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Cicatrix
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.
" Cicatrix is beautiful and deeply honest, a clear-eyed look at something strange and unexplainable―family, harm, guilt, and our own fragile bodies." – Eleanor Davis, The Hard Tomorrow
2022 Broken Frontier Award Best One-Shot
" Cicatrix is beautiful and deeply honest, a clear-eyed look at something strange and unexplainable―family, harm, guilt, and our own fragile bodies." – Eleanor Davis, The Hard Tomorrow
2022 Broken Frontier Award Best One-Shot
48 pages, Paperback
Published July 6, 2022
88 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 11, 2022
A cicatrix is the scar from a healing wound. The short comics fictional essay by Elle is about the aftermath of guilt, isolation and bodily trauma (hypochondria) arising from political authoritarianism. In this case the Filipino artist Elle is referring to the brutality of the Marcos regime, though what she says will resonate with people experiencing political (and other) trauma the world over.
A woman has a lump on her neck, and she is terrified about it. Her father worked for the Marcos regime, a murderous enterprise. The lump is symbolized by a dot that dominates her life, always there, throughout the book. Memory driving her bodily fears. Though it’s not explicit, it would appear story behind this fictional story is the rape and murder of a particular woman during this period. In an afterword, Elle castigates support for Marcos and leaders like it both within her country and from the US, which has of course historically supported right wing regimes against Communist movements.
The art and the story itself is abstract, not always clear ab0ut the specific political situation, but it was primarily written for Filipino readers, who knew what happened. It’s more elusive for other readers, though the rawness and pain and anxiety are clear enough as a consequence of the woman’s inheritance of her father’s complicity.
In case you are worried about your own trauma in reading it, it is not explicit in its depiction of any acts of violence.
Marcos got rid of the 1935 Constitution and replaced it with his own, Marcos-friendly one in 1973, greasing the wheels of autocratic abuses.
I know what you are thinking: Thank goodness we live in a place where that would never happen!
Here Donald Trump, having made his commitment to reassume the Presidency, declares his intention to do away with the US Constitution:
https://elleshivers.com/Cicatrix
Here’s the short and powerful Silver Sprocket comics production:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/03/politi...
A woman has a lump on her neck, and she is terrified about it. Her father worked for the Marcos regime, a murderous enterprise. The lump is symbolized by a dot that dominates her life, always there, throughout the book. Memory driving her bodily fears. Though it’s not explicit, it would appear story behind this fictional story is the rape and murder of a particular woman during this period. In an afterword, Elle castigates support for Marcos and leaders like it both within her country and from the US, which has of course historically supported right wing regimes against Communist movements.
The art and the story itself is abstract, not always clear ab0ut the specific political situation, but it was primarily written for Filipino readers, who knew what happened. It’s more elusive for other readers, though the rawness and pain and anxiety are clear enough as a consequence of the woman’s inheritance of her father’s complicity.
In case you are worried about your own trauma in reading it, it is not explicit in its depiction of any acts of violence.
Marcos got rid of the 1935 Constitution and replaced it with his own, Marcos-friendly one in 1973, greasing the wheels of autocratic abuses.
I know what you are thinking: Thank goodness we live in a place where that would never happen!
Here Donald Trump, having made his commitment to reassume the Presidency, declares his intention to do away with the US Constitution:
https://elleshivers.com/Cicatrix
Here’s the short and powerful Silver Sprocket comics production:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/03/politi...
Read
October 19, 2024I didn’t grasp all of it, likely because I’m not the intended audience, but I still connected with it, especially its portrayal of anxiety, which resonated deeply with my own experiences.
I loved the art and panel designs; they were incredibly creative and thoughtful.
May 29, 2023
found this in a comic shop in vermont and from the cover it struck me. very excited to follow this artist’s journey. cicatrix is about a person struggling with the sins of their family’s ties with the marcos regime in the philippines. the person spends these pages detailing the sins and their moral fear of them being manifested in an emerging bump on their neck. the color scheme is so fitting; black white and orange which is associated with the bump. through each chapter, the bump shows up in motifs as orange circles growing bigger and bigger. it is a thoughtful and looming piece. so glad i spotted it when i did.
February 6, 2023
Content warnings are listed at the end of my review!
"From the vehicles he designs, American soldiers walk down to rape and murder the women on the shores of the country he and his family were born."
