A fantastic graphic memoir about intersectional punk culture from a black perspective when it was happening. It’s very open and honest, and doesn’t feel condescending, openly criticizes the ways in which he was arrogant at that age. I also really appreciated that it wasn’t a narrative memoir, where the “story” feels very fabricated and not true-to-life to conform to the expectations of a narrative. There’s through lines that exist because they were formative experiences and they start and come to a close when they’re introduced in his life, but there’s loose ends that exist because that’s what happened, and I really liked that. It gives the rest of it authenticity, to me.

It’s also just a fascinating thing to read, since it’s historical. Punk like it was doesn’t exist as it did. Before the internet and before it was co-opted yet further. Before intersectional politics was really codified or in the mainstream, either. And it has the “real” punk ethos too, while explaining the variations it sometimes took, basically in medias res of its co-opting, though he wasn’t aware of it at the time.

It’s relatable, clear, geared towards teens, and I think would make a lot of people feel seen. There’s universal challenges to being a teenager in here and then there’s specific ones, which broaden the feel like an easy gateway to learning about a PoC experience. I can’t find a fault with it.