In Joyce Farmer’s, first ever-graphic novel, “Special Exits,” she chronicles the last four years of her parent’s lives. Unable or unwilling to care for themselves, Farmer intervenes, and becomes their full time caretaker as they slowly die due to sickness and old age. Farmer spent thirteen years creating this comic completely by hand using pencil and nib pen. The innumerable hours show in her delicate and detailed drawings. In an age when most things are done on the computer, Farmer, like many other graphic novelists chooses to work in an “old school” manner. Speaking of “old school,” the author herself was in her sixties and seventies while making this book. She comes from the era of the underground comix, a contemporary of artists such as Robert Crumb, who was a huge proponent for getting this work published. It is a graphic memoir by, for and about the elderly, a truly unique perspective that one doesn’t usually find in this medium. Farmer’s early works like, “Tits and Clits Comix,” from the seventies had a feminist bent. She and her colleagues were reacting to the misogyny of underground comic artists as well as publications such as “Playboy” and “Penthouse.” Farmer claims that they “were all off and just saw women as photographs that needed to be airbrushed and women who were bed mates and not much else.”
In this same vein of advocacy, Farmer approaches the story of her parents. She brings awareness to the difficulty of caring for the elderly. She depicts them in their sickness and vulnerability while at the same time imbuing them with dignity. Historically, the comic’s form was made for a younger audience, but with the birth of the graphic memoir, that audience has broadened immensely. In an interview with Richard Metzger, Farmer was asked whom she though her target audience was while making this book. Farmer responds “ I was thinking the target audience should be people like I was when I was going through taking care of my parents which would have meant forty-five years on up…the target audience turns out to be more twenty something’s that are very interested in their grandparents and maybe even their parents and the problems their parents have to face”(int.) The interest in her book may also have something to do with the wild popularity of the graphic novel itself. I myself would not have read it if it hadn’t been for it’s format. It brings up the question: why would any twenty something want to read about two lonely old people dying in a dilapidated house in south Los Angeles? Who wants to look at drawings of an eighty year old women having a sponge bath? This quandary brings up some unique points about the graphic memoirs appeal. As opposed to a novel, they are a much easier read. There are innumerable depths to be explored in both pictures and the words and their relationship to each other. This makes it easier for both the young reader and the more mature adult to enjoy. It is easy for one to get caught up in the eloquence of Farmer’s lines, which portray a sense of kindness and wisdom, both about the characters in her story and the author herself. The anecdotes run the gamut of emotions, from heart warming to utterly depressing and sometimes both.
One very depressing moment from the book is when Laura(Farmer’s surrogate character), visits the house to find that her stepmother has lost her eyesight due to neglect of self care. Living on their own, her parents weren’t equipped to keep up with their medical or health needs, and thus Rachel(Farmer’s step-mothers character), didn’t keep up with her Glaucoma medicine. In one panel Rachel comes to the realization that she won’t be able to sew anymore, a hobby that she had pursued with great passion her entire life. Laura’s thoughts turn to panic as she tries to process this devastating turn of events. Interestingly enough, Farmer herself was suffering from macular degeneration while making this painstakingly detailed novel. These traumatic events are to be found throughout the story and are a major part of what makes it so emotionally compelling. Deeply personal moments are found in many autographies, from “Maus” to “Persepolis,” of which this book has been compared. The ability to relate such moments in words and pictures is a special quality of the medium, which makes it distinct from all others.
Many times throughout the book farmer depicts the act of bathing her senile stepmother. Although deeply saddening in the fact that Rachel can no longer take care of herself, it also speaks to the kindness and respect Farmer showed her parents. The care and respect of our elders is the running theme of this book. Farmer shines a light on this intimate act, one done in hospitals and behind closed doors, but never shown to the public. She makes it palatable for us with her dignified drawings, evoking empathy for her disabled stepmother’s struggle as well as her own.
Farmer’s depictions of the candid moments between her and her parents brings to light why the graphic novel is such an apt medium for the memoir. The essence of the work lies somewhere between the drawing and the word. A grey area guided and informed by the physical memory of the hand, as well as a memory evoked through words. If done with skill, this mixture of aesthetics creates a unique story world which no other medium can lay claim to. Using these tools Farmer explores the area of old age and death, a reality that couldn’t be further from the super heroes and fantasy from which the medium made it’s name. Even so, it’s popularity ranges from young to old. From people who are dealing with the issues addressed in this novel, to ones who have had not even thought of it yet.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Los Angeles Times Hero Complex.http://herocomplex.latimes.com/tag/joyce-farmer/(accessed December 23, 2011).
2.DangerousMinds.http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/special_exits_an_interview_with_joyce_farmer(accessed December 23, 2011).
3. Farmer, Joyce, Special Exits, Washington: Fantagraphics Books, 2010.
