I feel like the best weird kids are cultivated in the middle of nowhere. Punk Rock Karaoke (Viking Books), my debut graphic novel, is an example of that. It’s a love letter to Chicago punks.
Chicago is my home, and despite it being a big city, it is a city surrounded by stretches of farmland. It was important to me in illustrating this book to portray all the beauty of this Midwestern city, from the lakes and rivers to the industrialized cornfields. Chicago is also a city of runaways who escaped being the lone weirdo in their small Midwestern towns to feel a sense of community and belongingness.
In this excerpt, three punks, Ariel, Michele, and Gael, have a tough conversation on what it means to exist as a community and show up for one another. I wanted readers young and old to challenge themselves on why we are so quick to dismiss one another for being humanly flawed. Community is pivotal to our survival.
In these next few pages, Michele will see the beauty of leaning on her community, instead of burning herself out honoring the plight of the “strong Black woman.” Not only are we stronger together, but we are stronger when we give each other grace and empathy.
This excerpt is also an example of the beauty that is the punk scene and the united efforts over mutual aid. “Punk” is often dismissed as a self-destructive youth subculture, or even just an aesthetic, but my experience has been the opposite. I have witnessed people young and old coming together not only over a joint love of fast guitars and loud music but also over a communal desire to look out for one another. I’ve been to top surgery fundraisers in basement shows in Manchester in the U.K. and retirement funds for historic punk legends in New York. In writing Punk Rock Karaoke, it was my mission to show the beautiful side of a world that may be misunderstood.
Most punks I know are just artists who have a flamboyant way of expressing themselves. My hope is that Punk Rock Karaoke can be a road map that will inspire anyone who marches to the beat of their own drum to seek out the beauty in the underground. It’s never too late to let rock ’n’ roll save your soul.
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Bianca Xunise is an illustrator, writer and educator based out of Chicago. In 2020, Bianca became the first nationally syndicated nonbinary cartoonist. With two Ignatz Awards under their belt, Bianca hopes their comics are comforting to those who feel like they don’t fit in.
