Come Home, Indio

• Native American author/artist • Themes of loneliness and alienation in adolescence and early adulthood • Author is a prolific comic book artist • Author has been tabling at ComicCons for many years • Graphic memoirs by Native American artists are few and far between • Graphic memoirs about alcoholism and recovery are few and far between • The art is meticulously crafted • Brutally honest, but charming real-life story with loads of detail • Finding something to believe in and to belong to at the Dakota Access Pipeline protests at Standing Rock • For fans of Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s Hey, Kiddo who have grown up and are looking for something a bit more challenging 2. The Competition: There was a compilation of comics short stories by Indigenous artists published last year call This Place: 150 Years Retold. And There There, the novel by Tommy Orange, won the American Book Award in 2018, which made many people realize that there aren’t many books out there to give the reader a sense of the life of an Urban Native. 3. News Tie-in/Current Relevance: • The issue of Indigenous or Native American rights has been in the News a lot lately. • In 2016, the Dakota Access Pipeline protests gained a lot of attention. • In 2019, Indigenous activists have once again been protesting, this time it’s the building of a natural gas pipeline in Canada. • “Decolonization” is gaining traction as a political movement. • Since the 1990’s, the federal government declared November Native American Heritage Month. But in 2019, the White House proclaimed November as National American History and Founders Month, attempting to erase the lives of Indigenous people. 4. Notable Author/Illustrator: • An accomplished cartoonist who has worked on such comics series as The Crow, Sundowners and Vampirella. • The author has family who are a part of the Ho-Chunk Nation in Wisconsin. • The author lives in Chicago, IL • This is the author’s debut graphic novel. 5. Notable Elements: Graphic novel format printed on quality paper stock, with a softcover and French flaps cover.