A graphic novel for ‘any young people who feel alone’
Jonathan Todd’s family moved from Boston to Miami when he was in second grade. That’s where he started drawing cartoons and comic strips. “I was kind of a popular kid,” he says. “Life was great.”
But then the family moved again, back north, to Wellesley. And Todd, entering seventh grade, found himself adrift. “It was a big shock. When I walked into the cafeteria, it seemed kind of segregated,” he says. “All the other Black kids were in the Metco program. I was one of the few Black kids who lived in the town. I wasn’t sure how to process that.”
In “Timid,” his debut graphic novel for young readers, Todd draws on his own experiences as a shy new kid who wants to make friends and make art. His family shows up in the book, too, from the father who hopes his son will turn to architecture as a future profession to the mother with whom he can just relax and eat banana splits.
Although that first year at Wellesley Middle School was hard, Todd says, “there was a bright side.” Part of that was the support and model provided by art teacher Hank Kearsley, who led drawing workshops after school. (Kearsley, who died in February at 94, was one of the school’s few Black teachers and “an inspiration” to
Todd.)
“Timid” draws from a lifetime of influences. First came Garfield, then Peanuts. Todd remembers drawing comic books in his father’s office to get laughs from his secretary. As he grew older, he discovered Jackie Ormes, Art Spiegelman, and Jules Feiffer.
“When I was in college I discovered the Hernandez brothers,” Todd says, whose work showed “you can turn everyday conversation into a comic, you can capture that nuance.”
Whether or not his readers are artists themselves, Todd hopes he can reach any kid who feels out of place.
“Many of us feel isolated or alienated for whatever reason, whether it has to do with cultural background, queer identity, body size, religion. This book is for any
young people who feel alone.” Jonathan Todd will read “Timid” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 2, at Belmont Books. He will also appear at Frugal Bookstore at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 27.