Conscious Comics: How four creatives celebrate unique species from around the world

Min Heo

Often touted as the world’s cutest frog, the Desert Rain Frog is a tiny amphibian found on a stretch of coast joining South Africa and Namibia. With bulging eyes, a stout body, and a transparent belly, it has become an internet sensation in recent years – not least due to the ferocious squeaks it emits when it feels threatened. Unfortunately, despite its best defence mechanism, the Desert Rain Frog’s habitat is currently being destroyed by mining, road construction, human settlement and land-use changes such as livestocking grazing.

“Like many people on the internet, I was immediately charmed by the Desert Rain Frog’s cute but grumpy appearance,” says Min Heo. “However, learning more about its story saddened me… We are oblivious to the fact that we are destroying its home and environment through human behaviour.” In Min’s comic, we see the rotund figure of the frog staring into a mirror, dreaming of clean sandy shores, fresh air and an abundance of bugs to eat. However, after emerging from its home in the dunes, the reality it faces is very different.

“I’m always entertained by the idea of animals wearing hats and cute ribbons, so I started off the story this way,” says Min. “From there, I focused on drawing a comparison between the frog’s fantasy of a night out and his actual reality.” She continues: “Whenever I draw something from real life, the challenge is making the animal realistic but also keeping it in my own style. It takes a few sketches and lots of paper, but I’m quite satisfied with how he came out in the end!”

María Medem

Currently one of the most threatened felines on the planet, the Iberian Lynx is a solitary animal that can only be found in the Andalusian mountains in southern Spain. Most famously, it is seen wandering around Doñana National Park, a reserve which serves as the last stronghold of the species. Despite a growing population, the Iberian Lynx remains endangered, as agricultural and industrial development, as well as hunting and illegal capture, continue to pose a threat to its survival.

Local Andalusian artist María Medem remembers learning about the Iberian Lynx as a child, when, after watching several documentaries and discussing it in school, she became “extremely sad” about its predicament. “I couldn’t read or watch any news about the Lynx, because I wanted to cry,” she recalls. “I remember clearly thinking that I didn’t want to live in a world without them.” More recently, María was also moved by the issues facing Doñana, after discovering that it was a place of unique biodiversity in Europe. “It’s an area full of marshes and water in a part of the country that’s very dry and hot, and the park is also a symbol of our region,” she says.

In María’s comic, the problems facing the Iberian Lynx and its home are clear. We follow a mother and cub as they traverse the vast landscapes of Doñana in search of water and food. Rendered in María’s moody colour palette and soft textures, the national park seems like paradise, but reality sets in as we watch the lynxes encounter various man-made structures that are interfering with the ecosystem, draining precious water away from the land. However, the resilience of the Lynx is also apparent, with the mother passing valuable lessons on to her cub, and the cub eventually parting ways with her to go and fend for itself.

Speaking on the process of illustrating the Iberian Lynx, María says: “They’re very fun to draw. They’re beautiful, with those weird hairs on the top of their ears, their short tail with the black tip, and the pattern on their fur – I enjoyed discovering all of their peculiarities!” She continues: “It was really interesting to intertwine the stories of the Iberian Lynx and Doñana National Park. In the comic, a Lynx cub begins its own life in the area, which is a success for the species, but it also suggests the recovery and continuation of Doñana.”

Jer Dee

Found in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans, the Harlequin Shrimp is a colourful crustacean whose body patterns appear in blue, purple, red and other vibrant hues. Flamboyant though they may be, these shrimps are surprisingly effective hunters, feeding exclusively on starfish that they find in their coral reef homes. This is bad news for their prey, but good news for the environment, as outbreaks of starfish, such as the Crown-of-Thorn's starfish, have been shown to have devastating effects on coral reefs, as they munch away, endangering many species.

When searching for an illustrator who could do justice to the Harlequin Shrimp’s stunning colours and patterns, we found the perfect fit in Filipino artist Jer Dee. Based in Manila, Jer lives not far away from the Shrimp’s own home, and he says this was an exciting discovery. “I found it fascinating that a shrimp like that exists and that it can be found in the Philippines. Its role in the ecosystem also piqued my interest, and the fact that, despite its size, it is able to hunt prey much bigger than itself and protect the reefs at the same time.”

Employing his signature vibrant style, Jer illustrated the story of the Harlequin Shrimp, showing it fighting off crown-of-thorns starfish, which are a particularly spiky and invasive species of starfish known for extensively damaging coral reefs. Speaking on his ambitions for the comic, Jer says, “I hope it will inspire readers to protect and take care of our oceans. There is so much life down there that we rely on to safeguard our own lives on land.”