The Graphic Medicine International Collective (GMIC) is thrilled to announce the shortlist for the inaugural Graphic Medicine International Collective (GMIC) Award for the outstanding health-related comic project completed and/or published in 2021. This award is made possible by a generous matching gift in Honor of Nancy and Herbert Wolf, and is intended to honor and carry on their legacy of service and care. You can read more about Nancy and Herbert here.
The entries were wide-ranging in form, length, geographical origin, and topic, but they had one thing in common: they revealed deep engagement with highly meaningful subjects. The GMIC Board is moved by the care and trust their creators showed in submitting work for this award, and we honor all of the creators.
We are now able to share with you the ten comics that have been selected for the shortlist for the GMIC Award. As Brian Fies, creator of Mom’s Cancer and one of the GMIC selectors of the shortlist observed, “I thought it was a good, thoughtful process, resulting in a shortlist that shows a breadth of subject matter and approach. I’d show these comics to anyone and say, ‘THIS is graphic medicine.’ Proud to be part of it and stand behind it.”
The board of the Graphic Medicine International Collective enthusiastically agrees and is thrilled to share the 2022 GMIC Award Shortlist with you now.
The Most Costly Journey: Stories of Migrant Farmworkers in Vermont Drawn by New England Cartoonists
Marek Bennett, Andy Kolovos, Teresa Mares & Julie Doucet, editors
Anthology of stories of Vermont migrant farm workers from Central and South America–drawn by students and faculty from the Center for Cartoon Studies–connecting the global labor flows of food production to mental health, social/family health, asylum, domestic abuse, substance abuse, reproductive rights, and access to healthcare of these essential workers.
Resistance
Val McDermid & Kathryn Briggs
Fictional tale of a worldwide pandemic of an antibiotic-resistant bacteria, spread from a factory farm, with personal and governmental responses to the unfolding healthcare crisis.
Parenthesis
Élodie Durand
A memoir (translated from French by Edward Gauvin) about the psychological, emotional, and physical impact of a brain tumor (astrocytoma), epilepsy, amnesia, cerebral edema, and their treatments.
Rat
Angela He
A metaphorical personal tale of the author’s eating disorders, gender and body dysphoria, and queer mental health.
Two Week Wait: An IVF Story
Luke & Kelly Jackson, Mara Wild
A fictionalized story–based on the authors’ life experience–about in vitro fertilization (IVF) “is as much a medical text as it is a depiction of the emotional, corporeal and financial vicissitudes in … descriptions of assisted reproductive technologies.” (source)
The CL Psychiatrist
A United States-centric historically, legally, and medically detailed comic book about psychiatric consultation-laison (CL), ethics, and the decisional capacity of patients that includes racism embedded in psychiatry.
“Dailies Of A Junior Doc”
Alaa Saeed
Personal chronicle of a young junior doctor in one of Sudan’s largest pediatric hospitals “where work is a chaotic jungle, resources are very limited, and everyone expects her to know how to manage things on her own.” (web description)
SENSORY: Life on the Spectrum: An Autistic Comics Anthology
Rebecca Ollerton, editor
An anthology about autism with each diverse cartoonist providing their own story.
Coma
Zara Slattery
A memoir told from two perspectives: the author’s dream-state-phantasms while in a coma; and her spouse’s diary of her hospitalization, near death, and the effect on family and community. Medical issues beyond the coma include diagnosing infectious illness, sepsis, and necrotising fasciitis.
The Golden Hour
Niki Smith
Middle grade graphic novel revolving around a school shooting and subsequent mental health, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), peer support, anxiety, photography, and daily life.
The winner of the GMIC 2022 Graphic Medicine Award will be chosen by a panel of judges and announced at the closing of the Graphic Medicine conference in Chicago July 16. We will live-stream the announcement. You can find details about that stream and more information about our conference here.
Wow thank you for bringing these amazing books to light! Looking forward to eventually seeing and learning from all of them!
I would read every single one of these.
I can’t find rat online anywhere. Can anyone help?
Same ^^^
It’s not published yet, apparently.
A most excellent slate of finalists … who won?
Was just working on that post.. check the site now!