How to stop the pain from painkillers
Gasoline Alley comic Gasoline Hand Pump is a cartoon series that aims to show people how to stop their addiction to painkillers.
Created by the artist and illustrator Matt Wiggin, the comic has been viewed over 1.5 million times and has been translated into many languages.
“I wanted to do a story about pain, because pain is the only thing that really helps you to get through the day,” Wigins explained.
“Pain is the thing that makes you think, ‘I don’t want to do this, I’m not going to do that’.” The comic is a direct response to the drug crisis that is sweeping the United States.
Wigens aim to give a voice to the people who have been caught up in the addiction to these pills, and have been unable to cope with the fact that the only way to end their addiction is to stop taking them.
“It’s a kind of anti-heroic comic, and I wanted to tell stories about how people have been able to escape the pain of their addiction and turn to something better, something that would give them hope,” he explained.
In the comic, Wigges character, Gasoline Horse, is a man who has lost his wife and his children to an opioid addiction.
The man becomes a street fighter, a street rat and a heroin dealer.
“The reason I’m drawing him is that he has become so addicted that he is literally throwing his life away in a way that I can’t help but feel sad for,” Wigs explained.
Wigs inspiration for the series comes from the characters of other cartoonists.
“People who are very graphic and who do things with their body, or the way that they use language, or use the words that they speak,” he said.
Wiggins art style was inspired by the style of the artist Steve Ditko. “
There’s a lot of guys that do these really extreme things, and the reason I wanted that to be a character is because I wanted something to go with the character that I’m doing.”
Wiggins art style was inspired by the style of the artist Steve Ditko.
The comic takes place in a series of comics called “Lonely Streets”.
Wiggers goal was to create a story that resonated with the audience.
“That’s the thing about comics,” Wiggins said.
The story is a straight-up horror story, where the reader is stuck in a story, in a place, in an environment where they don’t know how to end the story.
“If you can tell the story in a simple, everyday way, and then have the characters do that, you can really build the atmosphere of the story,” he continued.
That’s the art of horror comics.” “
They have to feel like you know them.
That’s the art of horror comics.”
In the series, the characters are drawn in a manner similar to the comic books, but with the intention to give an insight into their everyday lives.
Wiggens aim is to use the images in the comic to inspire others to stop using painkillers and get back to a life of regularcy.
“My goal was not to make people stop using these drugs, but to get them to realize that they don-t have to, and that they can be happy,” he concluded.