Kids Comics Pitchfest Showcase

Clutch!

When he's not fighting with his sister, eight-year-old Jeff spends his days fantasizing that he’s a race car driver in the legendary Indy 500. After an encounter with an angry muskrat, Jeff is rushed to the hospital where he is suddenly confronted with his own mortality. Will an active imagination, driving coach Jackie Stewart, and a new relationship with his sister help Jeff survive a pack of rabid rodents bent on his destruction?

Clutch is a funny, and occasionally true, middle grade graphic memoir. Reminiscent in story to Raina Telgemeier’s Smile, and in tone to Kat Leyh’s Snapdragon, it will appeal to readers that enjoy adventure, humor and a sense of the absurd.

My Why:

Clutch started with a prompt from Raina Telgemeier: Write down a funny memory that you like to share over and over. “Well… there was that time I was bitten by a muskrat, thought I was gonna die, and got eight needles in my stomach…”

The premise seemed unique enough, but what was the story really about, and why write it into a book? I thought: I’ve read books that help kids deal with the death of loved ones, but I’m not sure I’ve read any that talk about a kid’s first recognition of his own mortality, and how that might effect his life thereafter. Can I write that story, and make it funny and adventurous, and more entertaining than didactic? That’s the challenge I set out with. And it’s been fun, so I continue.