Lisa’s Story Essay
posted on March 26, 2019
Last Fall I gave a talk at Baldwin Wallace University at the invitation of Dr. Michael Dolzani who taught a graphic novel course where they read Lisa’s Story. Dr. Dolzani recently shared with me some of the essays that were written in regard to Lisa’s Story, and I was very impressed with the work. So much so that I decided to share one of them with you. The first essay is by Jackie Lamb who graciously gave me permission to share her work. The illo that accompanies the piece was an alternate title and cover for the book that was obviously never used.
Jackie Lamb
Dr. Dolzani
Eng 129
27 November 2018
Coping Mechanisms in Lisa’s Story
The National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Statistics state that: “Approximately 38.4% of men and women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lifetime” (National Cancer Institute). And according to a CBS news poll, 54% of Americans report that they or someone in their family has been diagnosed with cancer (CBS News). If over half of Americans lives are affected in some way by cancer, then why is genuine representation so rare and even taboo? If popular television and film address this topic at all, it tends to be in corny after-school-specials or histrionic medical dramas. The media displays a narrow binary of cancer patients as either happy-go-lucky Race For the Cure poster women, or miserable, resentful people who have lost all hope. Tom Batiuk’s, Lisa’s Story serves to correct some of those tropes. Lisa’s Story, a bold deviation from the author’s previous repertoire of “high school humor,” Explores the life of the protagonist, Lisa, and her friends and family after she discovers that she has breast cancer. Batiuk provides a realistic narrative of lives touched by cancer and through the large cast of his comic strip “Funky Winkerbean” examines how people cope with the tragedy of terminal illness.
After her diagnosis, Lisa and her friends process the shocking news in multiple different ways. One of the prominent coping mechanisms featured in the book is performing selfless acts. Friends of Les and Lisa exemplify this by helping them out in small ways, like making them dinner, or in one man’s case, even washing their car because he didn’t have any food to bring (19). Lisa’s girlfriends, who Les describes as “wonder women” arrive at their house near the end of the book, announcing that they are “house cleaners, caregivers, babysitters and shopping assistants at [Les and Lisa’s] service” (213). One of the “wonder women,” Holly Budd, even happens to be Lisa’s ‘Reach to Recovery’ volunteer who helps her understand her illness from a survivor’s point of view. In an act of kindness and vulnerability, she shows Lisa what her own mastectomy looks like when she notices how frightened she is about her upcoming surgery (16). Another friend of the couple, Cindy Summers, even breaks from her former self-centered, “shopaholic” ways to give her time to Lisa. Noticing how depressed Lisa is about losing her hair, Cindy turns to what she knows best and takes Lisa out wig shopping to lift her spirits (48-53). Even Lisa herself finds healing in helping others. The second half of Lisa’s Story, “The Other Leaf,” takes place seven years after the diagnosis when Lisa is in remission. she is shown participating in the ‘Reach to Recovery’ program again, but this time as a volunteer giving advice to a patient just like Holly did for her 7 years prior (82). The characters in Lisa Story exemplify that when unable to help in any other way, people will give of their own time and effort as much as they can.
As the leader of Lisa’s breast cancer support group says: “Laughter can be a pretty strong medicine for dealing with cancer” (79). Lisa, Les, and friends often lighten the weight of her adversity through humor. Les and Lisa make light of the depressing situation in nearly every panel from playfully referring to their HMO as “Denialcare” (55-7), to making jokes about serious medical procedures like Lisa’s mastectomy (35). Lisa even laughs in the face of the grim prognosis that she has mere months left to live by sarcastically saying that she was “kind of looking forward to a midlife crisis” (93). Lisa’s tenacity and zest for life help her to cope with her illness. After her first Chemo session, Les says to Holly that she is “attacking this like one of her legal cases” and she replies that “her cancer doesn’t know how much trouble it’s in” (97). Lisa gets through her many exhausting treatments by making sarcastic quips and jokes, about herself and her cancer, so much so, that the doctors marked “feisty” on her chart (171). She even envisions herself as a superhero, fighting off cancer-cell-monsters with laser beams (136, 155). The characters are not making mean-spirited jokes at Lisa’s expense, or belittling the patients who go through hell every day just to stay alive. Humor is simply their way of, taking something uncontrollable and controlling parts of it. Humor allows people to distance themselves from adversity, and to understand and process it in a completely new way.
