Jamie & Daniele Nonfiction Graphic Novel :: Introduction

 

Jamie & Daniele is based on the character Daniele Bunco from the stage production HOLIA that has run at Bewley's Café Theatre in Dublin since 2012. This cabaret musical series conveys adult experiences as an ensemble of visual presentations. The stories carry a positive message of strength and resilience.

 

The Scriptwriter Katie (Cat) Myers

This scripted graphic novel explores a personal experience specific to me. Completing this version has been cathartic. While a wide array of readers may relate, here is some insight into who I am, so you can understand more about the basis for the story.

I am a writer who uses imagery to convey experiences and thoughts. Therefore, this presentation incorporates comic book-scripted elements and can be considered a short graphic novel.

In recent years, I experienced trauma around a workplace relationship that included bullying. Writing Jamie & Daniele has been my way of coping and moving on. The events that took place over several years had a strong impact on my life and my disposition. It's impossible to put into words and only someone who has sensed the same angst under their skin would be able to imagine how it feels. Daniele’s transformation to Daniele Dim (among other imagery incorporated into the comic) aims to communicate how much of an impression the experience has had on me.

I was adopted at the age of four and I am completing this book in my forties. I am interested in learning how other women of my generation with similar backgrounds might navigate some of these situations. Do we handle ourselves during breakups any differently from those with different backgrounds? Do we have post-adoption, attachment or detachment disorder issues when going through a breakup like Daniele? Would we respond to bullying in an office environment by suffering in silence?

 

The Authors SHINE & BYERS

The concept of this piece was developed over several years by Katie (Cat) Myers, who has extensive experience in creative fields in the US and Ireland. In 2021, she joined forces with lifelong friend and business partner Sherry Berdy to produce the Jamie & Daniele comic book and script. They believe this story is charged and will continue to evolve in the coming years. Not only is this the pinnacle of a cathartic journey for the authors, the story revolves around a heartfelt experience that needed to be exposed. A secret that had been killing them to keep. With the belief that it is important to share experiences, they hope to discover how others perceive the script and make it their own.