"This might be the best story about childhood that I've ever read (or heard). It's a masterpiece." - Chester Brown
Dave Lapp's new memoir unpacks a long, hazy 1970s summer and reveals that when we look beyond nostalgia, childhood is complicated - and rarely innocent.
Dave's on the verge of summer vacation and change is on the horizon. Developers have begun digging up a field on the edges of Dave's universally familiar small town, presenting endless nooks and crannies for Dave and his fearless friend Edward to explore.
Over the course of the summer, while the town's adults remain focused on their fractured marriages and neighbourly resentments, the children are allowed to run wild in the field, collecting caterpillars and tadpoles, catching field mice (which they smuggle home), and nursing a curious fascination with Dave's mother's matches and their potential for disaster.
As the summer meanders on, Edward brings a new friend into the circle. But John's got a mean streak that's strong enough to flip Dave's world–and his place in it - upside down.
In The Field, Ignatz-nominated creator Dave Lapp examines a time when kids stayed out until the streetlights came on - and exposes the dangers, foibles, and wildness of childhood in the 1970s.

Dave Lapp’s first book Drop-in was nominated for a Doug Wright Award and an Ignatz Award. He is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and the University of Western Ontario. He has been teaching art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Avenue Road Arts School, and Regent Park for over ten years. As an extension of his work with underpriveleged kids in Regent Park, Lapp began the Jet Fuel Coffee Shop art show. Lapp co-produced the Toronto comics anthology Don’t Touch Me from 2002-2007. His work can currently be seen in Taddle Creek magazine, and the Annex Gleaner. Lapp, his partner, and her son currently reside near Toronto’s Wellsley village.

Dave Lapp's profile page

"This might be the best story about childhood that I've ever read (or heard). It's a masterpiece." - Chester Brown
"Lapp succeeds in providing a memorable perspective on the wonder, cruelty, confusion, misery, and joy of a childhood spent largely independently." - Kirkus
"Vignettes from the unsupervised fringes of a 1970s Ontario suburb comprise this wistful graphic memoir from Lapp...an exceptional achievement." - Publishers Weekly