Comic: when COVID inspires

In 2020, 30 health professions, from veterinarians to thanatologists, including acupuncturists, chiropractors and dentists, were authorized to vaccinate thousands of Quebecers. Proud to be able to contribute, today they see their work immortalized in a comic strip that will serve as a memory.

the work Together against COVID was launched on Wednesday, and all the money from the sale will be donated to the organization Les Impatients, which helps people struggling with mental health problems through artistic workshops.

The idea germinated at the start of the pandemic in the mind of Dr. Jean-Bernard Trudeau, then deputy director general of the College of Physicians. A fan of comics, he asked his friend, illustrator Mario Malouin, to create small comics on health instructions in order to better get the message across on social networks.

« I have a 50-year career and people are still surprised at the power of comics, » explains Mario Malouin, co-founder of the magazine. Safari, among others. There is a simplicity of the medium that a text does not have and which makes it possible to better convey the messages. »

The project snowballed when they saw a vaccinator, veterinarian Hélène Perras, post a photo of herself at a vaccination centre, an image that attracted 44,000 views in a single day. Jean-Bernard Trudeau had the idea of ​​making comic strips to show the pride of each of the orders that have the right to vaccinate.

Six months of work

Thus, for six months, Mario Malouin sat at the drawing board to illustrate a representative of each profession. Each board includes a portrait of the professional, a drawing in his usual working environment and another during vaccination. We can see, for example, Yanic Bertrand, the paramedic who vaccinated François Legault.

The illustrator was inspired by the 293 photos sent to him by the professionals. Some 83 testimonials from vaccinators accompany the drawings, anecdotes about this unprecedented mobilization that allow you to dive into the heart of the campaign.

“The pride of these people was my driving force,” maintains Mario Malouin. We started from something that is terribly negative like the pandemic to do something positive that is the pride of the people who were doing it for their fellow citizens. »

The book was financed by the Ministry of Health, so all the money raised by the sale can be donated to Les Impatients.

The book Together against COVID is in bookstores now.