Book Review by Kevin Wolf I haven’t read Judith Viorst’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (September 2009, Atheneum Books) which is illustrated by Ray Cruz, so I don’t know if the book under review is also a spoof of Viorst’s work or only borrowing some of its title, but I’m ok with that; because, Kathleen Founds in Bipolar Bear and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Health Insurance: A Fable for Grownups is venting her own frustrations in an allegory about struggling with a chronic mental health issue (bipolar disorder) which is exacerbated… Read More
The Secret to Superhuman Strength
Guest Review by Edward Dorey Writers working in the field of graphic medicine often look at how comics portray sick people. For example, in the book Graphic Medicine Manifesto (Penn State University Press, 2015), MK Czerwiec, Ian Williams, Susan Merrill Squier, Michael J. Green, Kimberly Myers, and Scott T. Smith review many portrayals of illnesses, such as schizophrenia, congenital arthritis, cancer, and lupus, in different graphic novels. Through these analyses, Ian Williams’s goal of having those working in the field examine “the intersection of the medium of comics and the discourse of healthcare” has partially been fulfilled (qtd. in… Read More
What’s So Funny?
What’s So Funny? A Cartoonist’s Memoir is one long therapy session or twenty-six sessions (aka, chapters). It includes 107 drawn illustrations, mostly the author’s single panel cartoons from The New Yorker, and a few family photographs. I highly recommend this work for its honesty, portrayal of some inner working of this cartoonist, and serious and not-so-serious laughs.
The Con Artists
Book Review by Kevin Wolf Luke Healy plays many roles in The Con Artists. He is the creator (writer/artist), he appears-perhaps as himself—in the Prologue, Intermission, and Epilogue (kind of like Mister Rogers appearance before he put his sweater on and tied his shoes to enter the Land of Make-Believe—and with a disguise change (mustache, different glasses and shirt) becomes the main character, Frank, in this fictional graphic novel. One con artist, Giorgio, becomes clear relatively quickly, but how much of his actions are real and how much are a scam? With the plural book title, who might any… Read More
Bobby Baker Diary Drawings Mental Illness and Me
Guest Review by Katya Robin Bobby Baker is an artist who makes installations and does performances about women’s daily lives. She was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD; Endnote 1) in 1997. When she started going to a mental health day centre, diary drawing became a core element of her daily art practice and self-care. Her self-imposed daily drawing continued for the next eleven years, thereafter changing to weekly updates. Over this time, she included a series of more than 700 drawings. A selection of 158 photographs of these drawings were exhibited at The Wellcome Collection (Endnote 2) in 2009…. Read More
New Podcast Episode: Mom Milestones An Interview with Grace Farris
Alice Jaggers interviews Grace Farris on her new book, Mom Milestones: The True Story of the First Seven Years. The book takes the idea of baby milestones and turns it on its head making the focus the mother. Links: Mom Milestones: The True Story of the First Seven Years by Grace Farris Grace Farris on Instagram Graphic Medicine Conference This podcast episode was sponsored by:
Our Little Secret & Chartwell Manor
Book Review by Kevin Wolf Sometimes the best you can hope for is shedding some light in dark places by trying to bring the truth out. The graphic works discussed here are emotionally draining and might trigger very personal reactions related to childhood sexual trauma that the reader might want to avoid. Unfortunately, a lot of people have a tale of childhood sexual abuse that occurred close to home. According to the United States Center for Disease Control, though likely underestimates, about 25% of girls and 8% of boys experience sexual abuse in childhood; and 91% of the abuse… Read More
Bird Brain: Comics about Mental Health, Starring Pigeons
Guest Review by Kristina Bowers Bird Brain: Comics About Mental Health, Starring Pigeons, published in 2019, is illustrator and comic artist Chuck Mullin’s debut book. This collection of personal essays and short comics features pigeons and other birds as anthropomorphic stand-ins for Mullin and the people around her. The comics explore the author’s own experiences with anxiety and depression as well as communicate relatable experiences with mental health and socializing many of us encounter in our day-to-day lives. The World Health Organization estimates that 5% of the global adult population have depression, a great deal of whom face… Read More
Sweaty Palms: The Anthology about Anxiety
Author’s websites: Liz Enright (http://www.lizenright.com/illustrations); Sage Coffey (https://sagecoffey.com/); Denise Bentulan (https://www.dafont.com/denise-bentulan.d2156/) Guest Book Review by Katie Avila Sweaty Palms: The Anthology About Anxiety was developed and co-edited by Liz Enright and Sage Coffey with two things in mind: “to start a positive conversation about mental health” and “to create a safe space for artists to express themselves.” To accomplish this, they assembled over 50 comic artists to share their experiences with anxiety and related mental health issues, with Enright and Coffey contributing their own comics as well. After a successful Kickstarter campaign for the book, the anthology was independently… Read More
Psychology: The Comic Book Introduction
Guest Book Review by Lorraine Chun If you are looking for a primer or refresher on psychology, this book presents many concepts in a fun and comprehensive format. The authors present the five concepts in psychology with amusing illustrations and explanations. The book is broken down into three parts. The first is “Making Sense of the World” and covers perception, learning, memory, and thinking. The second is labelled “Making Sense of Ourselves” which covers metacognition, emotion, motivation, and stress and how it effects our health. The last part covers “Making Sense of Each Other” which reviews language, personality, social… Read More
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