This is a really fascinating perspective, following the author Elle Shivers as they investigate a lump formed on their neck, the medical anxiety it causes them, and the anxieties that caused the lump itself in the first place. The lump itself poses a looming physical reminder of the burden of guilt their family's involvement with the dictatorship lead by Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines that causes Elle crushing amounts of guilt and mental anguish. They open up about how their family directly assisted, benefitted, and actively remains thankful for Marcos despite the atrocities caused by his rule. They connect the privileges they receive because of their family's involvement and thematically the lump, even when not physically an issue, manifests as a dot to show the growth of guilt and how it plagues their life and surroundings.
Altogether, Elle paints a strong portrait of how their family continues to carry on pieces of Marcos' legacy through politics to career choices and the pain Marcos caused is far from gone despite him no longer being in the picture. We are presented with the dissonance they show as their family talks casually about their jobs or happily use their connections, and Shivers presents us with the other side, the reality, hypocrisy, and consequences of the corruption. They connect how their family actively benefits, they seem to be the person the curse of the injustice has landed upon as they developed severe hypochondria, believing every illness to strike them was earned from the actions of their family. Despite this, they understand that this isn't a guilt that can be cut off or crushed, but they vow to become better than the precedent their family has set.
Summary:
Readability: ★★★★★, The art is simple yet deeply impactful, sticking within the same palates, and keeping the theme of circles, especially in red. I really like the font used, as it was very clear and easy to read! Some of the panels are almost like a flipbook, gradually displaying motion of a scene that works really well. The story itself if heavy and complex because of the topics covered, so be aware of the content warnings.
Entertainment: ★★★★★, There's so much character to Shivers' style! I would have loved even more of this, especially going into more context of modern protests and pushes for radical change to move further away from Marcos' and his impact left on the country.
Audience: This is a great read for personal context and feelings about the negative political situation historically and how it still impacts the Philippines. It's quick but has amazing depth, I strongly recommend!
Content Warnings: anti-trans attack, brain cancer, CIA, guilt, ICE, imperialism, infection, kleptocracy, medical anxiety, military occupancy, murder, needles, police, political corruption, profanity, rape, surgery, vomit, war
"From the vehicles he designs, American soldiers walk down to rape and murder the women on the shores of the country he and his family were born."
This is a really fascinating perspective, following the author Elle Shivers as they investigate a lump formed on their neck, the medical anxiety it causes them, and the anxieties that caused the lump itself in the first place. The lump itself poses a looming physical reminder of the burden of guilt their family's involvement with the dictatorship lead by Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines that causes Elle crushing amounts of guilt and mental anguish. They open up about how their family directly assisted, benefitted, and actively remains thankful for Marcos despite the atrocities caused by his rule. They connect the privileges they receive because of their family's involvement and thematically the lump, even when not physically an issue, manifests as a dot to show the growth of guilt and how it plagues their life and surroundings.
Altogether, Elle paints a strong portrait of how their family continues to carry on pieces of Marcos' legacy through politics to career choices and the pain Marcos caused is far from gone despite him no longer being in the picture. We are presented with the dissonance they show as their family talks casually about their jobs or happily use their connections, and Shivers presents us with the other side, the reality, hypocrisy, and consequences of the corruption. They connect how their family actively benefits, they seem to be the person the curse of the injustice has landed upon as they developed severe hypochondria, believing every illness to strike them was earned from the actions of their family. Despite this, they understand that this isn't a guilt that can be cut off or crushed, but they vow to become better than the precedent their family has set.
Summary:
Readability: ★★★★★, The art is simple yet deeply impactful, sticking within the same palates, and keeping the theme of circles, especially in red. I really like the font used, as it was very clear and easy to read! Some of the panels are almost like a flipbook, gradually displaying motion of a scene that works really well. The story itself if heavy and complex because of the topics covered, so be aware of the content warnings.
Entertainment: ★★★★★, There's so much character to Shivers' style! I would have loved even more of this, especially going into more context of modern protests and pushes for radical change to move further away from Marcos' and his impact left on the country.
Audience: This is a great read for personal context and feelings about the negative political situation historically and how it still impacts the Philippines. It's quick but has amazing depth, I strongly recommend!
Content Warnings: anti-trans attack, brain cancer, CIA, guilt, ICE, imperialism, infection, kleptocracy, medical anxiety, military occupancy, murder, needles, police, political corruption, profanity, rape, surgery, vomit, war
April 28, 2025
stunning, biting
July 11, 2023
Content notes for body horror and military dictatorship.
Keywords that came to mind reading this very short comic: autobiography, skin, pain, legacy, medicine, and guilt.
In addition, the definition of Cicatrix over at Merriam-Webster dictionary is "1: a scar resulting from formation and contraction of fibrous tissue in a wound [and] 2: a mark resembling a scar especially when caused by the previous attachment of an organ or part."
