Running from the Devil

Publishers Weekly called Steve's Kissing memoir, which this graphic novel adapts, "bizarre...hilarious, sad, and fully absorbing."

When Steve Kissing, a typical kid living in Cincinnati, Ohio in the 1970s, began hallucinating in the fifth grade, he was certain that The Devil was waging war for his soul; that he was a victim of possession, just like that poor young girl in that scary movie. But instead of seeking help, Steve stayed silent--for five long years--for fear of being sent away for treatment. Or worse--he was afraid that if he spoke up, Satan would unleash the full force of his fury on him.

So Steve fought back as best he could, strengthening his mind, body, and spirit.

The same Catholic school upbringing that made Steve's impressionable young mind so susceptible to the idea that Satan was within him also gave him some of the inspiration he used to fight off his demons. He prayed like, well, a boy possessed, sometimes administering his own exorcisms with holy water and Wonder Bread. He also turned to long-distance running like an athlete preparing for the Olympics.

Steve's hallucinations are graphically depicted in all their full-color spectacle, each one stranger than the one before, each one leading Steve closer to the full-blown seizure that spelled the end of his vow of silence.

Along the way we meet Steve's friends and family, who are only slightly less remarkable than the hallucinations the plagued him--a grandpa who gargled with bleach, a father who ran backwards up steep hills, a mother who tested new hairstyles on her children, and an uncle who passed out pieces of bread instead of Halloween candy.

Steve traumas and triumphs are played out against the background of the 1970s, where Steve had memorable encounters with leisure suits, Afro perms, and TM. And those who survived Catholic school will recall their Confirmations, May Crowning, and the nuns who seemed too pure to be real.

Steve's story is a sometimes frightening and often humorous exploration of how religion, family, and fate can shape a child's worldview.

Steve Kissing is an award-winning copywriter who lives with his wife and two children in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Charles Santino, who adapted and packaged the graphic novel re-telling of Steve's story through his studio, Marshall Holt Entertainment, has previously adapted Ayn Rand's Anthem and Louis L'Amour's Law of the Desert Born; both books were the first graphic novel adaptations of those authors' works.

Jim Jimenez is a Philippines-based artist and musician who has worked on comics and animation.