Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth

Jimmy Corrigan is working at his nondescript cubicle job in Chicago. He has stringy hair. He's in love with the mailroom girl. He calls his mother at least once a day. He's sad. 

He opens his mail and finds a letter and a plane ticket from a father he has never met. He's invited to come meet him in Michigan for Thanksgiving. Jimmy squeezes his stuffed animal. He goes to the vending machine to think things over. He blows his nose.

When he returns, he finds a note on his desk. "I sat across from you for six months and you never once noticed me! Goodbye." Jimmy looks out the window. He sees his favorite costumed hero, The Super-Man, standing on the ledge of a tall skyscraper. The Super-Man sees Jimmy and waves. Jimmy smiles and waves back. The Super-Man prepares to take flight. He jumps. And then he falls. Eight stories to the pavement. The Super-Man is dead.

Thus, the story of Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth begins. It's a story about fathers who were never there. It's about the loneliest kind of loneliness, and what kind of imagination it takes to fill that void. It's about Chicago, both now and in 1893. 

Jimmy Corrigan is beautiful. Please read it. I'm serious. If you feel like being moved, go find this book. It's waiting for you.