While Batiuk wrote jokes into many of its strips, Lisa’s Story contains a balance of humor and seriousness. Lisa and Les are humans after all, and sometimes they process the terrible news through anger, hopelessness, and fear. Les and Lisa are both terrified of what’s to come, and try to be strong for each other whenever they can be, but there is always an underlying fear in their interactions. In one strip the two are on a walk and Les assures her that even though her diagnosis is scary, “[they’ve] lived through stuff like this before, and [they] can do it again.” reassured, Lisa tells him that he’s convinced her, but in his head, Les is wondering how he can convince himself that everything will be okay (10). Lisa experiences similar fear and guilt. In one strip Les wakes up from a nightmare frightened and disoriented. Lisa sadly says: “I wish I could help…but I can’t be strong enough for both of us!” (22). In another strip, Les comes home to pick Lisa up for their date but she doesn’t feel well enough to go. Lisa, exasperated, yells “What do you want from me!?” and Les thinks to himself “I want things like they were!” (47). Lisa’s Story does not shy away from scenes of Lisa breaking down in tears, feeling angry about her diagnosis (55), or guilty because she thinks about her illness so much, or even in total shock (88). These raw scenes reveal the reality of coping with terminal illness. sometimes the illness is too overwhelming, or painful, or frightening, and people often cannot cope in ways other than through expressing their visceral emotions.
People also may eventually process their grief through acceptance. As shown in Lisa’s Story, The patient almost always comes to accept their (fate) more easily than their friends and family. At the end of the first half of the book, Lisa takes a contemplative walk in the park. In the beginning she is frustrated that this is the direction that her life is taking, but throughout the sequence of her walk she comes to the conclusion that: “Life isn’t a walk in the park…but that fact shouldn’t keep you from enjoying a walk in the park!” (65-7). Lisa keeps this attitude even as her condition worsens and especially when her life expectancy is cut drastically short. Like many cancer patients when they understand that their time on Earth is running out, Lisa decides to quit chemo; to “live the time [she] has left, not just be alive” (175). Lisa lives up to this declaration.she takes walks outside with her husband (208), She make snow angels outside with Les even though she’s extremely ill (126), she eats as much junk food as she can at the country fair (205), and she even testifies before congress about cancer research funding (197-200). Les finally accepts the reality of the his wife’s condition and tells her that it’s okay for her to let go (204). Although this is one of the most difficult ways, people can eventually cope with cancer when they work up the strength to accept the diagnosis. So many patients and families face the difficult decision between staying on treatments and prolonging a life of pain, or ending treatment and enjoying what life they have left. When people accept the grim reality of the cancer diagnosis, they can appreciate their time with their loved one and even feel more emotionally prepared for their death.
Amongst all of the overdramatized representations of cancer patients, Lisa’s Story stands as a true ode to survivors, those currently battling cancer, and their loved ones. Lisa’s Story highlights all of the familiar trials that patients and families endure. The comics strips make the large, daunting subjects of cancer and death understandable and even humorous without trivializing the subject or the millions of people who are living through their own version of “lisa’s story.” Lisa’s Story is not only a source of comfort and solidarity for people suffering through similar situations, but a useful resource to help people understand how people cope with the tragedies of terminal illness and early death.
Works Cited
“Cancer Statistics.” National Cancer Institute, www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/statistics.
CBS News. “CBS News Poll: Majority of U.S. Families Touched by Cancer.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 12 Mar. 2017, www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-poll-majority-of-us-families-touched-by-cancer/.
