Global Warming: When the Sun's Life is Threatened.

I created this narrative sequence with the perils of Global Warming in mind- this is an issue that is really important to me, as an Environmental Science and Policy major and an environmentally aware citizen.  And the issue is becoming more and more important in our daily lives- we're starting to think of hybrid vehicles, reducing water consumption, and limiting our emissions, but there are still so many people who a)don't care b) don't think it's a problem c) don't think that their actions can make a difference.

I used the sun as my central character to approach global warming (or climate change if you will) from a different perspective.  A lot of times we only focus on what this phenomenon means to us or "future generations", but it means a lot more to the environment.  Yes, I realize that global warming is not actually heating up the sun, but this illustration shows that there are more things to consider in the situation.  

I thought of using a tree or plant as the character, but their lifetime would be so short, especially if they were a victim of forest clear-cutting or changes in weather patterns that caused draught or torrential rains.  The sun provided a character that could be all seeing, from the beginning to the end of time.  The sun will outlive us all and is often seen as a symbol of life- without the sun there would be no humans.

The narrative starts with the sun "chilling" around the earth, nice and comfy in the daytime and wearing a scarf during the evening (this is to show that the sun is not too hot yet).  It follows the sun from good times with Adam and Eve, the first fire by a caveman (without fire we would have no burning of fossil fuels), to the industrial revolution, massive amounts of smog, and then rapid industrialization of the whole planet (this is a little exaggerated to get the effect in).  Viewers can see the sun turn from happy to surprised at the fire, and can see him from breathing easy to needing a dust mask to survive.  More modern issues then come into play: deforestation and melting of the icecaps- where we begin to see the sun really  breaking a sweat and even crying into the ocean (raising the sea levels).  

Then we get the drama.  The sun is on fire (its head is literally burning) and it has a thermometer in its mouth- definitely an ill sun.  The sun is imagining its own demise, showing viewers the gravity of the problem.  

But there is hope.  We people begin to see a world without the sun they are awed and inspired to take action (depicted by a thought bubble with the sad sun, a band-aid and a tree ready to plant).  The people, horrified by the thought of a world without a sun, start planting trees and commuting to their jobs on bicycles.  It is really important to see the humans as the heros in this narrative- they are the ones capable of taking action to save the planet (or in this case the sun) from the horrors of global warming.  The final frame shows the sun hugging 3 people, showing its gratitude with a wink- letting us know that we too can make a difference by taking some action.

One of my favorite parts about this comic are the front and back cover.  One the from you see a match with the globe as its head burning up- this is surrounded by a frame of sorts, but looks really scary and hopeless.  On the back you see someone mounting this "picture"- in a real frame on their wall, showing that this is not reality, but something to think about and keep in out sights.