A bad case free#

Shannon’s anti-peer pressure storyline matches that of Kevin Henkes’ Chrysanthemum with imaginative, surrealist artwork similar to Berkeley Breathed’s Flawed Dogs.

A bad case free#

Shannon acknowledges that Camilla’s arrival to this new way of being may not be free of social backlash, interpersonal charades, and greater moral intricacies shaded by girlhood regardless, she now has the mentality to cope with these events. With this decision, “she never even a touch of the stripes again.” Camilla’s return to health is withheld, heavily coloured, and clouded with confusion because, without the need for external validation, no story remains. While it is a beautiful thing when others allow her to be herself, she decides it is more dependable when she allows it. Turn, her “stripes” progress into “crystals and feathers and a long furry tail.”Īfter the dehumanising experience of denying her true identity, Camilla chooses to embrace her individuality, offering an exceptional lesson in self-acceptance. Moreover, Camilla continues to let others’ opinions dictate her life, leading her further from her true self.

On her front lawn, reporters band together to broadcast “The Bizarre Case of the Incredible Changing Kid.” At this point, Shannon gives way to moral debate, as news networks profit from making Camilla a public spectacle. In one image, she acts as the vibrant nucleus to a circle of surrounding classmates, who watch as her “stripes” change with their collective command.Īt home, Camilla remains a headliner. This is especially true at school, where her “stripes” begin changing patterns at others’ request. Camilla’s first concern, however, is not her worsening illness but “what to wear with crazy stripes.” As a people-pleaser, Camilla is all too aware of-and shaped by-society’s opinion. Troublingly, their proposed “treatments” only work to upset her condition. Looking to others for a cure, Camilla meets with “expert” medical professionals equipped with clipboards and clunky glasses. After a lifetime of adhering to social norms, she wakes up one day unrecognisable to herself: she is covered in rainbow stripes! Ironically, Camilla’s conventional ways may just be the reason behind her latest atypical change. After all, given her position as a people-pleasing conformist, multicolour stripes are not exactly a preferred look. On the inside, however, she is shadowed by gloom. On the outside, Camilla is the definition of sunshine and rainbows.

Camilla was always worried about what other people thought of her.”īolstered on the cover of David Shannon’s A Bad Case of Stripes is a downcast, rainbow-stricken Camilla Cream, sulking into her polka-dot pillows. All of her friends hated lima beans, and she