In the Hands of Boys
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| In the Hands of Boys | |
 The cover of In the Hands of Boys #1. Art by Melody Nadia Shickley. |
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| Publisher | Self-Published (Xeric Grant) |
|---|---|
| Format | limited series |
| Publication date | 2006-2007 |
| Number of issues | 2 |
| Main character(s) | Anna Novello |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Melody Nadia Shickley |
| Artist(s) | Melody Nadia Shickley |
| Creator(s) | Melody Nadia Shickley & Janet Tangirala |
In the Hands of Boys is a self-published two-issue comic book limited series, written and illustrated by Melody Nadia Shickley.
The story deals with the emotional impact of the Bosnian War on a young reporter and an orphaned boy. The book is notable as one of the recipients of a grant from the Xeric Foundation. The first issue was released in June 2006. The second is forthcoming.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The story opens with Anna Novella, a young woman, learning over the phone that her friend and confidant Lynn, a corespondent in Sarajevo, has been killed. While attending Lynn's funeral, Anna is approached by a lawyer and informed that her presence is required at the reading of Lynn's last will and testament.
Anna attends and receives a letter addressed to her from Lynn, informing her that Lynn has left her considerable fortune to Anna, but that Anna need use some of it to tend to the previously unmentioned illegitimate son Lynn had conceived after being raped in Sarajevo. Anna bursts into tears upon hearing this news.
Anna meets with Alan, implied to be Lynn's partner, at a coffee shop in order to make arrangements for bringing the boy into the U.S. After an uncomfortable conversation, during which Anna accuses Alan of not being there to protect Lynn, Alan reveals that he already has the boy in New York City.
Meeting the boy, Radojko, who ultimately proves withdrawn and stone-faced (at first accidentally identifying Anna as his mother), Anna attempts to communicate with him via a Serbo-Croatian translation program, but he proves unresponsive.
Anna attempts to enroll him in school, but is told she cannot until she can prove that she is his legal guardian, which she is unable to do until the U.S. State Department has made a "good faith" attempt to contact the boy's biological father, a man renowned for his brutal and misogynistic ways.
The story then flashes back to the initial rivalry and budding companionship between Anna and Lynn, and explains exactly Anna's actions led to Lynn fleeing for Sarajevo.
The story is ongoing.
[edit] Production
In the Hands of Boys is the first non-digital comic created by Melody Nadia Shickley. She was previously known for her work illustrating the online web-comic series Young Bottoms in Love. Based on a story told to her by her mother, Janet Tangirala, the book was original intended as Shickley's school thesis. Shickley went on to adapt her mother's story and illustrate the book. While working on the project, her professor suggested to her not to ink directly over her pencils. Deciding that she liked the resulting style, Shickley decided to use this sketch shading aesthetic for the entire book. [1]
The title is a reference to Wilfred Owen's poem Anthem for Doomed Youth--
"Not in the hands of boys but in their eyes, Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes."
It was Tangirala who found and suggested the title over the phone to her daughter, though Shickley only partially quoted the line. [2]
[edit] Time frame
In the Hands of Boys was heavily influenced by the wartime atmosphere that one of the main characters, Radjoko has grown up in. These wars occur in the area that was previously known as Yugoslavia during conflicts between the various states of Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia and Herzegovnia.
Throughout the first issue of the comic Anna, a friend of his mother and possibly new adoptive parent, is continually worried about the safety of Radojko especially when explaining to someone that “If we contact him(Radojko’s father) he may try to have Radojko killed in the U.S.” and not long after, “Maybe we could bring to the court’s attention that he’s(Radojko’s father) on the U.N. wanted list for war crimes! When the peacekeepers find him, we can ask him how he wants to take care of the dozens of children he sired in 1991 and 1992!” This makes a statement as to what state the country in which Radojko was born was in at the time of The Bosnian War. Radojko seems to have what has been speculated as excited/ scared reactions to pictures of violence published in magazines as shown in Issue 1 of In the Hands of Boys. He also seems to play “pretend” with imagined guns in the same issue.
It is as of yet unclear whether this is intended to be seen as an allusion to his history growing up in Bosnia during a politically tumultuous time or if it is meant to be a comment on the type of games that many boys participate in.
The wars in Yugoslavia again come into play in the comic when flashing back to Radojko’s mother, Lynn. She was a well off American student who had been offered a reporting assignment in Sarajevo. The story explains that during her time there, Lynn was raped for refusing to identify herself as either an American citizen or a journalist in an effort to be loyal to her friends. This resulted in the birth of Radojko.
Lynn later died in Sarajevo as well. Throughout issue 1, the characters refer to the constant danger that Lynn faced daily while she lived there. Though the exact nature of Lynn’s death has not yet been explained it is implied that this is due to wartime violence. This is believed especially because the dates in which the comic takes place (2001 - 2002) correspond with some of the aftermath of the The Bosnian War, taking place between 1992 and 1995.
