“Growing Pains” is a pitch packet for a graphic novel exploring ‘otherness’ specifically relating to body dysphoria and sexual orientation. A little bit Frankenstein and little bit Stand By Me, “Growing Pains” is a coming of age tale that follows two teenage boys as they struggle with their identities as a mad scientist’s son and the boy that she reincarnated from the dead. August has recently died, but thanks to a strain of super regenerative algae being implanted into his body, he is reanimated and brought back to life. As a living corpse, August tries to cope with this new identity as his body begins to betray him. Theo is the son of the lead scientist, Lyra, who revived August. After a horrible accident befell his older brother, he’s lived a sheltered existence constantly under the watchful eye of his mother. But Lyra is keeping secrets from the both of them- secrets that threaten the already fragile peace they’ve tried so desperately to create together. Can anyone be trusted? What’s it like to live in a body that doesn’t fit you? And what’s that noise coming from the attic?
With this project, I wanted to explore the loneliness, shame and confusion that being LGBTQ in a heteronormative society creates- and how that can be overcome by connecting with other people who share that same trauma.
