From TheRoot.Com
Known for works like his films “Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song,”
and “Watermelon Man,” and his musical “Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural
Death,” Melvin Van Peebles is an artist who’s unafraid to cross
boundaries, disciplines, and traditions in his work. His forthcoming
project is no exception. The seventy-six-year-old is gearing up for the
release of a graphic novel called “Confessions of a Ex-Doofus-Itchyfooted Mutha” (illustrated by Caktuz Tree).
The story is an amusing coming-of-age tale about a young man who
suffers from a bad case of wanderlust that’s partly prompted by travel
books, the blues, and the death of his father. The itchyfooted
fourteen-year-old, depicted by Van Peebles, leaves his home with a
stash from his “Saturday matinee triple-feature-show-fare-money” and
along the way, as he grows into adulthood, he encounters mobsters,
love, and Harlem. Replete with song lyrics, poetic verses, and catchy
wordplay, in the end, the book carries a simple lesson:
“F.Y.I….Making your own bed ain’t a guarantee it’s gonna be
comfortable.”
“Confessions” drops September 1, but Akashic, the publisher behind the project, is printing a limited run of 100 hardcover copies that will feature an original drawing by Van Peebles.
