The Last Book I Read

Without question, the most purely entertaining book I've read in the last six months (at least) was Punk Rock and Trailer Parks by an artist who goes by the name of Derf. It's a graphic novel covering the adventures of one Otto "The Baron" Pizcok, a young man whose sense of self seems pretty well formed (by fantasy novels and films primarily) until he discovers punk rock, which really allows him to flower socially. Working first as a gopher in a club called "The Bank" in Akron (which was actually a real hotbed of cutting edge music back in the 70s), Otto meets some of the heroes of the genre like Stiv Bators, Wendy O. Williams and Joe Strummer, becomes a singer himself, and comes of age in an environment that proves to be surprisingly nourishing (given punk's reputation among non-believers). The book is funny and occasionally touching, and it really does a great job of perpetuating the myth of rock and roll's redemptive powers (and by myth, I don't mean to imply it's not true). I really hope Derf has a sequel in the works, because I'd really like to spend some more time with The Baron (and see how he might react to some of the greats of the following decade).