There are a couple things that I’m particularly happy about with this comic, but I’m not sure if it comes across. When I read comics, I tend to go through them very quickly. The images/illustrations are given a closer look once I read through everything else.

One aspect of this comic that I really like is that the brother is blacked out until we reveal his “beautiful spirit”. I think it reinforces the idea of how we don’t see people with autism for everything that they are, and that when we do there are lots of amazing qualities they possess as individuals.

The other aspect I like is the contrast in the first two panels in the third row. The first panel shows the brother silhouetted. The panel that follows it is the exact same thing, but he is properly shown (for the first time). The goal here was to show how he is seen as possessing only a broken mind – the first panel shows him surrounded by judgemental people in the background, and his movements show desperation and incomprehensible jerks. It illustrated what he looks like to people outside of his family. The panel that follows it shows him in the exact same position, but carries a different message. He is not silhouetted, with the caption explaining how he has a beautiful spirit. You see him saying “dance like no one is watching!” It’s this contrast between the two panels that I’m particularly happy with. The intent was to hopefully surprise the reader in seeing what “actually” is going on.

…but given the way I read comics, I’m not sure that it came across in an obvious way.
(below is the original sketch for this comic. If you want to see the comic itself, click here).