Identity Thieves Narrative

For the creations of the narratives I returned to two of the ideas I had earlier used in the single image designs; identity theft and a superbug. I felt that these were the best options to try and adapt into a visual narrative because they could quite easily utilise the framework and motifs of well recognised existing stories, aiding in the ease of their interpretation by the reader. I also felt that these two stories each fit distinctly into the two genres that had most keenly inspired my personal project, horror and science fiction for identity theft and the superbug respectively.

Identity Comic

Nosferatu

Hannibal

Strange Tales

Twilight Zone

Visually, I attempted to accentuate the distinction between genres through the use of colour. In keeping with its horror roots, I rendered ‘The Identity Thieves’ in black and white, trying to emulate and evoke the 1950s ‘Twilight Zone’ and the 1922 film ‘Nosferatu’ with its creeping, elongated shadows. Attempting to further emulate the silent film, I forwent dialog or narration, instead counting on familiar tropes of the horror narrative to help communicate meaning.

‘Identity Thieves’ relies heavily upon the lexicon of werewolf and vampire stories; upon the main character being attacked by the creature, he inherits its affliction. It was important to me that the story included this kind of dramatic, unrealistic departure from the true issue of identity theft in order to distance the story from a political or social commentary on it, attempting to clarify that the interest in the work lay instead in the gross exaggeration of reality.

The title of the comic references the pulp fiction magazine ‘Strange Tales’, while acknowledging the ridiculous nature of the story with the embellishment ‘Stranger Tales’. While functioning as homage, the phrase ‘stranger’ also reflects the narrative, as the main character loses his identity and is no longer recognised by his loved ones (or even automated doors).