Urban Legendz – created by Paul Downs, Nick Bruno, and Michael Yates – tells the story of a ragtag group of teenagers fighting supernatural forces in order to save their neighborhood and community. As the teens piece together an elaborate mystery involving corporate greed, corrupt leadership, mutant alligators, giant rats, blood-sucking bedbugs, and much more, they embark on a dangerous path that brings them and all of Brooklyn to the very brink of destruction. At a deeper level, Urban Legendz serves as a stark reminder of the real damage that gentrification, appropriation, and “progress for progress’ sake” can do to a community, begging the question: How do we find balance between history and progress, and between the past and the future? The graphic novel also opens up important classroom conversations around themes like power, self-reliance, change, loss, and more in today’s ever-changing world.