Working for a suicide hotline helped Rachel M. Thomas find a path to psychology and well-being, her arts upbringing helped her combine art and health for a graphic novel
Rachel M. Thomas draws on her family roots to create her own space in art by merging several disciplines.
Her latest creation, the graphic novel Shrink: Story of a Fat Girl, is the net product of five years of work.
Thomas has woven medical sociology, medical history and fine arts as she ventured on an academic path with a current focus around graphic medicine, which she describes as being the intersection between comics and healthcare. Her latest graphic novel was produced as she pursued her PHd as part of her thesis.
Thomas, who hails from Collingwood, grew up in an environment deeply rooted in the arts.
“My parents both worked in opera and theatre,” she says, adding that her dad, Steven Thomas was artistic director for Theatre Collingwood from 1997-2012.
They often cautioned her not to follow in their footsteps. But they were very supportive and helped to fuel her passion as she pursued visual arts.
She also drew inspiration from other sources.
Support from her high school art teacher, Steve Zago, helped spark her confidence.
“He saw something in me that was worth pursuing,” she says. “As a teenager, when you’re not sure what you want to do, having someone tell you that you can actually make something out of this (was a turning point).”
And as she earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto, followed by her master’s as she worked in sculpture in Calgary and doctorate in Montreal, she found value in the work of Canadian communication theorist Marshall McLuhan (the medium is the message) and comics theorists Bart Beaty at the University of Calgary and Darren Wershler at Concordia University.
Thomas is now an assistant professor of comics, graphic novels and sequential arts at Teesside University in England and describes herself as an interdisciplinary artist/researcher whose work blurs the boundaries between traditional media, technology, and bio-fabrication.
“I’ve never limited myself to one specific medium,” she says.
Whether it’s painting, drawing, or bio art installations, she’s always explored different avenues for self-expression. But it was through comics that she found her niche, particularly because of its ability to reach beyond traditional art spaces.
Comics, she adds, are always on the fringe, making them powerful—they are mass-marketed but not constrained by the high art world’s boundaries, she says.
A deep dive into mental health, including working at Calgary’s suicide hotline, marked the beginning of her interdisciplinary journey.
“I got into psychology and well-being, and I realized I wanted to find a way to merge these disciplines in a meaningful way,” she reflects.
Her PHd thesis, which combined medical history, sociology, and fine arts, explored bioethics, particularly in relation to fat women undergoing IVF treatments. This research found its way into academic journals but she wanted to make it available to a broader audience “that wasn’t going to be written in an academic language and wasn’t going to be behind a paywall.”
For Thomas that meant using the graphic novel format.
“Graphic medicine uses comics to make medical information accessible and understandable. It’s about making complex health topics more approachable for everyone,” she explains.
A particular area of focus for Thomas was obesity as a disease and the societal stigmas surrounding fat bodies. She set out to present the narrative based on her personal experience with weight loss in a way that was not only educational but also humanizing.
It’s not a “how-to” book, she clarifies, but a reminder for readers to decide what is right for their own bodies. The book is now available across major retailers like Indigo, Amazon, and independent bookstores.
Even as she continues to discuss her latest creation and the related issues, Thomas already has two more graphic novels in the pipeline with one focusing on Alzheimer’s disease, and the other on polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).