See trauma become art with hints of dark humor in 'We All Wish for Deadly Force'

In the flurry of activity on every "comic book day" which features endless comics covering genres such as science fiction, comedy, licensed properties and superheroes (especially superheroes), it can be hard to remember that the medium can cover deeper and more personal material. Fortunately, Retrofit Comics (an independent publisher founded by Box Brown) has become a home for truly emotional and pathos driven graphic novels to thrive from a variety of creators. One of their newest of the summer is this collection of short stories by Leela Corman, who is "an illustrator, cartoonist, and Middle Eastern dancer" whose work has appeared in "Yes! Magazine", "Tablet Magazine", "The Nib", "Nautilus Magazine", and "Women's Review of Books". And her entire heritage, as well as the lives of her family, those within Egypt, and her own personal tragedy, are aptly explored and covered in all of these stories.

The first strip sets the tone with "The Wound that Never Heals" delves into the tragedy of losing her daughter and in trying to deal with the loss with an essay bolstered by painted images to illustrate her carefully chosen words which also provides information on how trauma feels. "It's Always Been Here" covers how similar feelings of loss of children as well as the issues that women deal with have been treated and explained differently throughout history, in particular in the role religion and belief played. "Brooklyn Belly Dance Adventure" covers Leela's adventure as a Middle Eastern dance instructor to a community of Jewish women in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Two strips seem to cover a real life Brooklyn-born Egyptian belly dancer whose plights often reflect upon sexual harassment and the issues of women within the country in "Luna of Cairo" and "The Belly Dancer's President", which are both informative as well as at times difficult to fathom in terms of the real horror that women go through in one of the oldest civilizations on earth. "This Way to Progress" looks at furniture and trends in modernism art both within Leela's family as well as within Eastern Europe at the start of the 20th century. "Irreducibles" covers hidden quirks and "triggers" within Leela's daily routines, while "Wilderness" also deals with loss and trauma in a visually amazing way, mixing in urban and forest settings. "Yahrzeit" looks into the tragedies and exploits of Leela's own relatives from World War II era Poland, but whether she is honoring them by being an artist or still being plagued by losing her child. "The Book of the Dead" continues the theme of exploring Leela's Jewish heritage with her art and sense of loss, and in particular a parable about how death is seen or discussed. Also included is a contest entry, "Live Drawing: the Eurovision Song Contest" as well as shorter one or two page sketches covering a variety of related topics.

To say that Leela Corman puts much of herself into her art is an understatement. Most of her collected work here covers her own history, traumas, perspectives, feelings, and even humor. As she herself admits, her sense of humor is quite dark and she proudly wears her Jewish and Brooklyn heritage on her sleeve as inspiration for her work. Through her short stories, readers not only learn a lot about their creator, but also learn a lot about how trauma is experienced as well as genuine issues involving women in Egypt as well as those suffering from loss. Her style is simple yet effective, with plenty of detail in clothing, furniture, and backgrounds with plenty of realistic illustrations of people (especially herself). Her sense of color to establish mood is exceptional and evident in much of her work here. The entire graphic novel gives the reader many things to reflect upon afterward and sticks with one long after it has been put down.

Retrofit Comics is offering "We All Wish for Deadly Force" in both physical and PDF form at the end of June. For 88 color pages with zero advertisements, it can be had for $10 as a physical copy or $4 for a digital copy, which is a steal considering the quality of the content as well as price of typical comic books and trade collections from other countries. As the summer heat seems to bring about summer crossovers from many bigger companies, it may be refreshing to experience what graphic novels can really be with work such as this.