New Autobiographical Graphic Novel Finds Heartfelt Truths During Terrible Times
New Autobiographical Graphic Novel Finds Heartfelt Truths During Terrible Times
“Black Boy’s Blues: Funny Money” chronicles the life of a millennial African American college graduate as he travels the globe in search of love and meaning. The 56-page black-and-white graphic novel features seven autobiographical, life-affirming stories that explore the awkward, often terrifying, yet always surprising experience of coming of age in the modern world.
The book is now live as a fully-funded ‘Product We Love’ on Kickstarter, and the campaign will conclude on Friday, June 3 2022 11:59 PM EDT. The comic is unique to the platform in that it features true stories from a modern Black male perspective.
About The Story
On June 28, 2018, a man barricaded the only exit to the offices of the Capital Gazette Newspaper and charged in with a shotgun. At the end of the mass shooting my former editor, and several co-workers were identified among the dead.
Fortunately, I wasn’t there. I was a terribly inexperienced journalist and quit just before the shooting. I spent the next few years wondering if my life was saved by my own ineptitude. Maybe, if I had been a better writer, I could have done something.
On the third anniversary of the shooting, just days before the start of the gunman’s trial, I published a comic about my experience on the internet message board, Reddit.com. The cathartic experience of creating a comic and the overwhelmingly positive response I received helped me deal with what I now recognize as survivor’s guilt.
For the past year I’ve written about terrible, yet self-affirming, events in my life that I publish on my website, DyceThrow.com. However, hiring artists at fair wages isn’t cheap, and I’ve finally reached the point where it is no longer sustainable to fund this ongoing project with cash advances from my credit card.
We asked the author R.D. Hunter why this project was important to them:
When I graduated from High School my parents gave me a copy of “Oh the Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss. I know it’s a beloved book, but it felt disingenuous and did a terrible job of preparing me for how difficult and disappointing adulthood can actually be. I wrote this book for people going through tough times and those blissfully unaware of the challenges yet to come. It won’t solve any problems, but I hope it’s honest enough to reveal that we’re all struggling in darkness hoping to find the light.
Ryan Hunter – Authoer of Black Boy’s Blues
About The Author
My name is R.D. Hunter, and I am the author and the basis for every story within “Black Boy’s Blues: Funny Money.” I’m an African-American Morehouse College graduate born and raised on the outskirts of Washington D.C. (a.k.a. P.G. County, Maryland). Although I’ve worked as a writer for most of my life, and hold a Master’s Degree in publishing, this will be my first book.
