My Body Unspooling

by Leo Fox

“My name is Lucille, and me and my body have broken up.”

Lucille and his body are constantly at odds. Lucille is too cold and too resentful for his body, and his body is too warm and too loud for Lucille. It’s time to ask God for a divorce.

A minicomic by the author of Prokaryote Season and Boy Island , My Body Unspooling explores the push and pull between body and mind, and what ties them together.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Queer, LGBT, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Adult

32 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 2024

About the author

Leo Fox is a UK-based cartoonist and painter. He is transmasculine and makes work about it sometimes. His work includes Prokaryote Season, My Body Unspooling, and Boy Island.

Reviews

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 4 out of 5]

What are the boundaries between a sense of self and the body which houses us? ‘I am not an “I,” I am a collection of organs hallucinating,’ Lucille tells us at the start of My Body Unspooling, and ‘me and my body are at odds with each other.’ This gooey and gnarled graphic novel from Leo Fox tells a profound and profoundly unsettling tale of body dysmorphia brought to an existential fever pitch of a literal break between one’s self and physical anatomy. Depicted in bold and goopy artwork that resonates like a beautiful nightmare, Fox explores the abstractions of the self distressed by the awareness of its own vessel through which one may move through the world but also the traumas of becoming unmoored from a physical existence. Thought provoking and eye popping with visions of viscera that drive home the body horror at the core of the story, My Body Unspooling is a sharp little read.

‘I am never alone, I am never silent. My organs are always chattering.’

This unnervingly delightful comic, brought to you by my continuing adventures through Silver Sprocket’s catalog, cuts right to the heart of philosophical ponderings on the nature of the self as either of the body or contained within it that has long been a source of fascination. For instance, 19th century philosopher William James (you, too, may have memorized ‘fruits over roots’ in association with him for Philosophy 101 class) argued that the “self” could be understood as the interplay between the “me” and the “I,” or the ‘self as object’ or ‘self as subject’ respectively. Are we the self that is an object of experience or the subject of it or, as was postulated by 20th century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, the self is not the body or psychology but the metaphysical self, something that is not of the world but a limit to it. And still will have the neurologists who look to the self-referential thoughts in the brain, all responding to stimuli from all around the body. But however you choose to interpret the self, for Lucille here this is a burden he is no longer willing to bear.

The story is loose and abstract, though one would not be wrong to consider it in terms of dissonance with socialized gender norms and Lucille’s sense of self. There is an excellent metaphor of the trans experience here, though also vague enough that anyone with body dysmorphia or a generalized discomfort existing in their body can relate to, empathize, and interrogate. What really makes this a success are Fox’s vivid and surreal illustrations that perfectly layer in with the text and overall artistic implications. It becomes a rather moving look at Lucille wishing to break from their body, though ‘with no body to protect me, the dreams come unbidden’ and there is an overall message to find the best way to love yourself and strive to find a way for the body and self to live in some sense of harmony.

Delightfully gross yet gorgeous artwork and a heady but accessible and abstract narrative that feels fully realized in 30 some pages, My Body Unspooling is a great little comic that will linger with me for a long time. I look forward to more work from Leo Fox.

4.5/5

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

i adore leo fox's work not only because it is deeply queer in such a tangible way, but because it begs to be gazed at. this is a minicomic, but i took my time poring over the art. odd shapes and patterns, dynamic images.

this story is concerned with reflections, distortions, the fundamental discomfort of the corporeal form. reading it made me itchy, hyperaware of minor sensory issues disturbing my own body.

it pairs well with prokaryote season- stories about being unfortunately alive, trapped in our human forms, having no choice but to persist. here, the inextricability of the mind and body are explored with a cute lil breakup metaphor. excellent!

I am not an “I,” I am a collection of organs hallucinating.

[sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing talented showstopping beyond belief. for fans of E.M. Carroll and anybody who has felt separate or other from their flesh, trans or otherwise. one million thumbs up

[Méli]

I want to tattoo Leo Fox's art into my retina and never look at anything else again

[chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

very short, but an impactful and comforting read. :)) a lil taste of leo fox that you can gulp down in the span of one afternoon shower (highly recommend this specific reading experience).

[Carina Stopenski · Rating 5 out of 5]

i truly do not have the words for this little comic. absolutely abject and beautiful, describing the dissonance that comes with feeling separated from one’s body. a peculiar art style hits home the weirdness here. a stellar work of comic art.

[Matteo Cardelli]

È nata una stella nel firmamento dei queer comics... mini-fumetto micidiale in cui Fox prosegue la sua esplorazione dell'identità di genere e del mondo emotivo. In Boy Island l'espediente narrativo era una spedizione per mare, in Prokaryote Season una quest da fiaba, qui un divorzio magico fra sé e se stesso. L'anima non sopporta più gli appetiti bassi e rumorosi del corpo, il corpo non sopporta più i sospiri e le snobberie dell'anima - e quindi basta, ognun per sé. A officiare la separazione un sonnolento dio-topo albino, e come teatro della crisi un bosco pieno di spettri e brulicante di organi. Divertente, lirico, splendidamente colorato in tonalità di rosso rosa e oro, fantastico

[Letture fumettose 2024/2]

[kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting. short. colorful. so many goey images blurring together. it’s gorgeous yet also hard to wrap your brain around. there’s no big story other than character losing his body - intentionally! separation from mind and body seem to be what this character wants until they realize how much they need to be together. the mind is overcome by fears without a body to protect it. the body seemed to be fine without a mind in this depiction but i think if there were more pages in this, we would’ve seen the body struggling without the brain too. the body can’t just live for physical stimulation. the things the body wanted to do - some mildly uncomfortable things to cause sensation like crushing bugs and walnuts - can’t continue harmlessly forever. it was a nice short lil portrayal of how we need the physical and the emotional. the feelings and the feeling.

