Collected infertility comics

I first started drawing comics when I was struggling to get (and stay) pregnant.  Given that fertility problems affect an estimated one in six couples and that up to a quarter of pregnancies end in miscarriage, it should be of no surprise to find so many comics on these topics. This is the second of two posts collecting links to relevant comics and other illustrations. Please feel free to point me to any I’ve missed!

The tortures of trying to conceive (TTC) have been captured in the comic memoir Good Eggs by Phoebe Potts, which is reveiwed on the Graphic Medicine website.  Similarly, Broken Eggs is an autobiographical visual narrative by Emily Steinberg, which is further detailed in Cleaver magazine.  One book I was able to read in full is One Good Egg, Suzy Becker’s illustrated memoir about the “Baby Decision” and undergoing IVF.  Got Pins And Needles is an illustrated essay exploring the limits of fertility treatment for “social infertility”.  Meanwhile, the male perspective is covered by The Infertile Man by Drs Aniruddha and Anjali Malpani.  The same authors also offer the Comic Book for Infertile Couples, which is reviewed on the BioNews website.  Finally, the amusingly named Cranky Vagina has a couple of one-panels about fertility treatment.

Collected miscarriage comics

I first started drawing comics when I was struggling to get (and stay) pregnant.  Given that fertility problems affect an estimated one in six couples and that up to a quarter of pregnancies end in miscarriage, it should be of no surprise to find so many comics on these topics. This is the first of two posts collecting links to relevant comics and other illustrations. Please feel free to point me to any I’ve missed!

Diane Noomin’s groundbreaking comic “Baby Talk: A Tale of 4 Miscarriages” was published in the now defunct Twisted Sisters anthology (though can be glimpsed on the web here and here) and has inspired many, including LaydeezDoComics (LDC) co-founder Sarah Lightman.  Fellow LDC member and Paula Knight recently published her graphic memoir, The Facts Of Life, which deals not only with recurrent miscarriage and long-term illness (ME/CFS) but also societal expectations of women and motherhood.  Kate Evans often provides illustrations for the Miscarriage Association (e.g. Partners Too and Teens Too) and Unravelling never fails to bring a tear to my eye.  Lucy Knisley shared a similar experience in A Record Playing By Itself and LDC Glasgow co-founder Anna Brewer did likewise in Sad News and subsequent posts. Non-fiction comics website The Nib published A Lost Possibility by Ryan Alexander-Tanner.  Ryan has also drawn What To Say (Nor Not Say) and Grieving a Miscarriage in collaboration with psychologist Jessica Tucker, who spearheaded the #IHadAMiscarriage social media campaign and also launched a range of pregnancy loss greetings cards.  Meanwhile male perspectives of miscarriage are show in this sketch by Curtis Wiklund and the episode Loss of the web-comic Crtl+Alt+Del by Tim Buckley.  In fact, the latter spawned an internet meme – and while miscarriage is no laughing matter, wider acknowledgment of its impact can only help.  Finally, while not comics-related, Marjolaine Ryley’s Arts Council funded project thethinbluelinethedeepredsea explores pregnancy loss in the arts.

“Fish And Slide Rules”: the Bille Tutte board game

I pass by the Bill Tutte memorial on a regular basis and wanted to draw something to celebrate the upcoming centenary of his birth.  As usual, any errors are my own.

Collected cardiovascular comics

Over the past decade, there has been an increasing wealth of graphic narratives around subjects such as cancer and mental issues. However, as I’ve been researching and drawing about my own congenital heart defect, I’ve found a relative lack of comics around cardiovascular conditions.  I’ve summarised what I’ve found so far below and would love to hear any other recommendations.

Two graphic memoirs touch on heart issues, both recently published by the excellent Myriad Editions.  In Hole in the Heart, Henny Beaumont charts her daughter’s Down’s syndrome – including the diagnosis of and successful surgery for a congenital heart defect.  The so-called “dead baby story that is funny”, Billy, Me & You, sees Nicola Streeten dealing with bereavement following her young son’s death after heart surgery.

The Annals of Internal Medicine journal publishes an ever-expanding collection of graphic narratives and comics in their Annals of Graphic Medicine.  These include Missed It about a missed diagnosis of aortic stenosis,  the self-explanatory Atrial Flutter and Judgement Call which considers pacemaker therapy for an elderly relative.

Scientific cartoons sometimes make it into the popular press, including this one on xenotransplantation in Wired magazine (page 103).  There are also numerous newspaper-style one-frame cartoons viewable various archive websites such as CartoonStock and the Cartoonist Group.

Medical Tales Retold is an 25-episode online webcomic dealing with all matters medical, including an excerpt from Palpitations – full version accessible via the Tapastic app on iTunes or Google Play.  The same author, The Awkward Yeti, also has a series of over two hundred comics featuring the lovable recurring character Heart (plus his friend Brain) – although these are more humorous then medical!

Finally, as we all know, the Marvel comics character and lead Avenger Iron Man famously uses a magnetic field generator to prevent shrapnel from fatally reaching his heart.  I’m also amused to discover the lesser-known Marvel character Cardiac, a vigilante physician/entrepeneur battling corporate greed. Could he be the next entrant to the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

 

Discworld Revisited recap: 10 down, 31 to go!

Nearly two years ago, after the sad death of author Terry Pratchett, I decided to re-read all of the Discworld novels in chronological order and tweet my favourite lines (which often reflect current affairs).  I’ve now finished ten of the forty-one books and though I’d have a recap:

The Colour of Magic: Twoflower grinned. “Magic is one thing, and reflected-sound-as-of-underground-spirits is another.” (24 Aug 2015)

The Light Fantastic: The other skeletal hand held small cubes of cheese and pineapple on a stick…”I WAS AT A PARTY.” (3 Oct 2015)

Equal Rites: “Stop stuttering, man, you’d think you’d never seen a women before.” (7 Jan 2016)

Mort: “I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU,” he said, “BUT I COULD MURDER A CURRY.” (30 Jan 2016)

Sourcery: “Not much call for a barbarian hairdresser…no one wants a shampoo-and-beheading.” (4 Mar 2016)

Wyrd Sisters (my favourite so far): “When shall we three meet again?”…”Well, I can do next Tuesday.” (26 Mar 2016)

Pyramids: “…I think it’s called a mocracy, and it means everyone in the whole country can say who the new Tyrant is.” (13 Jun 2016)

Guards! Guards!: “I knew this cross-eyed gorgon once, oh, she was a terror. Kept turning her own nose to stone.” (12 Jul 2016)

Moving Pictures: “T’was beauty killed the beast.”…”No, it wasn’t. It was splatting into the ground like that.” (5 Nov 2016)

Reaper Man: Every day took an age to go by, which was odd, because days plural went past like a stampede. (23 Dec 2016)