A powerful study in introspection, inheritance, and the manifestation of hypochondria by a talented indie cartoonist. Beautifully illustrated and poignantly told, the author investigates the guilt they carry as a young Filipino person born into a family that benefited from the Marcos regime, and how that materializes within the physical body.
48 full-color pages; 8 “x 11”; SRP: $12.99
ISBN 978-1-945509-85-8
Published July 2022
“Cicatrix is beautiful and deeply honest, a clear-eyed look at something strange and unexplainable—family, harm, guilt, and our own fragile bodies.”
“Cicatrix is an astounding statement from an amazing voice in comics and demands your attention. Elle manages to create comics that are beautifully drawn, masterful in their composition, mood and pacing, and written with such honesty and rawness that others are afraid to even touch. It is, all at once, a confession, a plea, an angry scream into the void and an examination on injustice, karma, and guilt. Cicatrix is raw, painful, and precise. I implore you to read this and Elle’s many other amazing comics. They are someone everyone should be keeping an eye on.”
“Cicatrix is a symphony of panel and line, of guilt and resolve, of expression and precision. Through Elle’s deft cartooning and impactful narration, we are confronted with the truth of comfort. Elle does not look away from this truth, and the thoughtfulness and skill in their work ensures that neither can we. Cicatrix is stunning, raw, and unyielding in its forward momentum.”
“Elle, accompanied by their stunning sequential work and evocative writing, perfectly captures the feelings of guilt, anxiety, and resentment in Cicatrix. With Elle’s writing and art, it’s like they invented comics just so they could make them.”
“With beautiful and sometimes chilling art, Cicatrix plunges us into a psychosomatic prison that many of us are familiar with. What do we do with the guilt we carry for living comfortably off the cruelty of our predecessors? Elle processes this complex question both bluntly and elegantly, weaving physical and emotional turmoil to create a brutally realistic story of this unique anxiety.”
“Cicatrix, or scar, encompasses multilayered meanings in queer, Manila-based artist Elle’s U.S. debut…Succinct at just 48 pages, their autobiographical focus appears as mostly brown, gray, and green panels of expressive selfies, intensified with accents in orange and red.”