The Overall Story
An overworked businessman, Carl Withers commits suicide. Whilst those who knew him deal with the suicide in various ways (not always sympathetic), the ghost of Mr Withers waits to be claimed by an angel of some sort, but when this doesn’t happen he begins to investigate not only the personal reasons which lead up to his suicide, but also the root causes of suicide and stress in the office and how they are beginning to tragically intertwine.
Taking a further journey, Withers witnesses the effects of stress on two different company members from different strata of the company structure, (his replacement and a lowly clerk).
A helpless spectator, he gains an insight into his own death by witnessing their decline, as both his former colleagues spiral into despair and an inevitable brush with self-murder.
Origins and Inspirations
The idea for the story was initially inspired by the true events surrounding the spate of suicides amongst France Telecom workers in 2009. Basically, after the company was taken over by Orange, an aggressive ‘restructuring policy’ was instigated (which of course meant swinging cuts, impossible work targets and generally adverse working conditions) to improve profits. These changes led in turn to an unprecedented 25 suicides amongst the workforce.
As far as I’m aware, although the cause of the suicides were clearly the fault of the takeover by Orange, the particular brainchild of one Louis-Pierre Wenes (nicknamed the ‘cost-killer’ in France), no one was directly held to account for the deaths. However, according to a report in the Guardian (Jason Burke, The Guardian, Tuesday 20 October 2009) after government pressure, France Telecom had to introduce improvements in the way potentially suicidal staff are measured, monitored and counseled.
In addition to the events surrounding the France Telecom suicides, Inhuman Resources is based on various personal experiences in my own working life (which included a massive and unpleasant internal restructure in one job) and those of friends.
The How
All the pages completed so far, have been created using Photoshop and a Wacom Bamboo Pen Graphics Tablet. I tend to work directly into the computer, creating individual frames or pages from ‘memory’. In other words, using the graphics tablet, I sketch into the computer and build up and finalise the image using layers and filters. For landscapes in particular, I usually trace over photograph, then simplify and colour.
The Why
I am currently working on Inhuman Resources as part of the practical requirements for my MA in design. The deadline falls in May 2011 (eek!). Fortunately I only need produce one chapter to fulfill the requirements (hurrah!), but I am hoping to get the whole story completed…sometime…someday…and printed.
What Next?
To fulfill the marking criteria for M.A. I need to publish the finished first chapter online. I also need to publish the chapter as a ‘hard copy’, which will act as a sample for marking and exhibition.
Following the end of the M.A. project work, I’d like to self-publish (i.e. photocopy them for distribution and of course continue to publish them online) the different chapters as they arise. Then finally, finally I’d like to get the completed chapters professionally printed as a ‘graphic novel’ proper.
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