Home After Dark (2018) is David Small’s haunting graphic novel follow-up to Stitches, offering a stark coming-of-age story set in 1950s California. Through expressive, minimalist black-and-white illustrations, Small captures the emotional isolation of 13-year-old Russell Pruit, a boy abandoned by his mother and then gradually by his troubled, alcoholic father. In the bleak town of Marshfield, Russell faces bullying, toxic masculinity, homophobia, and moral ambiguity. His betrayal of the only boy who showed him kindness leads to tragedy, and though the novel ends without resolution, it leaves a faint glimmer of redemption through the compassion of others and the idea of second chances.
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