Muscle Memory – A Survivor’s Story

Muscle Memory is a hard-hitting multimedia project recording the life of Coventry-based graphic novelist and artist, Al Davison. It is the second volume of Davison’s autobiography and a follow-up to the acclaimed first volume, ‘The Spiral Cage,’ detailing the artist’s lifelong struggle with spina bifida and his rise to successful comic book creator, martial arts instructor, film maker, and performer.

This sequel is a lifelong project exploring body image and the often harrowing experiences of disability hate crime over 25 years. While the content is challenging, the unique and very personal perspective brings to the surface many issues often overlooked in other treatments of this difficult subject matter.

The web comic includes animation, live footage, audio and astro-photography, which enhance the non-linear approach to autobiographical storytelling. A central interactive illustration opens a series of ‘branches’ of interconnected, tangential memories from Al’s past.

Al Davison has also been acclaimed by writers such as Neil Gaiman who referred to his unique work as “a religious experience, akin to dreaming with your eyes open.”

Please be aware this work contains themes of violence against a child.