This is one of the best graphics novels I've ever read. I used to know James Spooner back when he was running Afropunk here in NYC. I did not like him and found him to be a snobby gatekeeper. However, reading this book really endeared me to him. His story is sweet and heartbreaking and inspiring and I can tell this was a labor of love --- as is everything he has done!

The narrative started out slow but really picked up speed in the second half of the book. In hindsight this developmeny perfectly matches the trajectory described in the book. The author does an amazing job weaving information about the punk scane, and especially POC in it, in the U. S. in the 1980s and 1990s into the account of his coming-of-age experience. 

The High Desert. Black. Punk. Nowhere, is the story of a young James Spooner (creator of Afro-Punk) and how he discovered punk rock at the age of 13 years old. I don't usually rate memoirs because rating someone's experience is a strange concept. However, I rated this 4.5 out of 5 stars from the entertainment I received from the story-telling as well as the art (because it's a graphic novel and then art is nice). 

The story was so relatable, being one of the few Black people around and having to deal with racism and then violence as a result is an experience many Black people end up going through. I love that the author became an activist at a young age.

a deep dive into the author's relationship with race and the punk scene. james spooner offers a ton of information about getting involved in punk and its deep and radical history. he also talks in depth about anti-black racism within the scene and his experiences with racism as a teenager.