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- Match to Flame - 57
- One More from the Road
- John Darling - Take 85
- B & N - San Diego
- Elliott Bay
- Countdown to Heritage Auction Ten
- Countdown to Heritage Auction Nine
- Countdown to Heritage Auction Eight
- Countdown to Heritage Auction Seven
- Countdown to Heritage Auction Six
- Countdown to Heritage Auction Five
- Countdown to Heritage Auction Four
- Countdown to Heritage Auction Three
- Countdown to Heritage Auction Two
- Countdown to Heritage Auction One
- Back on the Road
- Batty Batom Bullpen - John Byrne & Joe Giella
- John Darling - Take 84
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Tom Palmer
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #182 September 1968
- Son of Akron Comicon 2017
- ►October(20)
- Match to Flame - 56
- Akron Comicon 2017
- John Darling - Take 83
- Left Bank Books
- Buckeye Book Fair 2017
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Tom Lyle
- Deep Vellum
- Rothko Chapel
- Brazos
- John Darling - Take 82
- Fox 8 in the Morning
- Lisa's Legacy Run
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #181 August 1968
- Philly
- New York ComicCon
- John Darling - Take 81
- Kent Book Festival
- John Darling - Take 80
- Match to Flame - 55
- John Darling - Take 79
- ►September(19)
- The Thurber Attic
- Lisa's Legacy Trilogy on the Road
- John Darling - Take 78
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Russ Heath - Redux
- Akron Marathon Lisa's Legacy Relay Team
- Launch Signing Nears
- Superman and Cleveland
- John Darling - Take 77
- Batty Batom Bullpen - P. Craig Russell
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #180 June 1968
- More Ripples
- Thurber House Part 3
- John Darling - Take 76
- Batty batom Bullpen - Russ Heath
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #179 May 1968
- Summer's Story
- John Darling - Take 75
- Match to Flame - 54
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #178 April/May 1968
- ►August(19)
- The Last Leaf
- Thurber House Part 2
- John Darling - Take 74
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Rick Burchett Rides Again
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #177 March 1968
- Match to Flame - 53
- Prelude
- John Darling - Take 73
- Ripples Redux Redux
- Thurber House Event
- The Cat Exits the Bag
- John Darling - Take 72
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Rick Burchett
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #176 February - 1968
- Match to Flame - 52
- Match to Flame - 51
- Flash Fridays - Superman #199 The Flash #175 December 1967
- Match to Flame - 50
- Match to Flame - 49
- ►July(18)
- John Darling - Take 71
- Ripples Redux
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #174 November 1967
- Match to Flame - 48
- Even More New in the Studio
- John Darling - Take 70
- The Ripples
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #173 September 1967
- Son of Odds and Ends
- Match to Flame - 47
- John Darling - Take 69
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Don Perlin-Encore
- Flash Fridays - The Flash # 172 August 1967
- John Darling - Take 68
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Neal Adams
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #71 June 1967
- Match to Flame - 46
- John Darling - Take 67
- ►June(18)
- More New in the Studio
- The More Things Seem to Change...
- John Darling - Take 66
- Heritage Consignment
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #170 May 1967
- Match to Flame - 45
- John Darling - Take 65
- The Batty Batom Bullpen - Full Disclosure
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #169 April-May 1967
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Randy Reynaldo
- Match to Flame - 44
- John Darling - Take 64
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Neil Vokes
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #168 March 1967
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Norm Breyfogle
- John Darling - Take 63
- Return to the Road
- The Batty Batom Bullpen - Bob Layton
- ►May(10)
- ►April(14)
- John Darling - Take 60
- The Pipeline
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #164 September 1966
- Match to Flame - 42
- John Darling - Take 59
- The Radar
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #163 August 1966
- Band Calendar - April
- John Darling - Take 58
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Frank Brunner
- Match to Flame - 41
- Les and Cayla
- John Darling - Take 57
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #162 June 1966
- ►March(19)
- The Secret Sauce - The More Things Change
- John Darling - Take 56
- Batty Batom Bullpen - Ron Frenz
- Flash Fridays - #161 May 1966
- Match to Flame - 40
- John Darling - Take 55
- Magic
- The Pipeline
- Flash Fridays - #160 April 1966
- The Secret Sauce - Roses in December
- John Darling - Take 54
- The Batty Batom Bullpen - Paul Gulacy
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #159 March 1966
- Match to Flame - 39
- The Batty Batom Bullpen - Michael Gilbert
- John Darling - Take 53
- Flash Fridays - Green Lantern #43 March 1966 - The Brave and the Bold #65
- The Secret Sauce
- Band Calendar - March
- ►February(13)
- ►January(17)
- Superman Crayons
- John Darling - Take 47
- Flash Fridays - The Flash # 157 December 1965
- John Darling - Take 46
- Match to Flame 38
- Match to Flame 37
- Volume Six is in the house.
