Color Me Narcissist

This is the graphic novelization of "The Have-Not Nines" and the first part of the "Color Me Narcissist" storylines. The main protagonist running throughout the narrative is a young man named Verges. We are first introduced to him as he sits in his solitary cell after tattooing himself with makeshift tools he has found throughout his prison and contacts there. His own "story" is then seen through the perspectives of other characters with whom Verges interacts - his foster-father, his orphan "sisters", and even a somewhat devious and maniacal inmate whose life-story shares many commonalities with the overarching plot of the novel. Through these micro-interactions, we view the characters as (often small) parts which comprise the entire premise of the novel - that of the remaining antagonisms inherent to the Old vs. New World ideologies and perspectives. Verges is a "child of two worlds" - having experience with both a nomadic lifestyle as a "street rat" orphan and as one of the fortunate youths who have been "reclaimed" by polite society into an educated world of progress. Some familiar faces - along with new ones - gather in an attempt to find any means of procuring Verges' release from prison. However, the ulterior motives of those who seem to want to help overwhelm the protagonist to the point of Verges choosing exile rather than compliance. Again, this goes against the "status quo" of "what is expected" - and compromises the relationships Verges seeks. The drastic measures, then, of those who earnestly desire to help Verges attain his freedom - come at a great personal cost, resulting in the "formation" of a new generation and its protagonist - who we will meet in the next iteration of the mythic storyline.