Missouri Boy
| Missouri Boy | |
|---|---|
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | First Second Books |
| Publication date | September 2006 |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Leland Myrick |
| Colorist(s) | Hilary Sycamore |
Missouri Boy is an autobiographical graphic novel written and illustrated by Leland Myrick. The book was published in September 2006 by First Second Books.
Missouri Boy is divided into ten chapters, detailing various events in Myrick's early life growing up in Missouri. The book opens with a prologue set in 1961, titled "Ghost Umbilical", in which Myrick and his twin brother are born. Myrick's grandmother dies on the same day.
Chapter one is set in 1967, and is titled "Paper Airplanes". Myrick's father gives him and his twin brother paper to use to make paper airplanes. The brothers make the airplanes and go outside to throw them in the wind. Chapter two is set in 1969, and is titled "Old Man's Chair". The chapter consists of two pages, and shows Myrick's father receiving a large chair. Myrick remarks to his father "That's an old man's chair", to which his father responds "Yes it is. Thank God for that." Chapter three takes place in 1970, and is titled "Firecracker Tree". Myrick's father brings him and his twin brother to a fireworks shop. They buy some fireworks, and return home to wait until it is dark. At night the family (including Myrick's two older brothers) assembles around a tree to set off the fireworks. One of the older brothers asks their father if he can "bum a cig", before the fireworks are set off. The following morning Myrick and his twin brother return to the tree. The grass immediately surrounding the tree has been completely burned away.
Chapter four is set in 1972 and is titled "My Father's Hands". The family goes to court where Myrick's oldest brother is sentenced to ten years in prison for robbery. After the sentencing, the family visits the brother one last time, and he shakes hands with Myrick's father. Chapter five is set in 1973 and is titled "Underwear Pond". Myrick and some friends go skinny-dipping in a pond. They throw their underwear into the sky, and let it sink to the bottom of the pond. Myrick imagines the pond being drained years in the future, and underwear being found. Chapter six takes place in 1976 and is titled "The Resurrection". Myrick's brother and friends bury him in a pile of leaves. Myrick initially believes it to be a game, but when he emerges, they are urinating on him. Myrick vows to "never go back to them".
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