"Holly and Fran"

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By: Sarina Nichols

Illustration and Design

"Holly and Fran” is a story that spawned from my Story Design course with Dan Ligon. This story is my first step into the world of graphic novel creation. This graphic story intends to explore a juxtaposition of two tropes: an adult begrudgingly protecting a child and an adult having to rely on a child for protection. Different yet so similar, these themes together create a unique and emotionally complex canvas for visual storytelling. The visuals in this graphic story are crucial to the narrative. Because Fran, the narrator, is blind, the visuals express her blindness. The usage of entirely black backgrounds is intentional in showing Fran’s lack of visual awareness of her surroundings, leaving only the aspects she can decipher to be emphasized in each slide. The portions of the story that are memories are meant to be clearer and more detailed to show that Fran has a vividly optical memory. Color is also a crucial aspect of this story too. Keeping the story monochrome not only further depicts Fran’s blindness but also creates a noir atmosphere. The only color used in this story is red which is meant to be an expression of Fran’s ever-present emotions of violence, anger, and love. Additionally, the prose in this story is also intentional. The written content is meant to be simple as to not take away from the visuals, and it is meant to sound more conversational in order to express that Fran is verbally retelling the story. “Holly and Fran” is not only an exploration of visual storytelling but it tells a riveting tale of sacrifice, commitment, and the lengths one will go to for the person they love most.

 2022 Showcase Selection