Date: 2020
Client: Me
Tools: Procreate

Prove me wrong: Orphan Black is the best – and most underrated – tv series of all time. Yes, I may say the same about Breaking Bad, Mad Men and a select few others, but… there’s something about this series which nails it on every level. It is simply a gripping, wonderfully produced and written series with as much humour and warmth as it has suspense and sci-fi. In many ways, Orphan Black was quite groundbreaking and I think that is why it gets the title for me. Firstly, a female lead, and one that absolutely nails multiple characters (spoiler: it’s all about crazy scientists and clones). Secondly, one of the lead characters/clones is Cosima, a PhD student with a fairly central role in the sciencey stuff of the show – is gay. What is ground breaking about this? Well, almost every gay character in mainstream film/tv history will have some sort of tragic storyline about their sexuality as the main focus of their character. Not here folks. In fact, there are several LGBTIQ+ characters on the show and not once is this presented as a storyline in itself. The significance of this cannot be ignored. Instead, the focus is more on relationships. Like, for instance, the intense, tumultuous and incredibly hot romance that is between scientists Cosima and Delphine, which I’ve represented in this illustration. Alongside this, I’ve lettered one of the more entertaining pieces of dialogue, spoken by Cosima while performing a quite gory surgery in a bathtub, hence the sentiment…is that all we are?!