In this project, Aneesa Rashid draws on the conventions and canonical works of comic books, most directly Harvey Pekar’s “Name Story,” in order to interrogate Prospero’s character as it is presented in The Tempest. Although Rashid writes in her reflection that she is “not an artist,” her very deliberate artistic choices turn a simplistic drawing style into a strength. By forgoing unnecessary detail, she forces the audience to pay attention to how Prospero’s face is obscured throughout by the hat that symbolizes his magical powers; the recurring image of Prospero slipping out of frame as he reveals his social anxieties further emphasizes our sense that “Prospero does not exist”—or perhaps, Prospero would prefer nonexistence.

The final frame, showing Prospero’s magic hat abandoned on a chair, echoes Prospero’s ultimate discarding of his magical books and staff near the end of The Tempest. Yet through this comic, the audience comes to understand a deeper significance in this action: Prospero abandons the tools of his manipulation in order to reveal his true self out of frame. Following 26 frames in which Prospero’s entire face is obscured by the symbols of his power (which Rashid has re-framed as symbols of his isolation), the vulnerability of that gesture carries a powerful punch.

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