23 Aug / Happiness Will Follow by Mike Hawthorne [in Booklist]
*STARRED REVIEW
Born Michael Anthony Hawthorne, his last name was “swiftly pilfered from [his] father” by his Puerto Rican mother “to keep [him] safe in ways she never was.” Yet surviving into adulthood was a near-superhuman feat: his single mother’s fierce love came with horrific stipulations – her fists, her drinking, her drug sales, her withdrawal, her broken soul. Escape eventually comes through art college – and then, her death.
Today, Mike Hawthorne is a lauded Eisner- and Harvey-nominated cartoonist (Deadpool, Superior Spider-Man), and his spectacular illustrative skills are especially evident throughout. The book itself is a remarkably revealing presentation: the mostly muted brown-and-gray cover and front matter, partially interrupted with images of damaged full-color photographs, give way to saturated colors that flood the narrative’s actual page, turning subdued sepia into deep, piercing blues. That visual intensity amplifies every panel, relentlessly underscoring Hawthorne’s harrowing memories.
The original book he finished “years ago” ended 30 pages earlier than the published version here, Hawthorne notes. What he’s added includes an apocryphal dinner conversation with his mother (as a possible Jesus-figure seems to turn the other cheek) and why he’s still never traveled to Puerto Rico, all of which is followed by actual salvaged photos with “maybe” rationalizations for her abuse. Throughout, his longing to understand her never wavers: “I miss her.”
Review: “Graphic Novels,” Booklist, July 2020
Readers: Adult
Published: 2020