About the book
Animal is a 300-page wordless graphic novel about a common animal story typically hidden from polite society.
The artistic narrative begins with a woman and a cow in a garden, sharing a mystical fruit depicted in vibrant colors. After this shared experience, both the cow and the woman embark on a journey through the life of a dairy cow, portrayed in monochromatic chapters.
These chapters include:
- Gestation (purple)
- Upbringing (blue)
- Auction (turquoise)
- Small farm life (green)
- Dissolution of the small farm and life in a factory farm (yellow)
- Transfer (orange)
- Slaughter (red)
The graphic novel concludes with a largely black-and-white, modern-day scene where the main character buys meat and dairy products from the grocery store. Although she stores the food, she ultimately chooses convenience items, discarding the animal products. Upon realizing the life connected to the items she has wasted, she feels remorse and offers a prayer.
Preparation & Materials
Direct Experience: Livestock auctions, dairy operations, farm sanctuaries, and processing facilities
Reading: Essential Guide to Calving (Heather Smith Thomas), A Child is Born (Lars Hamberger & Gudrun Abscal), Cow: A Tribute (Werner Lampert), The Secret Life of Cows (Rosamund Young), The Cow With Ear Tag 1389 (Kathryn Gillespie), Slaughterhouse (Gail A. Eisnitz), Defending Beef (Nicolette Hahn Niman), Meditations with Cows (Shreve Stockton)
Preparatory Drawings: 1,000 individual cow sketches (see The 1000).
Medium: Fabriano Artistico extra white hot-pressed cotton paper, Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer watercolor pencils, holy water, Pigma Micron archival ink.