[Ry Eto · Rating 5 out of 5]

i thought that it was gorgeous

[Jade]

“I am not an ‘I,’ I am a collection of organs hallucinating” fucked me up more than I care to admit.

[Rubis Lantier · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so poetic and spoke to my own split being
Also can’t get enough of that rat God

[ezra · Rating 5 out of 5]

actually insane???? the art on this.......... mind bending. goopy. existential. obsessed with everything about this.

[Dylan Zucati · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like a poem in graphic novel form. Lovely to read, lovely to look at.

[Elliott B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Body Unspooling
Leo Fox

MAY 15, 2024
5 Stars

Yes. This was excellent. Queer and uncomfortable in all the best ways. Weird and familiarly interoceptive and lack there of, and brain messy and chaotic and beautifully poetic. This one I liked a lot more than Prokaryote Season, but likely because I can find my way into this one more personally in its vague existence and familiarity. Sweet! Can’t wait for more.

Until next time.
Happy Reading

[Abs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Visceral, beautiful to look at (I want to eat it?), subtly horny but not so much you could miss it - This is important. Spoke to something in me I didn't know was there, which I need to ponder upon now.

Don't sleep on Leo's comics!!

[Tom Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm admittedly drawn to the uncluttered and unconfused, and at first impression, this colorfully gooey 60s psychedelia-inspired hand-drawn offering seemed overly complicated and impenetrable. But it's only 36 pages long, and it's assigned reading. So buck up! You can do it! Alas, with focus and a tiny bit of patience I found it really isn't so daunting after all; the layers (both visual and metaphoric) reveal themselves clearly and support the text very well. This isn't some meaningless, weird art project. There's substance here.

It's a story about a mind and its body (or a body and its mind). Sick of each other, they break up and go their own way. It's likely trans-themed, but it's relevant to anyone who's ever been witness to their own brain/body battle. It's very well done.

[Lani · Rating 4 out of 5]

💕Happy Pride 💕
🌈♥️Thinking of everyone who could use thoughts ♥🏳️‍🌈

This had an impact on me. This short comic (I’m new at this, I’m pretty sure it’s not a graphic novel?) was able to portray a narrative with only a sentence, to me.

I have to be honest, my anxiety, OCD, and autism felt the most represented. How every moment you’re at war with your own mind. You feel alien in your own body. How sometimes you disappear… but you’re the only one who knows…

It won’t be for everyone (as anything rarely is). I’m sure that it would hit all readers in different ways.

The art was an added bonus, in my opinion.

🖤🩶🤍💜

[han · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leo Fox has incredible skill with dynamic color. His beautiful, lush backgrounds spill over into the characters they’re surrounding as though ready to devour them. The characters themselves have conversations that are simultaneously glib and deeply existential. What will your body do, free of your Self? Eat berries and shit, probably. This comic is hilarious and also deeply reflective. Where do you live inside your body? Where does your body stop, where do you begin? How do the two of you live together? Seriously an amazing talent and I will be buying everything he writes.

[Juushika · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, fondly rounded up. Leo Fox is absolutely Doing Something, and I like it. The length of this perforce constrains it; it's almost a poem, an extended metaphor, figured in Fox's distinctive drippy, trippy art. But I jive with its meditation on the body/mind relationship, the frustrations and needs of corporeality, even if I'd like a stronger reunion, more concrete and justified.

[Clint · Rating 4 out of 5]

This shares the same bizarre visual appeal as Fox’s Prokaryote Season with similar themes, but much shorter and with its body dysmorphia unease depicted as a literal breakup. Really interesting and weird (complimentary)!

[Jacquelyne Hernandez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent exploration of what complete body liberation could be and the hardships it might present. Art style was surreal and perfectly matched with moody colors and themed details. As a nonbinary person, I really resonated with this comic.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very short, almost too short. The bookstore employee didn't even see it because it's so thin. Great, little book though. Leo Fox's artwork is just incredible to look at. Anything he does is worth picking up just to have his art. I think I've found a new author to follow.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leo Fox's artwork is so great to stare at, this comic is short but there's so much detail in every page. A "body horror" about the body being the horror. The sounds the organs make and constant reminder of a physical existence.

[mickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leo Fox is a genius!!!

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pitch perfect, the art, text, and pacing fluidly woven together. An absolutely mesmerizing rumination on body dysphoria.

[Ally Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Live Laugh Love Leo Fox

[etherealacademia · Rating 5 out of 5]

a short, electric graphic novel about dysphoria thru the lens of entropy. I need more from Leo fox immediately

[Adam Schmersal · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.9 rounded up.

[ashley muraco · Rating 5 out of 5]

it put into words how I feel often but didn't know how to express, art is super super cool, I'm going to read this one for a really long time :D

[timber rose, book witch (semi-hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

a surreal fever dream with lots of thought provoking visuals and dialogues about gender and how your brain relates yourself to your body.