by Rachel Kurtz In her graphic memoir Shrink: Story of a Fat Girl, Rachel Thomas vividly illustrates her experiences as a self-identified “fat” woman and situates her story in a compelling historical cultural context. Together these perspectives challenge a range of stereotypes about women who are defined by medicine and society as “overweight” or “obese.” Through Thomas’s story, we see her struggles in both social and in medical contexts. Being labeled as “obese” causes her to feel badly about herself and go on an extreme diet and exercise regimen. Perceptions about her size also interfere with getting adequate medical… Read More
The Amazing Captain Fit
On April 17, 2015, Librarians Talicia Tarver and Deidra Woodson, along with LSU-Shreveport art student, Nick Fechter, launched the web version of their comic book, The Amazing Captain Fit to the healthelinks website. Funded through a National Network of Libraries of Medicine South Central Region (NNLM SCR) Health Information Literacy Award, the comic follows the adventures of a young boy who aspires to be just like his favorite superhero, Captain Fit. However, the boy must first complete a series of tasks to make sure he is himself healthy and ready to help Captain Fit. This project was the result of a partnership between… Read More
Chunky and the O-Beast
Guest review and response illustration by Northwestern medical student Victoria Wu Chunky and The O-Beast is a delightfully relatable children’s tale of a young African-American boy named Chunky and his terror at learning that he is becoming the “O-Beast”. Chunky is your average, fun loving boy who enjoys eating oatmeal cookies with his friends and playing kickball with the other boys at the park. He also has a family that loves him very much and cares about his health enough to notice his increasing weight gain. One day, Chunky is taken to the dreaded doctor’s office, and learns that he… Read More
The House That Groaned
Awaiting GM review Karrie’s talk at Comics and Medicine: Visualising the Stigma of Illness Amazon blurb: “141 Rottin Road ‘A cosy, one-bedroom apartment on the first floor of a charming Victorian conversion. Newly decorated and with a separate kitchen and reception room. Located just a bus ride away from a wide range of shops, restaurants and bars.’ Welcome to The House that Groaned and the six lonely inhabitants of its separate flats, characters so at odds with themselves and their bodies that they could only have stepped out of the pages of a comic novel. There’s Barbara, our make-up artist heroine and… Read More
Fat Monologue
This large image (on a pdf file) is a one page comic where the panels spiral across the background image. Its about what being fat makes you feel like and think. I don’t need to explain it any more, go and look at it, it’s good!