Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction

Summary:  As the subtitle of the book suggests, this exquisitely illustrated biography is about a young artist growing up in a life of uncertainty and doubt.  Jarrett Krosoczka tells of his life growing up with a drug addicted mother, whose presence fluctuates in and out of his life. Forced to be brought up by his grandparents and young aunts, a young Jarrett has to adapt to an unusual and atypical upbringing.  His grandparents do their best to raise Jarrett, but Jarrett can't help but long to be with his mother and, believe it or not, his absentee father, despite not even knowing who he is.  Jarrett just wants what he believes to be a normal happy life.  Despite all of this uncertainty, there is one thing that does bring Jarrett comfort and self-confidence: drawing.  Jarrett's drawing skills bring him recognition and self-identity, and to some degree happiness.  However, as he is growing up, beginning to feel comfortable about his life, he discovers who his father really is.  This information throws the proverbial monkey wrench into the system, leaving Jarrett with more uncertainty and more questions. Does he reach out to the man who was never there?  Does he refuse to even acknowledge him?  Or, by contacting his biological dad, will Jarrett gain some type of clarity and understanding?  Regardless of what he chooses to do, Jarrett knows his life will never be the same.  Hey, Kiddo portrays the often difficult, turbulent, yet inspirational, life of a artist as a young man.

Reference:  Jarrett J. Krosoczka (2018). Hey, Kiddo: How I Lost My Mother, Found My Father, and Dealt with Family Addiction. Graphix. New York, NY.

Why I Picked It Up:  I am always interested in graphic novels about comic book artists/writers and their biographies, whether it's Will Eisner and Jack Kirby or Jimmy Gownley and, now, Jarrett Krosoczka.  Being a comic book fan, I am drawn (no pun intended) to their beginnings, how they got started, who were their inspirations, and why they chose to follow their muses into their chosen professions.

Why I Finished It:  Reading this graphic novel reminded me of Jimmy Gownley's biography, The Dumbest Idea Ever.  They both were given recognition for their drawing skills from an early age.  Jimmy became a small-town celebrity by publishing his own comic book while he was in high school and Jarrett started getting his illustrations published in the school newspaper, The Napoleon, as well as the Telegram & Gazette, Worcester, Massachusetts' town newspaper.  Those personal events reminded me of when I was in middle school and some friends and I would get together to create our own superheroes and comics.  (Mine was the Scarlet Knight, who had an Excalibur/lightsaber-like sword.)  We developed origin stories, villains, plot lines, and extensive battle scenes.  However, our attempts never went passed those middle school years.  Reading Hey, Kiddo took me back to those days and makes me happy to know that there were other comic book geeks like us, who had striven to be like their comic-book-creator heroes, like Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, etc.  But, unlike us, they continued creating and were able to make a living out of it. So it's safe to say, I finished Hey, Kiddo so that I could live vicariously through their successes.

Recommendation: Naturally, I would recommend this to those who were strong readers of comic books and for those who may have at some point in their life attempted to create their own comics or superheroes.  Also, I feel that wannabe writers and future illustrators (Jarrett's drawings work fantastically with his story) would enjoy Jarrett's story, as well as those who may just simply want to read about the success story of an individual who overcame a difficult childhood.  So, curl up on the living sofa for this one, because it will not disappoint.