Kimiko Does Cancer

Abstract

KIMIKO DOES CANCER is a graphic memoir written by Kimiko Tobimatsu and illustrated by Keet Geniza. The book tells the story of Kimiko’s experience with breast cancer as a young, queer, mixed-race woman. Set in Toronto, Canada, Kimiko Does Cancer seeks to upend the traditional cancer narrative, confronting issues such as dating while in induced menopause, navigating work and treatment, and talking to well- meaning friends, health care professionals, and other cancer survivors. In the interview below, Lisa Folkmarson Käll talks with Kimiko and Keet about their three-year long collaboration on the project, their hopes for it, the importance of representation and the difficulties of dealing with vulnerability. Page references in the text are to Kimiko Tobimatsu and Keet Geniza’s Kimiko Does Cancer: A Graphic Memoir (Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2020).