Home » Santa Clarita News » Arts and Entertainment » Award-Winning Antelope Valley Cartoonist Announces Debut Graphic Novel
Joshua Kemble

Award-Winning Antelope Valley Cartoonist Announces Debut Graphic Novel

Joshua Kemble, an illustrator and comic book writer from the Antelope Valley, has announced his debut graphic novel “Two Stories: Book One”, now available for order.

The novel is a memoir, which covers Kemble’s descent into a mental health crisis as an adult after painful experiences attending a Christian school as a child, and is available for order on Amazon in ebook and printed format.

Two Stories Cover

Courtesy of Joshua Kemble

“People who suffer from mental illness often feel alone and frustrated because people, especially those in faith communities, rarely share their experiences with subjects like suicide, panic disorder, and caregiving in relationships,” explained Kemble. “If we are dishonest about what that fight looks like, we do a disservice to the many people in our communities who are suffering and don’t speak of these things for fear of social shaming.”

Kemble wrote the novel with the hope of helping readers through their own mental health struggles by discussing his own.

“It’s a pretty candid memoir that deals with me losing my faith and having mental health struggles and experiencing severe depression,” said Kemble. “I’m a Christian, and a lot of Christians do not talk about their struggles prior to finding faith…I felt a need to voice what that struggle is really like for people.”

The book is an autobiographical narrative, with the first book going over Kemble’s loss of faith. The novel shifts between the author’s childhood experiences with isolation and his adult experiences with deep depression and struggles caregiving for his wife as she went through mental health battles of her own.

Chris Ware, Will Eisner, Winsor McCay, Craig Thompson, Adrian Tomine, Daniel Clowes, Robert Crumb and Art Spiegelman are among the illustrator’s inspirations in comics.

In particular, Kemble says the autobiographical American Splendor comics by Harvey Pekar are “incredibly moving,” saying Pekar’s candid portrayal of his own flaws inspired him as he wrote “Two Stories”.

For the artist, writing about his past experiences was not easy.

“The whole thing has been really uncomfortable to write,” said Kemble.

However, the result has been cathartic in a way, he added, “There is a beauty to making art out of a hard experience.”

The overall arc of the two books, the second of which is not yet published, chronicles how Kemble was able to push through his low point and regain his faith.

“Two Stories” is especially pertinent during the coronavirus pandemic as isolation and uncertainty become more common amongst people, added the writer.

“Human beings tend to start overthinking when they are isolated,” said Kemble. “Overthinking can be the origin of a lot of mental health issues.”

By sharing his mental health struggles, the illustrator hopes to help others feel less isolated and alone. He also hopes to provide them with coping strategies and hope for the future.

“I found that people speaking openly provides relief,” commented Kemble. “I hope readers will get encouragement from someone speaking openly about what life is like.”


Sponsored Articles


Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or send an email to newstip@hometownstation.com. Don’t miss a thing. Get breaking KHTS Santa Clarita News Alerts delivered right to your inbox. Report a typo or error, email Corrections@hometownstation.com

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

KHTS AM 1220 & FM 98.1 - Santa Clarita Radio - Santa Clarita News

Award-Winning Antelope Valley Cartoonist Announces Debut Graphic Novel

One comment

  1. Interesting and a great article, local writers have done well with personal improvement and the city of Lancaster is an interesting place to study and address mental illness. Cheers Joshua!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About Zena Taher

Zena Taher moved to Santa Clarita when she was 12 years old. She has always been a voracious reader, which led her to take an interest in writing professionally. She graduated College of the Canyons in 2021 with a double major in journalism and communications and is currently attending California State University Northridge.