Corpus: A Comic Anthology of Bodily Ailments

by Nadia Shammas (Editor), Christopher Sebela, Haley Boros (Illustrator)

CORPUS: A Comic Anthology of Bodily Ailments is a collection of stories about physical illness, mental illness, and medical experiences. It includes stories from:


Christopher Sebela / Haley Boros
Ryan Cady / Phillip Sevy
Ram V / Caspar Wjingaard
Alex Paknadel
Vita Ayala
Ryan King / Alabaster Pizzo
Kendall Atkins / Page Firby
Matthew Erman / Renee Kliewer
Elaine Will
Tini Howard / Caroline Stuart
Alejandro Aragon
Christof Bogacs / Kaska Gazdowna
Ann Uland
Ben Khan / Lilly Taing
John Robinson IV / Danos Philopoulos
Akeem Roberts
Cathy Leamy / Judy Leamy
Jim Gibbons
Erica Schultz / Kevin Maher
Cody Sousa / Ben D’Amico
Brian Level
Cameron DeOrdio / Eli Neugeboren
Mady G
Shing Yin Khor
Querelle P / Dante Luiz
Ian Mondrick / Elodie Chen
Kevin Schaefer / Andrew Herman / Mike Rosenzweig
DCS
Hal Matthews / Olivia Mercurio
Holly Aitchison / Morgan Perry
Fred Kennedy / Soo Lee
Ryan Estrada
Eliot Rahal / Sean Andrew Lynch
Stephanie Cannon / Emily Pearson
Mark Bouchard / Stelladia VS
Pat Shand / Ryan Best
Mister Loki
Vicky Leta

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Anthologies, Nonfiction

277 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2018

About the author

Nadia Shammas is a Palestinian-American comics and games writer from Brooklyn, NY now living in Toronto, Canada.

She is best known for being the writer and co-creator of Squire (HarperCollins), a Harvey Award winning YA Middle Eastern fantasy graphic novel co-created with Sara Alfageeh. Her other original work includes Where Black Stars Rise (Tor Nightfire), an adult eldritch horror graphic novella co-created with Marie Enger.

She is also known for her work on Ms. Marvel: Stretched Thin (Scholastic). Her clients include Marvel, DC Comics, IDW Publishing, First Second, Tor Nightfire, Penguin Random House, and HarperCollins.

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so stoked for this anthology and I love the disability and chronic illness rep. However, there were a few issues that keep me from giving it five stars. The most pressing was that story titles were sometimes given in the beginning of a story, sometimes at the end, and sometimes partway in, which on several occasions left me confused as to when one story ended and another began, especially since some stories featured sudden shifts in coloring or art style within the same story. A number of the stories were also very abrupt and short and didn't have much in the way of story. It's great to see illness reflected on the page, but a lot of them seemed to be just that: "Hey, this illness exists. I have it. The end." I was expecting a bit more. I was also confused by what fell in the "physical" section vs. the "medical" section, as it seemed quite arbitrary. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad this anthology exists and it features some fantastic artwork and raw, arresting accounts that hit close to home. It's just not quite five stars.

[Lex Ophiuchus · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic anthology! Well organized and beautifully done.

With a Bang Not a Whimper: 5/5
There is a Monster in My Studio: 4/5
Low: 4/5
It’s My Fault Anyway: 3/5
There Once Was a Woman with Straight Fingers: 5/5
Double Double: 5/5
Odin’s Eye: 3/5
It Began in My Arms: 4/5
Endometriosis: 4/5
Bathroom Break: 5/5
PB and J(im): 5/5
Pox Americana: 3/5
Run: 2/5
A Recurring Interruption: 1/5
Carpe Libertas: 3/5
Velvet at the Door: 2/5
Mind & Body: 4/5
The Curse: 4/5
The Milk: 3/5
Stay Woke: 3/5
Choking Hazard: 5/5
ADHD: 3/5
When You Can’t Love Yourself: 2/5
Fake Happy: 2/5
Rage: 3/5
Destiny, NY: New Rules: 5/5
Never Ending: 5/5
A Door in the Dark: 3/5
Testicular Torsion (A Twisted Tale): 5/5
Straight to Voicemail: 3/5
Out of Pocket: 3/5
Flensed: 3/5
A Woman’s Garden of Bodily Horrors: 2/5
Trouble at the Henderson Household: 1/5
Light Reflected: 2/5
What We Hold On To: 5/5
Learning to Fly: 3/5
/Cast Heal: 5/5
Memory Lane: 5/5
Persisting Quietly: 4/5
Old Jokes: 2/5
Thinking About Death the Normal Amount: 4/5

[anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Corpus is a book of stories by people whose health isn't perfect.

Frankly, that's all of us -- if not today, than someday.

Body shenanigans range from the annoying to the profound disability, from the terminal or deadly to the "oh god this again, I just want to go to the store". Around 17% of people in the United States self-report a disability (which means the number is higher) and body shenanigans, whether formally disabilities or not, affect a much higher percentage of us than we want to talk about.

And, at least in the United States, the last few years have been filled with political, public discourse, (and in my case personal) health crises of such proportion that frankly, I'm surprised I'm sitting here to write about it.

But that's why this book is excellent and that's why it's important. We are all human, and one of the things that makes us all human is the annoying, frustrating, sometimes horrible ways in which our bodies break down, act weird, create what shouldn't be created, destroy what shouldn't be destroyed, and expect us to persevere regardless.

Humanizing body shenanigans brings us together.

We need to talk more about health.

This book opens the door to having conversations about what we're all going through, and reminds us that no matter how small or large the problem, we're in it together.

Great thanks to the editor, Nadia Shammas, for putting it together, and I hope there will be many sequels to come.

[Rob McMonigal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ton of talented creators, including some names working on some high-profile books like Tini Howard and Ram V, along with many prominent indie creators (Chris Sebela, Shing Yin Khor, Ryan Estrada, and tons of others) come together on an anthology relating to issues with the human body. It's broken into sections and each one has a wide variety of topics and styles. Not your usual comic anthology, but still really good.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories and artwork were stronger than others. In terms of passion, creativity, unusual subject matter, I'd say this was a special and important project. On the other hand, it surprised me sometimes to find spelling or lettering mistakes, and I also wondered if everyone who felt moved to submit had been automatically accepted, or if there were critical suggestions, editorial decisions, etc.

[Natalie Weizenbaum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hit or miss, but there are some very poignant stories in here

[Audrey Class · Rating 3 out of 5]

Corpus is a great mix of stories and styles showing a range of ailments and conditions that provided some valuable perspective on what those with different bodies face.

[Kelly Fitzpatrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the range of artists. The last 1/4 of the book wasn't very strong, but overall this is a GREAT anthology I would highly recommend! We need more books like this!

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s amazing

[Bogi Takács]

Loved this comic anthology. There were two stories I disliked, but I enjoyed the rest so much. Some true gems. I thought both the art and the writing was really strong overall, I feel these comic anthologies are getting better and better as people have more opportunities to get short-form comics published.

Might write more about this later. (I have a really angry rant about one of the stories I disliked, tbh, but I don't want it to overwhelm this very brief update; I feel it would be unfair, because I really liked the rest.)
_____
Source of the book: Bought with my own money (was a backer of the original fundraiser)