Beginning his entertainment career at age five on Sesame Street, Percy Carey has lived an extraordinary life. Hes better known as rapper M.F. Grimm, whose most recent album is the groundbreaking three-CD set American Hunger on his own label, Day By Day Entertainment. With his autobiographical graphic novel Sentences: The Life of M.F. Grimm (Vertigo/DC), Carey adds comic book writer to his resume. "I never thought about telling my story until [editor] Casey Seijas brought it up, Carey says. "Being that it's my life, I didn't see it as relevant or newsworthy.
This tale begins on that fateful day on Sesame Street when a young Percy Carey first discovers the disappointing truth: entertainment is illusion! From there, it follows his aspirations to become a rapper and extricate himself from his on-again/off-again life of crime, which eventually leaves him paralyzed and incarcerated. His struggles are perfectly captured in bold black and white by artist Ronald Wimberly (Swamp Thing, Lucifer). "[It's] not just his style, says Carey, "but he's familiar with my work, he's dedicated to hip-hop, and he already knew my story, too.
And Carey's story often so bleak is also uplifting. His dreams do come true, both in the graphic novel and in real life. He has plans to write for film, do more work with DC/Vertigo, and one day write for his "favourite all-time comic, The Incredible Hulk. And that's just the beginning: "Before Mr. Seijas at Vertigo, I couldn't see tomorrow. Now I can see 30 years down the road. I know what I should be doing. It opened up a whole new door for me. Read more with Carey at exclaim.ca .
This tale begins on that fateful day on Sesame Street when a young Percy Carey first discovers the disappointing truth: entertainment is illusion! From there, it follows his aspirations to become a rapper and extricate himself from his on-again/off-again life of crime, which eventually leaves him paralyzed and incarcerated. His struggles are perfectly captured in bold black and white by artist Ronald Wimberly (Swamp Thing, Lucifer). "[It's] not just his style, says Carey, "but he's familiar with my work, he's dedicated to hip-hop, and he already knew my story, too.
And Carey's story often so bleak is also uplifting. His dreams do come true, both in the graphic novel and in real life. He has plans to write for film, do more work with DC/Vertigo, and one day write for his "favourite all-time comic, The Incredible Hulk. And that's just the beginning: "Before Mr. Seijas at Vertigo, I couldn't see tomorrow. Now I can see 30 years down the road. I know what I should be doing. It opened up a whole new door for me. Read more with Carey at exclaim.ca .