Dumb
Dumb
*Excerpts from Dumb are also available as a mini-comic.
By Georgia Webber. Published by Fantagraphics.
Hardcover, 196 pages, 2-Color, 2018.
This graphic memoir is about how the author copes with her loss of voice due to injury.
Part memoir, part medical cautionary tale, Dumb tells the story of how an urban twentysomething copes with the everyday challenges that come with voicelessness. Webber adroitly uses the comics medium to convey the practical hurdles she faced as well as the fear and dread that accompanied her increasingly lonely journey to regain her life. Her raw cartooning style, occasionally devolving into chaotic scribbles, splotches of ink, and overlapping montages, perfectly captures her frustration and anxiety. But her ordeal ultimately becomes a hopeful story. Throughout, she learns to lean on the support of her close friends, finds self-expression in creating comics, and comes to understand and appreciate how deeply her voice and identity are intertwined.
"Webber's meditative graphic memoir is an ode to doggedness and a testament to resilience through change." — Publishers Weekly
"Webber's experiences make for fascinating, engrossing, and revelatory reading in her new graphic memoir, Dumb." — Four Color Apocalypse
"Webber wields the full power of the comics medium to address the life-changing catastrophe of being forced into silence." — Broken Frontier
"Dumb is a wonderful story, elevated by its true-to-life nature. With each captivating turn of the page, Georgia Webber’s personal journey is a stark reminder that no one, no matter how young or old, is invincible." — Comics Bulletin