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Kevin Sacco Pays Tribute To The Nannies Who Raised Him, In His New Graphic Novel, Josephine

Published Tue, 09 May 2017 09:00:26 -0500

Slave Labor is to publish the wordless graphic novel Josephine, Kevin Sacco's first work since his The Plane Story from IDW in 2011.

The semi-autobiographical comic tells the story of a young boy with a complicated family life discovering the realities of racial inequality during a journey from his Upper West Side comforts to his nanny's home/neighborhood haunts in Harlem. At the heart of this narrative is the bond the boy shares with Josephine—until a sinister plot twist casts a dark shadow on their relationship.

"I grew up on Manhattan's Upper West Side in the 1960's. My drawings are an attempt to recapture the chaos and magic of this era" states Sacco. "The story of Josephine draws on my personal experience with parents who were too busy with their own lives to attend to a young boy. I was often left in the charge of a "live-in" – a role now referred to as a nanny. The character of Josephine is a composite of, and tribute to, these loving caretakers."

The artwork in the book, a mostly gray, sketchy black and white style is intended to fit the mood of the era. "I decided to tell the story with no words because I wanted readers to see the events as they lived – in the young boy's mind."

Josephine, a 132 page black and white graphic novel, is to be published in August 2017, $12.95 in comic book shops and through Amazon.com. ISBN # is 978-1-59362-286-

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