Next summer, acclaimed cartoonist Mike Hawthorne (Deadpool, Superior Spider-Man) will tell a different kind of story: an autobiographical one. Hawthorne’s graphic memoir, Happiness Will Follow, debuts via BOOM! Studios’ Archaia imprint in July, and today, The Beat can reveal an exclusive first look at this heart-wrenching book.

Here is the full synopsis:

Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated artist Mike Hawthorne presents a true and tragic graphic novel memoir about family, abuse, 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.

Originally slated for release through DC’s shuttered Vertigo imprint, Archaia announced the publication of Happiness Will Follow in September.

“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,” Hawthorne said in a statement at the time. “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.”

“Muchos me conocerán por mi trabajo en Spider-Man y Deadpool, pero con Happiness Will Follow estaré relatando mi vida a una profundidad nunca antes vista en mi carrera,” Hawthorne dijo en un comunicado. “Happiness Will Follow parecerá una autobiografía, pero creo que servirá más como una representación de lo que significa ser puertorriqueño aquí en los Estados Unidos. Lo que significa tener una nacionalidad, sin una nación real.”

Happiness Will Follow hits shelves July 15, 2020 at follow Mike Hawthorne on Twitter and July 21, 2020 at your local bookstore. See four interior pages below and visit boom-studios.com for more info. You can also follow Mike Hawthorne on Twitter.

Happiness Will Follow Happiness Will Follow Happiness Will Follow Happiness Will Follow