FALMOUTH, Maine — When Rick Parker turned 18 in 1966, he was shy and introverted—a tall, skinny boy who loved to draw—and was not the least bit worldly.
The Vietnam War was escalating, and young men were being drafted in growing numbers. Parker, enrolled at a junior college near his home in Savannah, Georgia, flunked out because his grades in math were dismal.
Yet even after losing his academic deferment, he still didn’t think he was likely to be drafted, believing in his less than clear-eyed way that his mother would protect him from compulsory military service.
"She was going to save me," he recalled thinking.
The U.S. Army had other plans, and Parker soon found himself in basic training.
"I had always wanted to have friends," he wrote of that time. "And here were a bunch of guys my own age—and a few a couple of years older—who, whether they liked it or not, were now stuck with me."
So begins "Drafted," a graphic novel memoir Parker wrote and illustrated about his years in the Army. Parts of it are surprisingly emotional, as Parker confronts the deaths of comrades who, like him, have barely begun to shave.
Other parts nicely capture some of the absurdity of military life. Not far into his service, Parker entered Officer Candidate School, which wasn’t a natural fit.
"I don’t like to tell people what to do," he said. "And I don’t like people telling me what to do."
Now in his seventies, Parker has lived for many years in Falmouth. Since leaving the Army he has worked as a professional artist, but "Drafted" is only the second long work that he has also written, and he’s very proud of it.
"I love my fine artwork, but that’s not who I am anymore," he said. "I’m more of a storyteller. I’m a storyteller who likes to draw."