Noah Van Sciver’s new graphic memoir, Maple Terrace, returns to the chaotic household of his 2018 autobiography One Dirty Tree, adding a broadly humorous perspective on growing up in a large (nine siblings), impoverished Mormon family living in a dilapidated, roach-infested house in 1990s New Jersey. In the new book, goofy eight-year-old Noah, harassed at home and at school, is relentlessly bullied and mocked by older siblings when he isn’t being physically threatened and socially tormented by dismissive classmates. Although too poor to buy his own, comic books—especially 1990s superhero hits like Spawn and WildCats—are Noah's refuge, even if he has to sneak (or steal!) them away from his brothers, risking a serious butt-kicking if they find him raiding their precious comics collections. In this 13-page excerpt, Noah, on a high after praise from his art teacher, is warned that his personal supervillain—a notorious schoolyard bully—has accused him of stealing a hidden cache of popular comic books. Maple Terrace by Noah Van Sciver is out now from Uncivilized Books.