Missouri Boy
Encyclopedia
Missouri Boy is an autobiographical graphic novel
written and illustrated by Leland Myrick
. The book was published in September 2006 by First Second Books
.
. 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.
on him. Myrick vows to "never go back to them".
the body. When Myrick turns the body over, blood spills onto him again. Chapter nine takes place in 1982 and is titled "Candy Striper". Myrick is still working in a hospital, and he begins to notice a girl that also works there. Myrick begins to talk to her, but halfway through suddenly loses confidence. Later one of the girl's friends brings her back to Myrick and asks "Do you want to go out with her?", to which Myrick responds "No". Chapter ten takes place in 1985 and is titled "Out of the Country". Myrick leaves Missouri to be with a girl he met at a university in California
. Scenes of his childhood are shown while he rides his motorcycle. The book ends when Myrick reaches a beach and finds the girl.
in 2002. Myrick's wife felt that this was his best work, and encouraged him to convert more of his poems. Subsequently he took a selection of his poems that would represent a complete narrative, and the collection became Missouri Boy.
's I Never Liked You
, and John Porcellino
's Perfect Example in terms of subject matter. A reviewer in VOYA said the facial drawing and expression was "rudimentary", but also that the "simplistic style works best for the story." The American Library Association
named Missouri Boy on its top ten graphic novels for youth in 2007.
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
written and illustrated by Leland Myrick
Leland Myrick
Leland Myrick is an author and illustrator. He was born in Missouri and currently lives in Pasadena, California. In 1999, he was nominated for an Ignatz Award for Promising New Talent for The Sweet Collection, and in 2004 he was awarded a Xeric Grant to create Bright Elegy. In 2006, he published a...
. The book was published in September 2006 by First Second Books
First Second Books
First Second Books is an American publisher of graphic novels. An imprint of Roaring Brook Press, part of Holtzbrinck Publishers, First Second publishes fiction, biographies, personal memoirs, history, visual essays, and comics journalism.-History:...
.
Prologue
Missouri Boy is divided into ten chapters, detailing various events in Myrick's early life growing up in MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. 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.
Chapters 1–3
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. Chaper 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.Chapters 4–6
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 urinatingUrination
Urination, also known as micturition, voiding, peeing, weeing, pissing, and more rarely, emiction, is the ejection of urine from the urinary bladder through the urethra to the outside of the body. In healthy humans the process of urination is under voluntary control...
on him. Myrick vows to "never go back to them".
Chapters 7–10
Chapter seven takes place in 1978 and is titled "Hanging". Myrick and some friends hang off the edge of a five story parking garage in order to impress some girls. Chapter eight takes place in 1981 and is titled "His Blood". Myrick works in a hospital and watches on as doctors try save a patient, during which blood gets onto him. The patient dies, and afterward Myrick helps a doctor x-rayX-ray
X-radiation is a form of electromagnetic radiation. X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV. They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than gamma...
the body. When Myrick turns the body over, blood spills onto him again. Chapter nine takes place in 1982 and is titled "Candy Striper". Myrick is still working in a hospital, and he begins to notice a girl that also works there. Myrick begins to talk to her, but halfway through suddenly loses confidence. Later one of the girl's friends brings her back to Myrick and asks "Do you want to go out with her?", to which Myrick responds "No". Chapter ten takes place in 1985 and is titled "Out of the Country". Myrick leaves Missouri to be with a girl he met at a university in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Scenes of his childhood are shown while he rides his motorcycle. The book ends when Myrick reaches a beach and finds the girl.
Production
Before Missouri Boy, Myrick had no intention of writing anything autobiographical, as he considers himself "a very private person". The work began as a series of poems that he converted into graphic novel format. One chapter of the book, titled "Paper Airplanes", was published in the anthology Happy Endings, by Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
in 2002. Myrick's wife felt that this was his best work, and encouraged him to convert more of his poems. Subsequently he took a selection of his poems that would represent a complete narrative, and the collection became Missouri Boy.
Reception
Missouri Boy was praised for its "vibrant imagery", realistic art, and "powerful moments". Reviewers drew comparisons to Chester BrownChester Brown
Chester William David Brown , is an award-winning, best-selling Canadian alternative cartoonist and, since 2008, the Libertarian Party of Canada's candidate for the riding of Trinity-Spadina in Toronto, Canada....
's I Never Liked You
I Never Liked You
I Never Liked You is an autobiographical graphic novel by Chester Brown, dealing with Brown's introversion and difficulty talking to others, especially members of the opposite sex....
, and John Porcellino
John Porcellino
John Porcellino is a popular creator of minicomics. Porcellino's self-published, photocopied, mostly autobiographical series King-Cat Comics is among the best-known and longest-running minicomics produced today, begun when Porcellino was a teenager and still going strong.Porcellino's work consists...
's Perfect Example in terms of subject matter. A reviewer in VOYA said the facial drawing and expression was "rudimentary", but also that the "simplistic style works best for the story." The American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
named Missouri Boy on its top ten graphic novels for youth in 2007.