The name of my graphic memoir came from the letters my mom would write me when I was a kid. She was incarcerated at the time, and I saved every single one. These letters would always be accompanied by drawings that she made, and she’d request a drawing back. I know now how much her efforts encouraged me.
For the longest time, my graphic memoir was just called Untitled. At her memorial last year, I read these letters aloud. That’s when I knew what the title needed to be. Her voice kept reverberating in my head. “Hey, kiddo.” And these letters of hers. They’re in the book.
Hours upon hours of VHS tape filmed on a camcorder were digitized in preparation for writing and illustrating HEY, KIDDO. I revisited spaces, voices, and personalities—not to mention fashion choices from the mid ‘90s.
One of the greatest assets I had in writing HEY, KIDDO was the collection of sketchbooks I kept as a teenager. These pages gave me direct insight as to what was going on in my mind and helped reconnect me with where I was at. Many of these sketches made their way into the final book.
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