Kimball Anderson
Body Comic
Image ID: A pencil drawing on cream colored paper of the torso of a person lying down, as seen from above. Their shoulders raised and elbows out as their hands rest on their chest. Running down the middle of their chest and down past their stomach are little boxes of text. They read: “just/carpet/blinds/known/shift/daze”
Legs, partially cut off in the frame so that you can only see the bottom of calf and foot of the right leg, and the bent knee and calf of the left. Slips of text go down the right leg “made/willed/wanted”, and down the left “on the cusp of/in the spirit of/born of”.
A seated figure mostly out of frame, most of the image is of the left leg stretching out and cut off before you see the foot. On it rests a folded hand leading up a bent arm to a shoulder and chin. The right leg is under, as the person seems to be sitting on it. Along the left leg it says “go/act/move”
The side of legs folding over each other, feet resting at the ends, hair coming down from thigh to heel. Up the thigh it says “trees/leaves/trunks/branches”.
A very intimate drawing, looking at the place where thigh bends away from hip, and at the hint of genital skin starting. Hair leading up past the belly button and up the stomach to where folds of flesh collect under the chest. Placed on the stomach and meandering down it says “privacy/intimacy/space”.
The backs of calves and feet, resting on the ground as if the person is lying on their stomach up out of frame. A toe touches the other foot in a way that maybe seems sweet. On the left leg it reads “under/fall/being/here”, on the right “waves/cold/air/out”. But if read without considering the legs it reads “under/waves/fall/cold/being/air/here/out”.
The back of a hand and forearm, down straight and up against the side of the butt. Fingers laying naturally in an elegant half closed position. Down from the elbow and ending right before the hand, it reads: “before/waking hours/time spent/a while”.
Image ID: A pencil drawing of a shoulder and as much of a head as you can see with the face still being out of frame. The perspective is slightly askew, and gives a slightly unearthly feeling. Hands resting on chest, and the boxes with text run down the forearm like they are balanced there. “suggest/limit/notice”
Image ID: Now the drawing is of a speckled back, seen from above as they lie on their stomach. The right arm is raised and hand is touching the back of the head. Down the spine it reads: “moving/vibrating/waiting/still/one”
Image ID: A drawing of a crotch and seated legs, hands criss crossed across the genitals, somewhat obscuring a penis. A stomach protrudes out slightly above it, covered by hair that continues down the legs. Feet on the ground, and one hand gently grips the underside of a leg. The text boxes now seem to have shadows under them, as if they are physical objects. They travel down the arms, “quiet/harsh” on one arm and “kind/interesting/aloof” on another. But it might also read “quiet/kind/harsh/interesting/aloof” if you ignore the path the arms create.
A tender drawing of the back of the head and shoulders of a person with short hair, their head resting on their right arm as they seem to lie on their side, hand tucked into their shoulder. In the hair it says “I looked”, on the nape “afterwards”, and on the hand it says “when I saw”. It might also read “I looked/when I saw/afterwards”.
A face, head and shoulders. Over one eye, the words “outside the store”, over the mouth “walk past an empty lot”, on the neck “morning routine”. The face has stubble, and what little can be seen of the expression seems messy and tired.
Chest and shoulders, and the neck and chin, stopping just below the lips. Nipples surrounded by hair that extends out throughout the chest. Text starts under the chin and continues down the center of the chest: “hands/toes/eyelids/the texture of skin”.
An almost wincing pose from the side, hand held up to the face. The drawing continues down past a soft stomach to the gentle curve of hip into thigh. Starting below the armpit and taking a curving path down to the thigh, it reads: “out/within/where/in/why/without/are”.
Image ID: A colored pencil drawing of a person with long hair coming down from the top of their head. Their features are impressionistic, just shapes of gray and red and yellow. The rough crackle of paper texture and the scratches indented into it are seen under every bit of color.
Kimball Anderson makes comics for people who fell off of the conveyor belt of life. Since they were young they’ve been disabled by chronic illness, and much of their work explores the ignored, quiet spaces along the periphery that people fall into. Their work has appeared in journals and anthologies like Anomaly, Ink Brick, and How to Wait. You can find more of their comics online (outside-life.com).