Autophobia by G.H.S.T. follows the story of Louis Beau and his journey towards self-acceptance and self-love. At home, Louis struggles with his strict dad and the high expectations he imposes on Louis. At school, Louis is dealing with the social aftermath of a failed relationship and growing apart from his former best friend. Internally, Louis is still mourning his mother while trying to live his live as perfectly as possible as to not upset his father and trigger his alcoholism again. His façade of perfectionism and self-denial slowly comes undone as he starts a secret relationship Daniel, a loud, excitable, social outcast with whom Louis learns to embrace the messiness of life by trusting and leaning on others.
What ideas and feelings are communicated through color motifs?
While it is definitely not a rule, the use of color in Autophobia follows the general notion that slice-of-life stories use warm colors that underline the idea of everyday life. The story overall features lots of earthy red, orange, and yellow hues that come together to instill different tones in the various scenes. For instance, the use of pale yellows throughout Louis’s house gives the impression of a lukewarm home and family life. In contrast, the scenes at Daniel’s house when he and Louis are together are rich in darker browns and reds, so the panels give off a comforting vibe. In chapter 19, the use of color accentuates the highly anticipated prom in stark contrast with the rest of the story up until this point. While the chapter starts in the pale light of Louis’s house, it suddenly bursts with bright pinks and purples, and among those happy colors lie some other telling ones.
Just like any other symbol, the meanings behind colors actually vary from culture to culture. For example, while dressing in black for a funeral is expected in some western countries as it is a somber, deathly color, in Japan the color associated with death is actually white. Not only can the meanings associated to colors be quite arbitrary across cultures, but also the subjective experience of color varies between people as not everyone sees the full spectrum that most humans see. Because the significance of colors is so varied and seeing color is not a universal experience, one can argue that focusing on how the colors contrast against each other can provide a just as rich — if not richer — analysis of a story.
Credit: G.H.S.T.
A three-panel page.
First panel: A close-up of Louis hugging his knees and crying. Daniel has his arm around Louis, looking at him closely with concern.
Louis: I made you feel so c-crappy! I know we made up and everything, but I still —
Second panel: A collage of six portraits in varying colors: an upset Daniel in yellowish green, Louis’s dad smiling in pale yellow, Louis’s dad upset in orange, Louis’s dad angry in yellow, a beaming Daniel in pale green, Louis’s mother forlorn in pale yellow but with a blue streak across the middle of her face.
Louis: This whole week has been… crap and — It’s been such whiplash and I can’t keep up with it and — I don’t know why — I don’t know why —
Third panel: A zoom out of the first panel, now showing Mia on Louis’s left, looking at him with her hands to herself.
Louis: I really psyched myself up for this! I actually really wanted to go!
A full-page composite illustration with a top panel.
Top panel: A close-up of a beaming Daniel with Louis on his left, looking at him.
Top illustration: Mia is reaching out to Daniel, asking for a dance. Daniel is smiling widely. Mia’s flowing black dress transitions into the starry night sky for the next illustration.
Mia: Dance with me, Daniel! Dance with me in the moonlight!
Bottom illustration: Daniel and Mia are happily dancing, hand in hand, under the starry night sky formed by Mia’s dress from the illustration above.
Daniel: We’ll make our own prom!
From the point Louis arrives at Daniel’s house, the panels are rich in pinks and purples, giving the scenes a dream-like appearance. Louis is finally allowing himself to be happy, and the colors highlight that happiness. The cultural significance of the colors themselves couldn’t be more appropriate as purple — specifically, lavender — has long been a symbol of the queer community. Similarly, the way the different colors blend allude to the bisexual pride flag with its pink, lavender, and blue stripes, which is how Louis seems to best identify at the moment. If this meaning were ignored, the notion of happiness and comfort wouldn’t be lost, however. This is particularly true when contrasted (as in the panels above) with discordant colors like greenish-yellows and orange tinting Louis’s fears and trauma. His disappointment draws his mind to these moments which disrupt the dream and color motif. However, it is restored by Mia and Daniel’s support and then some, as the dream-like purples now feature the endless possibility of the night sky.