The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott

Product Information

These would seem to be working against each other, but Billie is inspired to seize the moment and takes off on a road trip with the goal of painting 10 portraits of 10 people. This is brought on by an unexpected bonding session with the housemates she previously ignored and the realization that she’s been so focused on putting her art first that she’s cut herself off from life. Creating the 10 portraits is her opportunity at one last chance of living life while she still has eyesight. Billie Scott is an artist who just got her big break— right before finding out she'll be blind in two weeks. As a depiction of young friendship, Billie Scott is great, just don’t expect too much from it about blindness. In fact, the impending blindness of the title works out to be not much more than a MacGuffin. As Scott herself says near the end: "this journey was never about my blindness.” It seems a shame that a story about a visual artist going on a road trip to ‘find what they’re looking for’ while going blind doesn’t utilize the allegorical and metaphorical resonances that blindness as a literary device offers. A debut YA graphic memoir about a Korean-American girl's coming-of-age story—and a coming home story—set between a New Jersey suburb and Seoul, South Korea.

The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott - Graphic Policy Review: The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott - Graphic Policy

As others have mentioned, the small text made Billie's narration and the dialogue difficult to read; even though it was probably intentional, it did at times affect my enjoyment of the book. Ironically, I also wonder about that from an accessibility standpoint. A sweet and moving story. Billie Scott has finally gotten her big break in the art world: 10 original paintings for her own gallery in two weeks. But tragically, she soon learns she is going blind. Billie leaves the comfort of her apartment in search of ten portraits and of course who she meets along the way will change her too. But art is a lot like life, and it’s by allowing yourself to encounter the unknown that either becomes enriching, partly because that’s when you learn new things and find new ways to look at the old things, but also because it can require creative solutions and that’s the situation where most people meet failure. Billie Scott has spent her life fearing failure but when confronted by impending blindness she realizes that you eventually encounter the unknown whether you do so intentionally or not. Her 10-portrait project becomes a crash-course in facing the unknown and rising to the challenges it pushes at her.It really says something that I wanted to DNF this graphic novel very very badly. Usually with graphic novels, while they might be boring they are enjoyable enough for me by means of the art to get through. But this one really frustrated me.

Zoe Thorogood | Image Comics Zoe Thorogood | Image Comics

I'm honestly only taking away a star because of the painfully tiny lettering that could easily be used to blind the reader, and which made me think that the creator wanted the audience's eyes to feel uncomfortable, given the subject. But I have no proof of that, so let's get to the good stuff. I hated and misunderstood why Billie is choosing to be homeless? Like she has an apartment and made friends with her housemates but then she just leaves and lives on the street when she doesn’t have to. It felt like it was meant to be quirky, and it was unnecessary.A woman with severe social anxiety has been accepted at a gallery, only while she’s making the paintings, she’s mugged, with the result being impending blindness. The main journey is her struggle to figure out if she wants to, or if it’s viable to complete the gallery showing beforehand. Incarcerated. Retired. Dead. Nothing's gonna stop these Rogues from getting theirs, as the Flash’s deadly enemies come out of retirement for one last—and potentially fatal—score!

THE IMPENDING BLINDNESS OF BILLIE INDIE VIEW: Seeing through THE IMPENDING BLINDNESS OF BILLIE

This is a very impressive debut by Zoe Thorogood at only 21 years old. The artwork has crisp lines and often is accompanied only by one accent color at a time, as we follow Billie and the interesting folks she meets, and who impact her in different ways, as she travels around London. The bittersweet message about the power of creating art - creating something new - no matter what, along with the positive messaging about not letting one's disability hamper one's life, is a powerful one and uniquely told in this story. Admittedly, it was a little bit on the nose at the end, but it worked overall. The reveal of the 10 paintings at the end had great payoff. Did I stay up way too late reading this in one sitting as I could not put it down? YEP. Is Zoe Thorogood the future of comics? Yea, probably? Weird question, sorry, why would I ask that. Oh, it’s because everything Thorogood does is so goddamn engrossing that I just want to shout about it to everyone. Which I have been doing at the bookstore anytime someone so much as glances at the graphic novel section. But for real, The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott from Zoe Thorogood is a delight. We follow runaway artist Billie who, on the cusp of their big break with a gallery showing, is the victim of random violence that leaves her going blind. With only weeks before her eyesight is gone, she sets out to make 10 portraits and keep her artistic dreams alive, facing the cruelty of living on the streets but having meaningful conversations and making lasting friends along the way. This is a moving story, with lots of ups and downs and emotional grit that really sinks its claws into you. Like the way a cat will climb up your leg and you think “ow!” but then “aw” because it snuggles up in your lap and you love cats. This book is like if that cat was art, all brought to life through Thorogood’s incredible artwork and humor. tratta di una lettura a fumetti molto carina, con personaggi freschi e ben delineati. E che dire delle illustrazioni, sono fantastiche

Finalmente le cose sarebbero andate per il verso giusto e un nuovo percorso artistico sarebbe iniziato.