even his fractured fairy-tale work, especially Jak and the Magic Nano-beans, shows the same interest in taking a familiar structure and giving it a sharp twist.

He can write very lean.

That economy suits his graphic work especially well. The books are built to move, with strong setups, quick turns, and enough worldbuilding to pull readers along without slowing the story down. Shadow Squadron: Elite Infantry earned a starred review from Kirkus, and it is easy to see why younger readers who like action and teamwork often stick with his series once they start.

Later biographical notes place Bowen in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and describe him as a husband, father, and writer. He also remained closely connected to White Wolf across the years as a contributor and editor. Put it all together, and you get an author whose shelf is broader than it first appears, from dark supernatural tie-ins to brisk, highly readable graphic adventures for kids.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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