Comic Spotlight - Brain Injury Comix
There is a piece of art that I recently revisited in a moment when I really needed it, and I thought I should take the time to share a few little thoughts of appreciation on why that is.
Brain Injury Comix by Erin Roseberry is a series of autobiographical pieces made after experiencing a traumatic head/brain injury and later being diagnosed with Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS). These comics document her experience with PCS and how it impacted her ability to make art — and her journey to keep trying to make art. The piece "Fantasy Is A Metaphor For The Human Condition" (a comic that has also come to be known for becoming "Tumblr-famous") and the piece "Images With Meanings" are two that I felt particularly moved by. The artwork for all of these works is wonderfully inked, and the use of metaphor in "Fantasy Is A Metaphor For The Human Condition" in particular is truly excellent. It may at first invite one into these reflections in a charming, even unassuming way. However, knowing that it is all rooted in a very real experience is grounding, and witnessing the moments where the comic momentarily breaks its own illusion to show glimpses of that difficult reality is sobering in a way that sprouts deep compassion.
Even though her experience is distinct to her own unique context, I resonated and was really stirred by the emotional heart of her story. There is the grief from the sudden shift from being able to feel so in your element about something, such confidence in practicing something that you know is in alignment with your purpose and where you belong, to the utter frustration and unfairness of no longer feeling capable of doing it, or anything, anymore. There is so much time spent not knowing what to do or whether to continue. There is just as much time spent fighting so hard and being so tired yet the only path left open is to know that, as one of her comics expresses, "All you can do is to keep trying."
Despair and hope can co-exist, as they always have and always will. These comics remind me of that complex reality with an embrace that is gentle and knowing. It knows the heavy awareness of how awful it is to be suddenly severed from something so intimately significant to who you are. The flavour of the hope offered may be bittersweet, but it is hope offered nonetheless.