limited palette – Tracy Durnell

Read Camouflage

Autism in women and girls is still not widely understood, and is often misrepresented or even overlooked. This graphic novel offers an engaging and accessible insight into the lives and minds of autistic women, using real-life case studies.

The charming illustrations lead readers on a visual journey of how women on the spectrum experience everyday life, from metaphors and masking in social situations, to friendships and relationships and the role of special interests.

Fun, sensitive and informative, this is a fantastic resource for anyone who wishes to understand how gender affects autism, and how to create safer supportive and more accessible environments for women on the spectrum.

Like the color palette with teals and pinks. The cover illustration is especially nice. I liked the use of textures though text didn’t read well over halftones.

Very slender volume with simple explanations, suitable for teens and pre-teens. Mostly info I knew already. I did like how they broke down the main elements of the autistic experience for women:

“You’re not autistic”
Pretending to be normal
Growing from passive to assertive
Special interest based identity

Read White Rapids by Pascal Blanchet

The rise and fall of a Canadian town. Blanchet seamlessly blends fact and fiction as he weaves together the official history of the town and snapshots of the quotidian life of its residents. Blanchet’s unique, streamlined, retro-inspired aesthetic draws on art deco and fifties modernist design to vividly conjure up idyllic scenes of lazy summer days and crisp winter nights in White Rapids, transporting the reader back to a more innocent time.

Less graphic novel, more historical vignette, almost an exhibition in book form. Honestly this is the type of project I would love to do though I’m not sure how successful it was.

Love the limited color palette and fun period evocative illustration. Clever page layouts and playful uses of type (though I would quibble with some of the type combos).

This is often how I feel about Drawn & Quarterly books — I’m drawn to their visuals, but the story doesn’t grab me.

What this leaves me with is the community this town lost when it was shuttered. Despite not being fully a story, I thought the ending of this book carried a sense of that loss. Blanchet dedicated several spreads to carry the weight.

I have a promotional postcard of this cover framed with two other postcards I got at 2007 San Diego Comic-Con, a memento of the event. (Hung it in a bathroom for a few years and picked up some water damage.) So in a sense, I’ve been meaning to read this for almost 15 years.