Rob Price
Gutbrain Records
rob + gutbrain.com = email

2019 January 11 • Friday

The most recent "graphic novel" we've read around here is Jarrett J. Krosoczka's Hey, Kiddo, an autobiographical account of the author/artist's childhood and adolescence.

He grew up in Worcester, not far from where I myself grew up. He never knew his father, though, and was raised by his mother's parents as his own mother was struggling with drug addiction and its concomitant dangers and disadvantages.

It's a moving book, as inspiring as it can be depressing, noteworthy for how effectively it conveys how important a handful of allies can be, particularly family members but also friends and teachers. The slightest encouragement can be powerful fuel for the human engine. And, of course, a casually discouraging word from an important person can be almost equally damaging.

Book of this sort aren't worth reading, in my opinion, if the artwork isn't special, but Krosoczka delivers on this too. He has his own style, fluid and open and consistent, that makes the world of his story real and invitingly open to visitors.