Rediscovering comics as a medium
I hadn't read a comic book since I was a kid until three years ago. Growing up, comic books were never my favorite medium. Don't get me wrong: there are some great Polish comics out there, such as Tytus, Romek i A'Tomek or Jeż Jerzy. However, those to which I was exposed largely dealt with superheroes and villains, which led me to believe that comics were primarily a boy's medium.
However, science communication has always been a passion of mine. As a result, I attended an interesting presentation at the 2019 APHA meeting in Philadelphia. Sarah Levin-Lederer from the National Network of Libraries of Medicine-New England Region spoke about graphic medicine and how it can be used to enhance health literacy and patient advocacy during a Special Session on Communicating Science to Lay Audiences. That's how I first realized comics and public health could work well together.
Thi Bui's The Best We Could Do has been one of the most impactful graphic novels I've read since then. I remember thinking after reading it that graphic novels are excellent tools to discuss difficult subjects, in this case war, growing up in a refugee camp, and adjusting to life in a foreign country. Also useful when you only have snippets of information, as in the case of many family stories.
After finishing the novel, I felt compelled to tell a story using the same medium and to talk about my family's story. Around the same time, I found Barbara Slate's You Can Do a Graphic Novel on my library's book sale shelf. Reading this simply, almost Paint-like illustrated guide made me realize that telling a story is more important than being a good artist. I couldn't get anything down on paper because I was convinced I couldn't draw well enough.
Yesterday, I came across the work of Sarah Mirk. In this interview, she discussed her work on the book Guantanamo Voices and how creating a graphic novel about the prison contradicted the government's official narrative about the facility. I've immediately ordered a copy and can't wait to read it. The interview introduced me to a new concept of comics journalism that I was unfamiliar with but found fascinating thanks to the subjectivity inherent in the genre, as opposed to traditional journalism. I also enjoyed listening to how Sarah approaches the process of drawing a story in general: taking reference photos, outlining them in Procreate, and then adding her original touches, which is similar to how I draw.
This journey of exploring graphic novels as a medium for telling important stories is really inspiring, also to create in a similarly bold and vulnerable way. I’m excited to see where it takes me, in the field of global health and beyond.
