Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir

Mexikid is a memoir—a nonfiction, autobiographical narrative that recounts a limited period of time in the author’s own life. Mexikid focuses on author/illustrator Pedro Martín’s childhood memories of a family trip from Watsonville, California to Jalisco, Mexico and back. Like many stories aimed at young readers and featuring young protagonists, Mexikid is also a coming-of-age story. It shows how both the happy and sad moments in the Martín family’s trip impacted Pedro and caused him to become more mature.

Martín presents his memories in a graphic narrative format, using both text and sequential art to tell the story. This structure makes Mexikid accessible to young, early readers despite some of the abstract and emotionally challenging concepts that Martín’s story conveys. Martín uses the conventions of comic art to control the story’s pace and tone. The varying panel shapes and sizes, tier configurations, and art styles sometimes create a sense of rapid action that keeps the narrative moving. Other times, they slow the story down to capture the nuances of a moment and convey important concepts. The story’s humorous sequences are conveyed through energetic, cartoon-style art that uses bright colors, heavy lines, and sometimes chaotic frame composition, while its serious, more sensitive sequences are conveyed through a more washed-out palette and a more naturalistic style that makes use of delicate lines and simpler, more static compositions. Helpful exposition and mood cues are conveyed throughout the story via inset panels and captions that describe Pedro’s personality and attitudes clearly. The graphic narrative format of the memoir thus encourages both reader engagement and comprehension.