Who's the Scatman?

Who is John Larkin? A stuttering jazz pianist with a drinking problem who hides behind the piano to avoid having to speak. He keeps his head above water with gigs in bars and clubs, the fee is often only enough for the necessary booze. One song runs through his life in more ways than one: "Leave your worries on the doorstep just direct your feet to the sunny side of the street", by Dorothy Fields and Jimmy McHugh. At an AA meeting he meets and falls in love with Judy McHugh, Jimmy's daughter. Judy encourages him to go to Europe, his "sunny side of the street". At the age of 45, Larkin accepts his problem as a challenge, turns stuttering into a profession and realises: disability is in truth a gift. He becomes a "Scatman" - Ski-Bi-Dibby-Dib-Yo-Da-Dub-Dub! Everybody stutters one way or the other, so check out my message to you! "I've just discovered an amazing artist!" posts a certain Jeff at the end of the comic. We join in! Writer and illustrator Jeff Chi, who describes himself as a friend of straightforward implementations without a lot of frills and spectacle, has created a worthy monument to John Larkin with his graphic novel debut.