A few months ago, when we talked to Larry Young, the frontman of San Francisco-based comic book publisher AIT/Planet Lar, he pointed to Matt Silady's then-pending book, "The Homeless Channel," as one he was excited about.
For good reason. The book's out. We read it. We quite enjoyed it. And now you can too -- we're giving away our review copy to a lucky SFist reader.
The story in a nutshell: Darcy Shaw, a TV producer, pitches a major broadcasting corporation a new idea for a 24-hour cable network focused on the homeless. She wants to see about leveraging a corporate-sponsored, for-profit business idea into something that can make a difference on the streets. The corporation gives her the go-ahead. A story that encompasses drama and subtlety and frustration and maybe just a touch of hope, all simultaneously on a character-level and a macro-level, ensues. The book has a beautiful juxtaposition of life on the street with that on the red carpet; with the difficulty of corporate sensibilities vs. charitable intentions and how they compromise each other.
We'll post an interview with Mr. Silady tomorrow, which should give us some further insight on the book. 'The Homeless Channel' is an original graphic novel measuring about 160 pages of B&W art, retailing for $12.95. You can get it at fine area shops, including Isotope in San Francisco and Comic Relief in Berkeley. Or just win our contest by filling out the following form; winner will be selected at random: