ISBN-13
9781925938838ISBN-10
1925938832Language
EnglishResearch statement
Background
Comics represent a unique textual form, one in which words and images are arranged both sequentially and spatially (Eisner, 2008; Miller, 2007). Comics depicting illness and medical procedures have formed their own sub-genre, termed Graphic Medicine. Around the world, librarians and academics are spending increasing amounts of time focusing on the way that such comics utilise both narrative and spatio-topical elements to engage the reader and foster empathy (Green, 2015; Green & Myers, 2010; McNicol, 2017). In part due to the increasing recognition of comics’ artistic and literary merit, comics scholarship continues to expand (Kuttner et al., 2021, p. 197).
Contribution
Two-Week Wait: An IVF Story (Jackson et al., 2021) is a quasi-memoir that depicts the struggles of a heterosexual, middle-class white Australian couple who must undergo In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF). Through its intratextual features - that is, its narrative - as well as its comics-specific features, the book aims to convey the personal, emotional, societal and financial struggles that can affect those who undergo IVF. By doing so, it seeks to challenge the stigma that still surrounds IVF by promoting conversation with, and between, couples who are currently undergoing IVF. . It is also aimed at those who will support them in this process (Nguyen, 2021).
Significance
Published internationally in 2021, TWW was profiled by The Guardian Australia, and received glowing reviews from Booksellers+Publishers, Publishers Weekly, the Sydney Morning Herald, and others. It was also shortlisted for best graphic medicine text of the year 2022 by the Graphic Medicine Association. The book has provided the basis for one conference presentation (contributed to a panel discussion) at the Graphic Medicine Annual Conference 2022 in Chicago, delivered by Luke C Jackson. A double-page spread has also been analysed for the upcoming book Keywords and Keyimages in Graphic Medicine, L Diedrich, B Martino (Eds.), University of Mississippi Press.Publication classification
JO3 Original Creative Works – Textual WorkScale
NTRO MajorPublisher
Scribe PublicationsPlace of publication
Melbourne, Vic.
