Ghetto Klown

The graphic novel adaptation of John Leguizamo’s award-winning Broadway play—revised and expanded in paperback, with an all-new introduction by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Teaming up with Brooklyn-based artists and illustrators Christa Cassano and Shamus Beyale, Leguizamo shares his life story as a vibrant, funny graphic novel memoir. This revised and expanded edition includes cover art by Drew Friedman.

In Ghetto Klown, nominated for a 2016 Eisner Award for Best Adaptation, John Leguizamo lays bare his early years, discovering acting, and his career trajectory. He shares his childhood memories and the challenges of balancing life with old friends from his lower-income neighborhood in Queens while trying to maintain a professional persona.

He brings us onto the sets of TV series and major motion pictures opposite some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, such as Al Pacino, Patrick Swayze, and Steven Seagal, and with directors like Baz Lurhrman and Brian DePalma. And Leguizamo opens up about his loves and marriages, while addressing his recurring feelings of self-doubt and melancholy in a way that enlightens and still entertains.

Originally staged on Broadway in 2011, Ghetto Klown won Leguizamo the Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Outstanding Solo Performance. The show was later adapted into a highly rated HBO special in March 2014.