- John Darling - Take 45
- Match to Flame 36
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #156 November 1965
- Sunday News
- John Darling - Take 44 1980
- Studio Stuff - Cleaning the Studio
- Son of Superman Crayons
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #155 September 1965
- The Pipeline 2
- Band Calendar - January
- ►2016 (146)
- ►December(14)
- John Darling - Take 43
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #154 August 1965
- John Daring - Take 42
- John Darling - Take 41
- John Darling - Take 40
- Match to Flame 35
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #153 June 1965
- John Darling - Take 39
- Match to Flame 34
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #152 May 1965
- Match to Flame 33
- Home for the Holidays
- Flash Fridays- The Flash Annual #3 April 1965
- Band Calendar - December
- ►November(11)
- ►October(14)
- On the Road Again - Akron Comicon
- John Darling - Take 36
- Batom Comics - The Untold History Part 11
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #148 - November 1964
- On the Road Again - Buckeye Book Fair
- John Darling - Take 35
- Match to Flame 31
- Flash Fridays - The Flash Annual #2 October 1964
- Autumn
- Match to Flame 30
- John Darling - Take 34
- Flash Fridays- The Flash #147 September 1964
- Match to Flame 29
- October
- ►September(12)
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #146 August 1964
- John Darling - Take 33
- Match to Flame 28
- The Pipeline 1
- Flash Fridays - The Flash # 145 June 1964
- John Darling - Take 32
- Match to Flame 27
- Lisa's Legacy Run 2016
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #144 May 1964
- John Darling - Take 31
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #143 March 1964
- September
- ►August(10)
- ►July(12)
- SDCC 2016
- Flash Fridays - The Flash Annual #1-1963
- Anatomy of a Cover Seven
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #140 November 1963
- Match to Flame 25
- John Darling - Take 28
- Studio Stuff - Wood-burned Starbuck
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #139 September 1963
- Match to Flame 23
- Match to Flame 24
- July
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #138 August 1963
- ►June(11)
- ►May(7)
- ►April(8)
- ►March(17)
- Match to Flame 20
- John Darling - Take 20
- Anatomy of a Cover Four
- Flash Fridays #131 September 1962
- Studio Stuff 4
- Studio Stuff 3
- Studio Stuff 2
- Studio Stuff 1
- Match to Flame 19
- ANATOMY OF A COVER Three
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #130 August 1962
- John Darling - Take 19
- Match to Flame 18
- John Darling - Take 18
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #129 June 1962
- John Darling - Take 17
- Match to Flame 17
- ►February(15)
- John Darling - Take 16
- Anatomy of a Cover Two
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #128
- Match to Flame 16
- Anatomy of a Cover - One
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #127
- On The Road Again
- Blast from Funky's Past
- Flattop Junior's Final Act
- Batom Comics - The Untold History Part 10
- Match to Flame 15
- John Darling - Take 15
- Batom Comics - The Untold History Part 9
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #126
- John Darling - Take 14
- ►January(15)
- Batom Comics - The Untold History Part 8
- Flash Fridays - The Flash # 125
- John Darling - Take 13
- Match to Flame 14
- Match to Flame 13
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #124
- John Darling - Take 12
- Batom Comics - The Untold History Part 7
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #123
- Match to Flame 12
- John Darling - Take 11
- Batom Comics - The Untold History Part 6
- Flash Fridays - The Flash #122
- Match to Flame 11
- John Darling - Take 10
- ►December(14)
- ►2015 (72)
- ►2014 (19)
- ►2013 (5)
- ►2012 (12)
- ►2011 (8)
- ►2010 (5)
- ►2009 (6)
- ►2008 (8)
- ►2007 (10)
- ►2006 (1)