By Salgood Sam
Toronto-based artist Georgia Webber‘s debut series, Dumb, deftly exploits the “silent” medium of sequential art to describe her own — the result of a vocal injury sustained in October 2012. I’ve been reading the series myself having pledged in her Indiegogo campaign to fund the completion of the work, via a digital subscription. It’s a very compelling experiment in both formalism and narrative style.
The print editions of the last three issues will be debut at TCAF 2015!
The story is a personal exploration of her own ongoing journey in imposed muteness. After chronic pain starting in 2012 forced her to stop speaking, Georgia set about creating new ways to communicate with others, redefine her own self-identity, and in continuing to find a way through recovery.
The comic is being serialized online with updates Monday and Thursday. And Georgia stresses Dumb is not just a comics series.
“[Dumb] is also a collection of audio pieces, an interview project, a video college, a documentation experiment, and a filter through which to examine identity, physiology, spirituality, intimacy, sociology, privilege, justice, and more. And everything.”
In the latest three issues of Dumb, Georgia expands on the themes by including prose introductions about other related experiences. Comics journalist Whit Taylor shares her feelings of voicelessness in the face of racism. Sound Studies doctoral candidate Ely Rosenblum discusses the impact of mishearings and the unappreciated power of the misheard. Cartoonists Julie Maroh and Sarah Glidden write in their second languages each — English and French respectively — about feeling like yourself, in foreign words & phrases. All interesting stuff. I highly recommend the series myself.
George plans to release #9 & 10 this summer following TCAF, and concluding the series.
DUMB #6 – DUMB #7 – DUMB #8
by Georgia Webber
24 pages each, stapled saddle stitched booklets.
Two colors, red and black.
Self-published – www.georgiasdumbproject.com