Graphic Medicine

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to itsknees. When we weren't sheltering in place, we were advised to wear masks, washour hands, and practice social distancing. We watched in horror as medicalpersonnel worked around the clock to care for the sick and dying. Businesseswere shuttered, travel stopped, workers were furloughed, and markets dropped.And people continued to die. Amid all thisuncertainty, writers and artists from around the world continued to createcomics, commenting directly on how individuals, societies, governments, andmarkets reacted to the worldwide crisis. COVID Chronicles: A Comics Anthologycollects more than sixty such short comics from a diverse set of creators,including indie powerhouses, mainstream artists, Ignatz and Eisner Awardwinners, and media cartoonists. In narrative styles ranging from realistic tofantastic, they tell stories about adjusting to working from home, homeschoolingtheir kids, missing birthdays and weddings, and being afraid just to leave thehouse. They probe the failures of government leaders and the social safety net.They dig into the racial bias and systemic inequities that this pandemic helpedbring to light. We see what it's like to get the virus and live to tell aboutit, or to stand by helplessly as a loved onepasses. At times heartbreaking and at othershopeful and humorous, these comics express the anger, anxiety, fear, andbewilderment we feel in the era of COVID-19. Above all, they highlight the powerof art and community to help us make sense of a world in crisis, reminding usthat we are truly all in this together. The comicsin this collection have been generously donated by their creators. A portion ofthe the proceeds from the sale of this volume are being donated by the publisherto the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc) in support of comics shops,bookstores, and their employees who have been adversely affected by thepandemic.

Living & Dying in America includes many lovingly drawn portraits of those who died in the pandemic and of those who displayed extraordinary strength, decency, courage, and endurance. But Brodner does not ignore those who perpetuated the pandemic in word or deed: he also etches in acid caricature those public servants and private entrepreneurs who preyed upon the public, spread lies, and aided the virus' spread through their ignorance, incompetence, and malfeasance. Released via social media, the drawings range from quick, expertly realized sketches to elaborate paintings to carefully rendered mixed media, depending on how much time and stamina and inspiration he had left at the end of the day. Each spontaneously drawn or painted image is accompanied by a brief biography of those who died, or a short summary of the person's conduct or the event depicted. Taken as a whole, Living & Dying in America is a chronicle of those who died and those who honorably served the living -- as well as an indictment of those institutions and political figures who betrayed the public trust. It is a searing and essential moral document, written and drawn on a daily basis with feverish intensity by one of the great forces of American cartooning.

My First Pandemic is a collection of drawings, thoughts, poems, comics, anger, happiness, life, and death from a difficult period in our history.   Over the last two years, between crises and quarantines, Jamison has had time. Time to reflect, to page through old books of poetry, to draw hundreds of rabbit people (for some reason).   The loss of a stepfather, followed by the loss of a good friend, gives cause to contemplate one's own mortality. It's strange how the thoughts of 19th century poets can echo our own. What will we leave behind when our time comes? Sadness, sure, but also wee, silly drawings in honest-to-goodness paper and ink.

Marcus Johnson has just been named star quarterback for the Marina High School Pirates. Former quarterback Brad Timmerman will do anything to depose this new rival and regain his position and popularity--including setting up Marcus with Maria Cruz, who is HIV positive. As secrets are exposed, this encounter will shake the halls of Marina High and change the lives of these students forever. AIDS in the End Zone approaches HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention through a compelling narrative with high school drama, the dangers of high-risk behaviours, and the benefits of public health resources. The graphic novella is the result of an innovative collaboration between editors Kendra S. Albright and Karen W. Gavigan, illustrator Sarah Petrulis, and the authors--students at the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice (SCDJJ).  Albright and Gavigan began this project in response to research indicating that the graphic novel format is a highly successful educational tool for motivating young adults to read. They chose HIV/AIDS as their topic because South Carolina ranks eighth in the nation for new HIV cases, while the capital city of Columbia ranks sixth nationally among metropolitan areas. By working with teen students at the SCDJJ, Albright and Gavigan were able to develop characters, a storyline, setting, and dialog as a collaborative project--engaging the students in the public health subject matter as well as in the creative process. This project was funded in part by a grant from the Association for Library and Information Science Education.

