Paper short abstract:

What unique attributes do comics have that allows them, more so than other mediums, to make visible the experiences of individuals who are commonly excluded from wider social and political narratives of ill-health?

Paper long abstract:

Illness narrative in popular culture is dominated by rhetoric of the 'battle won with cancer' and the 'incredible-against-the-odds' story. These stories fuel "the almost total erasure of both the powerfully pervasive (yet 'mundane') experience of chronic illness" (Wagner 2000). It has been observed by scholars that comics have attributes that mean that they, more so than other mediums, could challenge this trend by " making visible the stories of individuals and groups who have largely been excluded from our social and political narratives" (Birge 2010).

In order to determine why comics' illness narratives have such potential, I consider three elements: their context, content and construction. What is it about their context - their industry, writers and history- that makes them unique in communicating experiences of illness? How does their content -typically autobiographical- foster a platform for 'truer' illness narratives? What is it about their construction, the stylistic devices unique to the medium, that give us new insight into people's health?

I conclude that by employing stylistic devices, narrative distancing, and a resistance to caricature, comics stand out as sophisticated purveyors of chronic illness narrative over other mediums and therefore steps must be taken "to contest doctors' and patients' biases against graphic stories—including the misperception that they are juvenile, simplistic, or frivolous." (Green 2010). They have potential to present illness narratives that are more truthful, less traumatising, and more autonomous than those presented in other media. Recent enthusiasm to introduce them into medical settings is admirable and necessary.