Abstract

LELIS, Camila Luiza  and  ASSIS LIMA, Marcus Antônio. There's a Monster in My Mirror: An Analysis of the Autobiographical Graphic Novel Monstrans: Experimenting with Horrormones, by Lino Arruda. RLEC/LJCS [online]. 2023, vol.10, n.2, pp.143-170.  Epub Feb 28, 2024. ISSN 2184-0458.  https://doi.org/10.21814/rlec.4696.

This article seeks to debate the construction of queer narratives in alternative forms of language, such as comics, by compiling relevant literature within the theoretical scopes of gender studies, art history and comics. Autobiographical comics offer countless possibilities for reflection because they incorporate visual elements into the narrative construction. When it comes to an autobiographical illustration, readers have a glimpse of how the artist views themselves in their memories and what they propose to expose. To explore the potential for interpreting and analysing queer autobiographical comics, this discussion centres on the graphic novel Monstrans: Experimentando Horrormônios (Monstrans: Experimenting with Horrormones) by Lino Arruda (2021). This work features deformed watercolour lines that construct the narrative of the author's memories in his journey to understanding his gender identity. The intention is to reflect on the theme of monstrosity present in this work and how it can be a stylistic resource and a means of critiquing the self-representation of dissident bodies, focussing specifically on the artist's relationship with the mirror, a recurring element in other transvestite/trans comics also mentioned in this article.

Keywords : monstrosity; self-representation; transsexuality; comics.

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