"Disposable People"
"Disposable People" is a full-colour graphic novel that I wrote and illustrated, that depicts the Alzheimer's disease from a first-person point of view, while touching on themes such as fatherly love, family, suffering, faith, and purpose. The main characters of the story are John Welsh, an elderly widower suffering from Alzheimer's, and his daughter, Lisa. From beginning to end we follow John's journey as he adapts to an increasingly confusing life, through a maze of memories,
Based on real-life cases of Alzheimer's patients, including the case of my own grandfather who was the inspiration for the main character, the subject of the novel was thoroughly researched. The story aims to bring awareness on the disease as well as to inspire hope.
Technique and Process
This project was one of the most complex I have ever created. It started as a commission from the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at Coventry University, and ended up becoming a special personal project.
For the first couple of months I did extensive research on the Alzheimer's disease and the issue of elder-hood in our modern society. My own grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer's shortly after I started working on the story, so I experienced the subject first hand. Many lines and events from the book belong to real Alzheimer's patients, my grandfather included. I also decided that I was going to give the main character, John, the feature, words and mannerism of my grandfather, because this would truly bring depth to the character, instead of drawing him from my imagination like a generic old man.
In creating the illustrations I started with sketching out the panels and action with pencil on paper. Once I was satisfied with the visual storytelling, I went ahead and painted digitally on top of the sketches. From start to finish, creating this novel took more than a year.
Where to buy
Available in Romanian and English as a downloadable PDF in my Shop.
Physical copies of the English edition can be purchased on Amazon.
Physical copies of the Romanian edition are sold at the souvenirs shop of Casa Filipescu-Cesianu, in Bucharest. First edition samples can be found in online libraries such as www.editurarost.ro and www.librariabizantina.ro
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