The Resurrectionist：The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black

Philadelphia,thelate1870s.Acityofgaslamps,cobblestonestreets,andhorse-drawncarriages—andhometothecontroversialsurgeonDr.SpencerBlack.Thesonofagraverobber,youngDr.BlackstudiesatPhiladelphia’sesteemedAcademyofMedicine,wherehedevelopsanunconventionalhypothesis:Whatiftheworld’smostcelebratedmythologicalbeasts—mermaids,minotaurs,andsatyrs—wereinfacttheevolutionaryancestorsofhumankind?TheResurrectionistofferstwoextraordinarybooksinone.ThefirstisafictionalbiographyofDr.SpencerBlack,fromachildhoodspentexhumingcorpsesthroughhismedicaltraining,histravelswithcarnivals,andthemysteriousdisappearanceattheendofhislife.ThesecondbookisBlack’smagnumopus:TheCodexExtinctAnimalia,aGray’sAnatomyformythologicalbeasts—dragons,centaurs,Pegasus,Cerberus—allrenderedinmeticulouslydetailedanatomicalillustrations.Youneedonlylookattheseimagestorealizetheyaretheworkofamadman.TheResurrectionisttellshisstory.