LOST IN THE MIDDLE
Back in 2020, Anomaly helped the New York Life Foundation launch a trilogy of children’s books centered around a little boy named Kai who learns how to navigate the profound loss of his dad. Each book acts as a creative tool to help children and families process their grief.
In 2022, we recognized an opportunity to build on this series as we faced a new reality: Over 200,000 kids in the U.S. lost a parent or caregiver to COVID.
So we evolved Kai’s journey and created a 200-page graphic novel in both English and Spanish to help middle schoolers cope with losses, big and small. And then we launched it at New York Comic Con.
We brought the story to life at NY Comic Con, where attendees could literally step inside the story with a classroom ripped straight from the pages of our graphic novel.
And with the help of Will Reeve, son of late Superman actor Christopher Reeve, we put grief support center stage at the event.
Animated trailer for “Lost in the Middle.”
The final cast of characters. We worked with clinical psychologists to ensure each one had a unique and authentic experience with loss — from Cam who just moved to town and is missing his old life, to Alex who recently lost her old brother.
I wrote the entire manuscript for the graphic novel. Narration, dialogue, text messages, dream sequences, flashbacks, social media posts and visual descriptions for every single scene.
We then turned the manuscript over to illustrator Genie Espinosa and her team to help bring the project to life visually.
Together, we got to the extremely satisfying and very cathartic printing stage.
Throughout the book, QR codes lead to videos of the characters talking directly to the reader — offering advice or suggesting an activity that helps them cope.
Stills from Comic Con