From one of Europe’s most celebrated young comics artists, a deeply personal story that will resonate with all of us who have chosen to love in the face of great challenges One summer night at a house party, Fred met Cati. Though they barely spoke, he vividly remembered her gracefulness and abandon. They meet again years later, and this time their connection is instantaneous. But when things become serious, a nervous Cati tells him that she and her three-year-old son are both HIV positive. With great beauty and economy, Peeters traces the development of their intimacy and their revelatory relationship with a doctor whose affection and frankness allow them to fully realize their passionate connection. Then Cati’s son gets sick, bringing Fred face to face with death. It forces him to question the meaning of life, illness, and love -- until a Socratic dialogue with a mammoth helps him recognize that living with illness is also a gift; it has freed him to savor his life with Cati. Like the best graphic memoirs, Blue Pills puts a daunting subject into artistic and human terms in a way that is refreshingly honest and profoundly accessible. A brave and unsentimental romance, Blue Pills will resonate with anyone whose love has faced great obstacles and triumphed.

Pedro and Me, now with a new foreword, is a ground-breaking, inspiring graphic novel from Judd Winick, first published in 2000. Pedro Zamora changed lives. When the HIV-positive AIDS educator appeared on MTV's The Real World: San Francisco, he taught millions of viewers about being gay and living with AIDS. Pedro's roommate on the show was Judd Winick, who created Pedro and Me to honor Pedro Zamora, his friend and teacher and an unforgettable human being. Its moving portrait of friendship and its urgent message have already reached thousands of people. Now, Pedro's story is reintroduced to today's graphically focused culture with a gorgeous, eye-catching new cover and a foreword from Judd.

Winner of the 2015 Lambda Literary Award for Best LGBT Graphic Novel AVillage Voice Best Graphic Novel of 2014 The renowned graphic-book author Joyce Brabner'sSecond Avenue Caper is the true story of a tight-knit group of artists and activists living in New York City in the early 1980s who found themselves on the front lines in the fight against AIDS. Struggling to understand the disease and how they could help, they made a deal with a bona fide goodfella, donned masterful disguises, piled into an "A-Team" van, and set off for the border, determined to save their bedridden friends by smuggling an experimental drug into the United States from Mexico. With their community in crisis and the world turned against them, this impassioned gang of misfits never gave up hope as they searched for ways to raise awareness and beat the plague. Fast-paced, poignant, and beautifully illustrated by the award-winning illustrator Mark Zingarelli,Second Avenue Caper is a heartfelt tribute to the generation that faced down AIDS.

In 1994, at the height of the AIDS epidemic in the United States, MK Czerwiec took her first nursing job, at Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago, as part of the caregiving staff of HIV/AIDS Care Unit 371. Taking Turns pulls back the curtain on life in the ward. A shining example of excellence in the treatment and care of patients, Unit 371 was a community for thousands of patients and families affected by HIV and AIDS and the people who cared for them. This graphic novel combines Czerwiec's memories with the oral histories of patients, family members, and staff. It depicts life and death in the ward, the ways the unit affected and informed those who passed through it, and how many look back on their time there today. Czerwiec joined Unit 371 at a pivotal time in the history of AIDS: deaths from the syndrome in the Midwest peaked in 1995 and then dropped drastically in the following years, with the release of antiretroviral protease inhibitors. This positive turn of events led to a decline in patient populations and, ultimately, to the closure of Unit 371. Czerwiec's restrained, inviting drawing style and carefully considered narrative examine individual, institutional, and community responses to the AIDS epidemic--as well as the role that art can play in the grieving process. Deeply personal yet made up of many voices, this history of daily life in a unique AIDS care unit is an open, honest look at suffering, grief, and hope among a community of medical professionals and patients at the heart of the epidemic.

Johnny Hicklenton was one of Britain's leading comic book artists, who took his own life in March 2010 with the assistance of Dignitas in Zurich. 100 Months is an apocalyptic parable of environmental devastation written and drawn in fore knowledge of his own impending death. An intense, hallucinatory story with overtones of Dostoevsky's 'Legend of the Grand Inquisitor' and artwork of breathtaking intensity, it is the crowning achievement of a brilliant career, a true graphic novel that engages ultimate themes of life, death and salvation.

"The best graphic novel of the year" (Time) tells the story of a strange plague devastating the lives of teenagers in mid-1970s suburban Seattle, revealing the horrifying nature of high school alienation--the savagery, the cruelty, the relentless anxiety, and the ennui. We learn from the outset that a strange plague has descended upon the area's teenagers, transmitted by sexual contact. The disease is manifested in any number of ways--from the hideously grotesque to the subtle (and concealable)--but once you've got it, that's it. There's no turning back. As we inhabit the heads of several key characters--some kids who have it, some who don't, some who are about to get it--what unfolds isn't the expected battle to fight the plague, or bring heightened awareness to it , or even to treat it. What we become witness to instead is a fascinating and eerie portrait of the nature of high school alienation itself. And then the murders start. As hypnotically beautiful as it is horrifying, Black Hole transcends its genre by deftly exploring a specific American cultural moment in flux and the kids who are caught in it--back when it wasn't exactly cool to be a hippie anymore, but Bowie was still just a little too weird. To say nothing of sprouting horns and molting your skin...

