Hey Everyone,
You are getting this email because at one point or another you and I crossed paths, be it through friendship, tattooing, or Afro-Punk. I haven’t sent out an email like this in over a decade but I have some news.
After five years of work, my graphic novel on the first year I found punk is finally available for PRE-ORDER!! Pre-ordering helps to create buzz at the publisher for a larger first printing ––especially helpful for a debut graphic novelist, like me!
Synopsis: Apple Valley, California, in the eighties, a thirsty, miserable desert.
Teenage James Spooner hates that he and his mom are back in town after years away. The one silver lining—new school, new you, right? But the few Black kids at school seem to be gang-banging, and the other kids fall on a spectrum of micro-aggressors to future Neo-Nazis. Mixed race, acutely aware of his Blackness, James doesn't know where he fits until he meets Ty, a young Black punk who introduces him to the school outsiders—skaters, unhappy young rebels, caught up in the punk groundswell sweeping the country.
A haircut, a few Sex Pistols, Misfits and Black Flag records later: suddenly, James has friends, romantic prospects, and knows the difference between a bass and a guitar. But this desolate landscape hides brutal, building undercurrents: a classmate overdoses, a friend must prove himself to his white supremacist brother and the local Aryan brotherhood through a show of violence. Everything and everyone are set to collide at one of the year's biggest shows in town...
Weaving in the Black roots of punk rock and a vivid interlude in the thriving eighties DIY and punk scene in New York's East Village, this is the memoir of a budding punk, artist, and activist.
(appropriate for teens and upward)
Check out what people are saying so far…
“In each panel of The High Desert, James Spooner delivers magic between his art and his words, mixing the intense passions of youth with the hindsight of the wise. Gorgeously drawn, brutally honest, and as emotionally raw as your favorite punk song.”
—Dawnie Walton, The Final Revival of Opal & Nev
"The High Desert is a gorgeous, gritty, and astute memoir. Punk is James Spooner’s salvation as he comes of age in a racist world, but punk culture is also a microcosm of that world. The path to reconciliation—with himself, his parents, his peers—is navigated with exquisite nuance and compassion. A beautifully drawn story."
—Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home and The Secret to Superhuman Strength
“James Spooner captures an often overlooked, West Coast slice of modern American culture and subculture. Misfits, nerds, social outcasts and rebels: Mr. Spooner has delivered a well needed roadmap for future generations of kids that don’t quite fit in, especially kids of color.”
—Norwood Fisher , Fishbone
Educators:
If you are an educator, and have interest in course adoption, I would be happy to put you in touch with my team! If desired, I can even sort out a virtual or in-person class visit. I also welcome nominations to First Year Experience programs in universities.
I appreciate your support. More updates to come…
Thank you, James Spooner
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