(You can click on each image/page for a larger view and read it in sequence from the top down.)
A few words before you begin:
This is an "autographics" text (a term used to describe a text that combines elements of textual and visual media to tell a sequential story see this essay by Gillian Whitlock if you are interested in learning more)
I have attempted to tell a story through "sequential art" which is a nice term to describe this kind of comic. As a form, sequential art can tell a multi-faceted story through the use of written text, illustration, panels/frames and gutter (negative) space. The deliberate placement of these elements on the page can control the rhythm of the narrative and the pacing of the story.
This specific story of mine is meant to challenge traditional ideas of biography and autobiography, while exploring the central thematic idea of an 'unreliable narrator.' This is an experiment in Life Narrative when the narrator can't be sure of the details...the reader must participate and draw their own conclusions of what they imagine the story to be.
The question is: How can you know a life? In old age and especially with memory loss, what can you hold on to show evidence of a life lived? Do you (can you?) look towards the face as a map and try to inform these lines with biographical/historical events?
A note on the artwork:
The text was hand-inked and all of the illustrations were drawn with a brush-tipped ink-pen. The components were then scanned, arranged in photoshop and additional shading details were 'painted' using brush and tablet. I then sequenced the pages, printed them out and hand-bound them in to a one-of-a-kind comic with a hand-embossed soft cotton paper cover to hand in as my final project for a class on (auto)biographical comics.
Please let me know if you like it!
Love,
Devon
