The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott by Zoe Thorogood Review

Young artist Billie Scott receives news that she’s getting her own exhibition - but oh no she’s going blind in 2 weeks and needs to do her 10 paintings before then!

Zoe Thorogood’s debut comic The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott is… a debut comic. Which is an accomplishment in itself for a 21 year old - it’s a real, completed, coherent book. But you can also see the age and inexperience in it, and, though Thorogood is a talented cartoonist, her storytelling is a long way from compelling.

Apparently Billie needed to go somewhere else to do her paintings so after randomly boarding a train she, rather fortuitously, winds up in the capital, London, where, despite having almost no money, repeatedly lands on her feet and meets plenny of nice people.

Thorogood’s depiction of homeless life is somewhat romanticised as a largely wholesome community. There’s no substance abuse or mental illness here, everyone just lives out a regular domestic life, albeit either under the stars or in a dorm. Things frequently work out for Billie and her friend Rachel, they always have something to eat, usually have shelter, and even when they sleep rough they’re fine. Billie does have one minor setback but it’s overcome almost immediately.

The lack of any real tension meant the story failed to grab me. Besides the superficial view of homeless life in London, there’s little conflict and most of the time we’re watching as Billie does her drawings and Rachel plays her songs. It plays out as you’d expect with a rather corny ending, though the message is a positive one and contains a truism about the creative life. Also, Thorogood’s a good cartoonist and the art is lovely.

The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott is a bland and forgettable YA comic that younger readers might enjoy but didn’t do much for me. Still, for a 21 year old cartoonist’s first effort, it shows promise, and her next book, It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth, is an improvement on this one, so I’m sure she’ll only get better with time - a name to look out for in the future for sure but don’t expect much from her debut effort.