Looking at the writing and the art, obviously things are very concise. Very successfully so in my opinion. Obviously very different from Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home by Nora Krug, these two highly reflective comics do feel linked in my mind. While Cicatrix obviously was more sparse on detail, this contrast did leave me preferring the shorter work. While I think it's important for my peers to know more about Marcos military dictatorship in the Philippines, I appreciate that Shivers seems to have made the choice (given their position) that they are not the person to tell this story overall.
Similarly, the art skillfully uses layouts, shape, color and line. Page layouts felt surprisingly airy and unconstrained.
A very concentrated story in terms of race, sexuality, gender and class. There was still a lot said about these different intersections and the precise spot that Shivers finds themselves in.
Of course it did feel like ability/disability was one of the prime foci of Cicatrix. The circles throughout were an interesting way of perhaps replicating how Shivers' mind is obsessed with physical disfunction.
Concluding; a work that left me with a lot to chew on both morally and technically... A bit of a master class on keeping things compact. Four stars.
Keywords that came to mind reading this very short comic: autobiography, skin, pain, legacy, medicine, and guilt.
In addition, the definition of Cicatrix over at Merriam-Webster dictionary is "1: a scar resulting from formation and contraction of fibrous tissue in a wound [and] 2: a mark resembling a scar especially when caused by the previous attachment of an organ or part."
Looking at the writing and the art, obviously things are very concise. Very successfully so in my opinion. Obviously very different from Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home by Nora Krug, these two highly reflective comics do feel linked in my mind. While Cicatrix obviously was more sparse on detail, this contrast did leave me preferring the shorter work. While I think it's important for my peers to know more about Marcos military dictatorship in the Philippines, I appreciate that Shivers seems to have made the choice (given their position) that they are not the person to tell this story overall.
Similarly, the art skillfully uses layouts, shape, color and line. Page layouts felt surprisingly airy and unconstrained.
A very concentrated story in terms of race, sexuality, gender and class. There was still a lot said about these different intersections and the precise spot that Shivers finds themselves in.
Of course it did feel like ability/disability was one of the prime foci of Cicatrix. The circles throughout were an interesting way of perhaps replicating how Shivers' mind is obsessed with physical disfunction.
Concluding; a work that left me with a lot to chew on both morally and technically... A bit of a master class on keeping things compact. Four stars.
Read
April 24, 2023This was such an eerie and intriguing story, especially knowing the son of this dictstor, the one her grandparents knew personally, that son is currently the president of the Philippines.
This graphic novel / essay / memoir caused me to go down a Wikipedia deep dive after it popped up on a recommended book list for me.
And wow.
I think had heard the name "Marcos," once? Maybe? I mean, I wasn't alive when all this happened, but still. I think that's part of the author's purpose in writing it — there's a generation that's forgotten.
I wish this particular story had been longer, but it was very well done! I'm just gonna need to find more nonfiction books on the subject
This graphic novel / essay / memoir caused me to go down a Wikipedia deep dive after it popped up on a recommended book list for me.
And wow.
I think had heard the name "Marcos," once? Maybe? I mean, I wasn't alive when all this happened, but still. I think that's part of the author's purpose in writing it — there's a generation that's forgotten.
I wish this particular story had been longer, but it was very well done! I'm just gonna need to find more nonfiction books on the subject
June 13, 2023
I liked the 2 pages of explanation of the dictatorship at the end, it helped the comic make more sense when I had the context. I wouldn't mind learning more about that dictatorship, and the comic making me want to do that is impressive.
August 21, 2024
really unique way to convey what’s essentially a personal essay. love the creative layouts, the overlapping themes of generational trauma alongside your present anxieties, and the political context at the end. definitely gonna keep an eye out for this artist’s work in the future
October 16, 2022
A great personal essay accented by a good comic
November 23, 2022
beautiful, visceral
April 23, 2023
I appreciate the context in the afterword
May 13, 2023
Very interesting and intense little read. It's something I might return to in the future.
July 9, 2024
Phew I didn’t know much about the US and Phillipines military history. A poignant story about inherited power and guilt.
August 17, 2024
great art. appreciated the blurb at the end
April 20, 2025
Strange bump erupts on neck… what could it be? Therapy and hypochondriac then back story of family members in high level jobs
September 12, 2024
A super quick graphic novel read about a young Filipino person whose family was friends with the Marcoses and benefited from their corrupt abuse of political power. It's how this guilt manifests in physical form. I definitely sensed this was geared towards Filipino readers in mind (or anyone already familiar with Philippine history) so I was glad there was some backmatter material talking about Martial Law and the EDSA People Power Revolution.
August 7, 2024
Lovely little insightful respite
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews