Begin Again is the story of Alice Todd, a woman in her early twenties, forced to find a new home upon numerous events that also cause her to shut herself out mentally from the rest of the world. Her internal battle with herself is given a physical representation in the form of Conscience, a character that speaks for her mind. But in the functioning world, her new neighbour Sebby, as well as other unit renters Megan, Jazz, Ivy, Alvita, and Alice’s long lost cousin Elliot, unknowingly take on the role of her saving grace as they gradually help her fix what had been broken - her self respect. This takes the form of their collective compassion, understanding, and humour.
Over the past few years, I’ve been talking about a webcomic every now and then called Begin Again. The truth is, the fruition of this comic is something that I want to make known to many others in similar situations that ache for recognition and closure of certain emotions.
This comic is about moving on, accepting the severity of the pain you feel in response to a traumatizing ordeal, and potentially realizing that it was dragging you into dangerous territory. It’s about abandoning the ‘demonizing’ thought process, advancing toward the acceptance of the past and instead focusing on life in the moment. For years, I’ve been haunted by bad things that happened in my life, allowing it to pull me into a state that, on several occasions, I almost didn’t survive. There are too many like me that haven’t.
Depression, anxiety and PTSD forces those who suffer from it into corners they often feel they cannot escape from when there aren’t enough outlets. It’s far too common (and far too easy) to experience this through painful incidents we’re bound to come across in our daily lives, and in extreme cases suicidal thoughts, gestures, and fatalities can sometimes be a result. Begin Again explores this, also involving the frightening reality of drug use, self harm in its numerous forms, the problems gender and sexually diverse people face, and more.
To explore and illustrate these things in a realistic and honest way is something I hope to accomplish. And with the added elements of humour between the more serious topics, hopefully something people can use to aid them in healing.
