RADIUM GIRLS - Serio Comics 2
RADIUM GIRLS written and drawn by Cy, published by Glénat Editions & Iron Circus Comics
RADIUM GIRLS written and drawn by Cy (published by Glénat Editions & Iron Circus Comics)
RADIUM GIRLS is the graphic novel retelling of the events of 1918 when women in New Jersey working jobs for a local watch factory gained the nickname “Ghost Girls” because of the fine dusting of glowing, radioactive powder that clung to their clothes and even their skin and lips as they painted what was claimed by their employer to be the perfectly harmless element Radium onto the dials of their mass-produced product
It was written and drawn by the French visual artist, Cyrielle Evrard, under her nome de plume, Cy
Among the many highlights of Cy’s career so far:
In 2014, she wrote the column Les Dessins de Cy(prine), which showcased a plurality of sexualities and tackled ideas of consent, respect and pleasure and were based on the testimonies of her readers…Even with great reception and the backing of famed publishing house Lapin Éditions, the work was censored by Amazon on its Kindle, for "containing pornographic elements"
In January 2018, she released a new format on her YouTube channel, entitled Pub-à-click, in which she critiques corporate advertisements and its relationship to art
Then in 2020 she published the aforementioned RADIUM GIRLS which is about how those women ended up suing the Radium Dial company for its negligent radiation poisoning, which led to the establishment of workers’ rights such as:
Each individual worker could now sue their employer for damages in the event of injuries suffered in the workplace
Which is crazy to think that wasn’t a law!!!
It also helped lead to a rise in industrial safety standards in general as well as the creation of the OSHA, which is the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Its Seriocomic-ness is much different than last week’s ALL YOUR RACIAL PROBLEMS WILL SOON END by Charles Johnson in that even though it’s also political, its not as sharply satirical, though there are some subtle critiques
Like this moment pointing out the ubiquity of predatory advertising:
The comic lightness in the tone I enjoyed the most was the depiction of self-love & joy that the Ghost/Radium Girls felt when they were gainfully employed and still healthy and could enjoy the freedom and luxuries of life in the innocent prime of their youth:
As well as…
When they played impish pranks on their family and potential suitors with the otherworldly aesthetic effects of the Radium:
The seriousness of the drama of the situation is deftly handled by narrowing the focus on the effects of corporate malfeasance on a few well-drawn and well-loved characters, particularly Grace:
She’s intrepid but not unrealistically so for how her character is first introduced, enough bravery to make a difference but not too much to make her an unachievable ideal for impressionable readers
There’s a striking visual device Cy employs to capture the finality of early death, which factually was the outcome for most of these women:
For the coda, Cy employs an expert storytelling device that lightens the somber tragic end with roguish whimsical wit
In the back of the book is an interview
Cy describes:
How she landed on the purple and radium green color palette (💚💜 I believe is also to Gen Z what pink and yellow were to milennials)
Her inspiration for feminist graphic novels from illustrators like Pénélope Bagieu and her Eisner Award-winning BRAZEN: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked The World
And how while the writing of the scenario/script took much time, she was so excited when it was finally approved by the publisher, that the first sketch of the panels took her only one day: “One hundred and twenty pages in one go, boom!”
LOL
Though one day is often my speed for Substack posts
It has not been the case for the SHOULD WE, um, BUY A GUN? project
Okay, that’s the second post of Seriocomics!