6/10/2023 0 Comments Lighter than my shadowWe begin with clean, simple lines, and tight regimented gutters. Lighter than My Shadow is keenly aware of its status as a world on paper, and uses a movement between paper tones, the tearing of edges, and the degradation of its line to move readers through its emotional and psychological states. Instead, the act of drawing - to recover, to internalise, and to externalise - is one of the refrains it works through its story. The book doesn't take the heavy-handed line that Katie drew herself well again, although it does use a version of that image. But while that gives you a small measure of tone and theme, it really doesn't go close to either the intensity or the artwork. In this case, it's Katie growing up with and slowly working through an eating disorder, sexual abuse, and the resulting trauma. Lighter than My Shadow is a a life story in the mould of something like Fun Home or Blankets. It owes a debt to both, and if you want to picture it easily, you could do worse than mentally crash the two together, with a focus on Bechdel's early memories of compulsion disorders. You need to be having a good day to get through it, and even then the odds are fair that it'll make you cry. It's acute and painful, and sometimes hopeful, and it's beautifully produced and drawn. It's the best Sad Comics I've read in a while, and definitely one of the better comics I read last year. Lighter than My Shadow was one of my picks in our 2013 year-in-review podcast.
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