My Friend, the Dark - A Silent Graphic Novel

My Friend, the Dark is a graphic novel about anorexia, something that I experienced when I was younger. Sophie and her brothers are no longer seeing their father, a shepherd, due to his abusive nature. In response to this trauma, Sophie is spoken to by the dark at night, which suggests that she tries counting sheep to help her sleep. This begins as a comfort, but the sheep begin to represent calories by appearing in her food, which she begins to obsessively count and control. The story explores the mind set of someone going through anorexia, but also, as the story progresses we learn how each of her family members have been affected by the trauma in different ways. They have all been tormented mentally by the dark and the sheep, as though Sophie’s father, the shepherd, controls them still through their thoughts. This is a story about how through empathy, we can help each other to make sense of our own darkness, and manage it together.

Here are a selection of pieces that have been a part of my process, however that will not be used in the final graphic novel. These were drawn with a biro on Bristol board.