I always loved comics growing up, and I loved the often dark world of misfit characters who became my "friends" in their pages. In life I have seen real villains and real heroes, and comics were great metaphors for helping me wrap my head around bigger things.
 
Dirt: The Graphic Novel is a direct adaptation of the one-man show I wrote several years ago. It is 132 pages, full color, hand-drawn on paper by artist Michael McMenemy, and digitally colored by Joshua Jensen.
 
The story is about a kid named Pi lost in the wasteland of suburbia. We follow him around town, to school, and around the landscape of his imagination. In the process, we meet the people around him and discover their connection to each other. It touches on themes of substance abuse, bullying, and choices but is foremost a comedic coming of age tale. 

Despite the autobiographical element that inspired me and the themes in the book, it is not a heavy handed morality tale. Far from it. As anyone who has seen the show will attest, it is a simple tale of four lives connected. My intentions are nothing more than to share a meaningful story and characters through the artwork of Mike and Josh.
 
It is a true independent book and was crowd-funded on Kickstarter. As risky and strange as that may seem to some, I wouldn't have it any other way. I did not want to be beholden to any outside groups, opinions, or a publisher. I wanted to do the story in the way that I wrote it, the way Michael McMenemy drew it, and the way Josh Jensen colored it.  

I chose to originally print the book in the USA. In fact, locally, in my home state of Massachusetts. Whenever possible I try to keep all things local and support small businesses and artists, however, subsequent reissues were printed by whomever could give me the best quality at the best price, regardless of location.
 So, it was homemade by hand and printed just for you. I hope you enjoy it and tell others about it. My plans are to keep performing the show “Dirt,” to create prequels/sequels to this book, and hopefully create an entirely new story from some of the other stuff I’ve written that has been on the back burner. So, hopefully, this is not a one and done. 

To any students reading this I'd say, "We are all connected, yet, we are all the hero in our own journey, There is something quite beautiful and life-changing in understanding our own stories, so, I hope this book encourages you to find a way to understand your own story and share it with the world."