Monmow disease, a life-threatening condition that transforms a person into a dog-like beast, is not the only villain in this brilliant medical thriller by manga god Osamu Tezuka. Said to have been a personal favourite of the artist, who held a degree in medicine and who was surprisingly attentive to Christian imagery, Ode to Kirihito demolishes naive notions about human nature, health and likely preconceptions about the comics master himself. Incorporating elements of the often lurid and adult-oriented |gekiga|, this work marks the beginning of Tezuka's late period.

In a world on the brink of medical collapse, healingjust got sicker... What do you get if you cross afar right British government with an antibiotic apocalypse riot and a gruesomemurder? The birth of Surgeon X and her renegade practice. Extreme times call forextreme medicine. Sara Kenney, acclaimeddocumentary, factual drama and animation filmmaker (ANGELS AND GHOSTS) andmaster artist John Watkiss (SANDMAN, CONAN, DEADMAN) join forces with KarenBerger, award-winning and VERTIGO founding editor to produce this unique, darklycomic medical thriller, which will horrify and delight in equal measure. Collects issues 1-6. Also includes characterand development designs.

The first graphic novel from Britain's "Queen of Crime" (Scotsman) and gorgeously illustrated by up-and-comer Kathryn Briggs, Resistance is a chilling but incredibly moving and inspiring story of individuals pressed to rise above their station, first to nail down the truth of a looming pandemic, and later to try to fight it. Journalist Zoe Beck has taken a break from hard-hitting investigative reporting to spend more time with her family, which is how she finds herself doing celebrity Q&As at an outdoor music festival near the Scottish border. She and her friends, who run a food truck, head north, along with 150,000 festival-goers for a weekend of music and camping. Then, some of the food truck's customers begin to fall ill, and many point to food poisoning. But when the festival ends and the attendees scatter across England, more people begin to get sick and die. What's worse, it is spreading fast and baffles doctors, resisting all efforts to contain or cure it. With time running out, Zoe is compelled to fight for the truth, even as she loses that which she holds most dear.

The zombie craze has infected popular culture with the intensity of a viral outbreak, propagating itself through text, television, film, video games, and many other forms of media. As a metaphor, zombies may represent political notions, such as the return of the repressed violence of colonialism, or the embodiment of a culture obsessed with consumerism. Increasingly, they are understood and depicted as a medicalized phenomenon: creatures transformed by disease into a threatening vector of contagion. The Walking Med brings together scholars from across the disciplines of cultural studies, medical education, medical anthropology, and art history to explore what new meanings the zombie might convey in this context. These scholars consider a range of forms--from comics disseminated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to graphic novels and television shows such as The Walking Dead--to show how interrogations of the zombie metaphor can reveal new perspectives within the medical humanities. An unprecedented forum for dialogue between cultural studies of zombies and graphic medicine, The Walking Med is an invaluable contribution to both areas of study, as well as a potent commentary on one of popular culture's most invasive and haunting figures. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Tully Barnett, Gerry Canavan, Daniel George, Michael Green, Ben Kooyman, Sarah Juliet Lauro, Juliet McMullin, Kari Nixon, Steven Schlozman, Dan Smith, and Darryl Wilkinson.

Best of 2018 lists from Nylon, the New York Public Library, Boing Boing, and The Cut! With her startling humor, it's no surprise that Aminder Dhaliwal's web comic Woman World has a devoted audience of more than 150,000 readers, updated biweekly with each installment earning an average of 25,000 likes. Now, readers everywhere will delight in the print edition as Dhaliwal seamlessly incorporates feminist philosophical concerns into a series of perfectly-paced strips that skewer perceived notions of femininity and contemporary cultural icons. D+Q's edition of Woman World will include new and previously unpublished material. When a birth defect wipes out the planet's entire population of men, Woman World rises out of society's ashes. Dhaliwal's infectiously funny instagram comic follows the rebuilding process, tracking a group of women who have rallied together under the flag of "Beyonce's Thighs." Only Grandma remembers the distant past, a civilization of segway-riding mall cops, Blockbuster movie rental shops, and "That's What She Said" jokes. For the most part, Woman World's residents are focused on their struggles with unrequited love and anxiety, not to mention that whole "survival of humanity" thing. Woman World is an uproarious and insightful graphic novel from a very talented and funny new voice.