The High Desert: Black. Punk. Nowhere.

Winner of a 2022 ALA Alex Award

Winner of the 2023 Cartoonist Studio Prize for Print Comics

One of The Washington Post's 10 Best Graphic Novels of the Year * One of NYPL's Best Books of the Year * A Publishers Weekly "Best Book of the Year"

A formative coming-of-age graphic memoir by the creator of Afro-punk: a young man's immersive reckoning with identity, racism, clumsy teen love and belonging in an isolated California desert, and a search for salvation and community through punk.

Apple Valley, California, in the late eighties, a thirsty, miserable desert.

Teenage James Spooner hates that he and his mom are back in town after years away. The one silver lining--new school, new you, right? But the few Black kids at school seem to be gangbanging, and the other kids fall on a spectrum of micro-aggressors to future Neo-Nazis. Mixed race, acutely aware of his Blackness, James doesn't know where he fits until he meets Ty, a young Black punk who introduces him to the school outsiders--skaters, unhappy young rebels, caught up in the punk groundswell sweeping the country.

A haircut, a few Sex Pistols, Misfits and Black Flag records later: suddenly, James has friends, romantic prospects, and knows the difference between a bass and a guitar. But this desolate landscape hides brutal, building undercurrents: a classmate overdoses, a friend must prove himself to his white supremacist brother and the local Aryan brotherhood through a show of violence. Everything and everyone are set to collide at one of the year's biggest shows in town...

Weaving in the Black roots of punk rock and a vivid interlude in the thriving eighties DIY scene in New York's East Village, this is a powerful memoir about identity from a budding punk, artist, and activist.

Spooner's journey is a raw look at the forces that shape us--and the music that saves us.

• Coming-of-Age Story: Follow a young James Spooner as he navigates clumsy teen love, clashes with authority, and searches for belonging in an isolated desert town.
• Afro-Punk Origins: Discover the formative experiences of the man who would go on to create the seminal Afro-punk movement, weaving together Black culture and punk rebellion.
• An Unflinching Look at Racism: From casual micro-aggressions to violent threats from a local Aryan brotherhood, this memoir confronts the brutal reality of being Black in a white-dominated scene.
• 80s Punk Rock Scene: Immerse yourself in the world of the Sex Pistols, Misfits, and Black Flag, from the desolate landscape of Apple Valley to the thriving DIY scene of New York's East Village.