This Might Surprise You: A Breast Cancer Story

London-based cartoonist Gullen faces cancer with a determined grin in her roughly drawn but spirited graphic memoir debut. After a painful lump on her breast turns out to be malignant, she finds herself on the NHS conveyor belt through chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery. “Why do I have a cancer welcome pack???” her bushy-haired avatar recoils, peering over an oversized surgical mask rectangle. With snarky humor, she juggles cancer treatment with raising her daughter, Rosie, who she takes to play dates and the park between hospital appointments; picking out “Fashion During Chemo”; and asking sex advice columnist Dan Savage if bondage is still safe (“If I can’t have sushi, at least let me have some light BDSM”). She compares entering treatment to becoming a mother: “Once you’re in, there’s no going back.... But I chose parenthood. I didn’t choose this.” Strength and support comes through human connections with doctors, fellow patients, and her Quaker worship group. Gullen’s sparse, naive art isn’t always up to the task of dramatizing her experiences, but she livens up the pages by literalizing ideas (she envisions a vacuum biopsy sucking up her breast like a vacuum cleaner) and through simple but effective visuals like the word PAIN radiating from her body when something goes wrong. Readers navigating medical hardship will appreciate the chummy humor on display here. (Nov.)