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Jennifer Hayden
FALL OF MAN
a visual narrative

Scroll down for an interview with Jennifer Hayden by Cleaver Visual Narrative Editor Emily Steinberg
FALL OF MAN, a visual narrative by Jennifer Hayden - TitleFALL OF MAN, a visual narrative by Jennifer Hayden - 2FALL OF MAN, a visual narrative by Jennifer Hayden - 3FALL OF MAN, a visual narrative by Jennifer Hayden - 4FALL OF MAN, a visual narrative by Jennifer Hayden - 5FALL OF MAN, a visual narrative by Jennifer Hayden - 6FALL OF MAN, a visual narrative by Jennifer Hayden - 7FALL OF MAN, a visual narrative by Jennifer Hayden - 8FALL OF MAN, a visual narrative by Jennifer Hayden - 9FALL OF MAN, a visual narrative by Jennifer Hayden - 10"And I'm sitting in my car in a dark field and I am showered with glass." Sketch of small car in field with crescent moon in sky."My turn to call 911. I was fine. The deer that had hit me had lumbered off." Sketch of large deer saying "ow" with car in background."But the incomprehension and feeling of suspension stayed. I just dropped my husband off for surgery. They said I can't wait here, so I wanted to use your bathroom before I drive home. Let me take your temperature." Sketch of Mom in hospital next to worker."Last spring. We can't just stay in our houses for eighteen months until they come up with a vaccine... Can we? Oh God." Sketch of Mom looking out the window."Or maybe it had been there all the time." Sketch of Mom and Dad falling, nude, with leaves surrounding them."Summer. He's going to challenge the election results if he loses. They're going to have to forcibly remove him from the White House. Jesus. We're fucked." Dad looking at iPad with coffee on table."January. I believed in science. I believed in the constitution. I believed they would protect us." Mom wearing cable knit sweater, holding coffee, looking out the window. "I guess the first thing you learn in the fall from innocence is how naked you really are. I need another hug. But now pretend you're someone I haven't seen in a long time." Mom and Dad hugging.

Headshot of Jennifer HaydenHayden is the author of The Story of My Tits, the Eisner-nominated graphic memoir about her experience with breast cancer. She wrote the webstrips Rushes: A Comix Diary, and S’Crapbook. Her first book, Underwire, was featured in The Best American Comics 2013, and she has appeared in anthologies. She is working on a graphic anti-cookbook called Where There’s Smoke There’s Dinner, and a travel novella called Le Chat Noir, about her dicey relationship with France. She has lectured at Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, and NYU, and is currently quarantining in New Jersey

 

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