Happiness Will Follow in Mike Hawthorne’s New Graphic Memoir From BOOM! Studios

BOOM! Studios is proud to announce a brand new graphic novel HAPPINESS WILL FOLLOW from Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated cartoonist Mike Hawthorne (Deadpool, Superior Spider-Man) as he tells the true and tragic story of enduring abuse and discovering a love of art that helped him to build the home he never had in this graphic memoir about family, survival, and what it means to be Puerto Rican in America.

Mike Hawthorne's mother, Blanca Otero, was a proud though atypical Puerto Rican woman from Santurce, San Juan who moved to the mainland, where she became a single mother and struggled to raise her son alone in New York City, a place that tormented them both with its unforgiving nature. But when Mike falls victim to a death curse—a haunting sign of the old country that his mother could never truly escape—she begins a series of events that drive him away from her both physically and emotionally, leaving him to grapple with his complicated relationships with his mother, identity, and heritage.

Mike Hawthorne is an Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated cartoonist and illustrator best known for his record-setting run of Deadpool and his more current work on Spider-man. In addition to his comic work, Hawthorne has served as a story artist and illustrator for Fox, Illumination, Epic Games, as well as Marvel Entertainment, where he did concept work for the upcoming Moon Knight and Hitmonkey shows.

“Many will know me from my work on Spider-man and Deadpool but with HAPPINESS WILL FOLLOW, I'm digging deeper into my personal history than I ever have in my career,” said cartoonist Mike Hawthorne. “While HAPPINESS WILL FOLLOW may seem like a straightforward memoir, I believe it truly serves as an illustration of what it means to be Puerto Rican in the United States. What it means to have a nationality with no real nation. I hope you'll be onboard with me."

HAPPINESS WILL FOLLOW is the latest release from BOOM! Studios’ ambitious Archaia imprint, home to graphic novels such as Mouse Guard by David Petersen; New World by David Jesus Vignolli; Jane by Aline Brosh McKenna and Ramón Pérez; About Betty’s Boob by Vero Cazot and Julie Rocheleau; Bolivar by Sean Rubin; and licensed series including Lev Grossman’s The Magicians: Alice’s Story by Lilah Sturges and Pius Bak; Jim Henson’s The Power of the Dark Crystal and Jim Henson’s Labyrinth: Coronation.

“Mike has an incredible gift for illustration and storytelling, and it’s even more deeply moving when he turns that gift to sharing the story of his childhood and how his relationship with his mother shaped his entire life, even to this day,” said Sierra Hahn, Executive Editor, BOOM! Studios. “HAPPINESS WILL FOLLOW is a singular memoir about complicated relationships with your family, culture, and identity and we’re very proud to be a part of bringing this graphic novel to life.”

Print copies of HAPPINESS WILL FOLLOW will be available in May 2020 at your local comic shop.

For continuing news on HAPPINESS WILL FOLLOW and more from BOOM!, stay tuned to www.boom-studios.com and follow @boomstudios on Twitter.