I had a little fun with the panel above from Epileptic. (you can see the original one below) For some reason I never read this classic before, but I’m doing so now.

It’s the story of David’s early childhood and adolescence, focusing on his relationship with his older brother and younger sister. His brother develops severe and intractable epilepsy, causing the family to seek a variety of solutions from alternative medicine, most dramatically by moving to a commune based on macrobiotic principles.

https://i.imgur.com/C5nYvq9.jpeg

As the epileptic brother loses control of his own life, the artist develops solitary obsessions with cartoons, mythology and war. The book’s graphic style becomes increasingly elaborate as the children’s fantasy life takes over, with their dreams and fears (including epilepsy itself) appearing as living creatures. In brief interludes, the children appear as adults when the artist begins the process of writing the story. --WP

https://i.imgur.com/uT0YyGJ.jpeg

To be clear, the disease / trauma of his older brother’s sends young David in to a world of coping mechanisms, a general process perhaps familiar to most of us.

https://i.imgur.com/ZfVzabe.jpeg

So far I’m seeing a number of parallels to the equally-classic L’Arabe du futur ("The Arab of the Future), by Riad Sattouf. They’re both anecdotal, imaginative looks at these authors’ respective childhoods… works in which you can see events and principles which shaped the personality of the future adults. Also of interest is that they bring uniquely Arabic perspectives to the BD-sphere.

LBK on David B:
https://www.lambiek.net/artists/b/b_david.htm