Tia Roxae's Face Fatigue is a short (10 pages) but highly effective bit of body horror and social critique & satire. A woman who just turned 21 is obsessed with her youth as her only asset, but is all-too-aware of how men objectify and threaten her when she doesn't make herself available for them as a sexual object. When she develops some mysterious kind of acne. It gets bad enough that she starts wearing a scarf to obscure her face, and there's an over-the-top bit of ridiculousness when her mom shows her a fish her father caught and the young woman screams "I LOOK LIKE IT!" The comic then devolves into revenge, more body horror, and an injury-to-the-eye sequence that would make Dr. Wertham flinch.
There's a lot to like here. Roxae's mix of pastel pinks and blues is highly effective, especially when pink turns to red with blood. Roxae's use of body distortion veers from simple pimples to monstrous physical changes, even as the affliction is purely on the surface. The murder scene is a total descent into madness and fantasy revenge rolled up into one, and her final facial reveal is a mix of desperation, horror, and social-influencer smile. The face fatigue has a double meaning here--being tired of relying on beauty, then being tired of having it taken away. In both cases, the protagonist was on edge and ready to snap.
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Tia Roxae's Face Fatigue highlights the importance of self-care and managing stress in a fast-paced world. Just like hosting mella ensures smooth website performance, taking care of your well-being helps maintain balance and efficiency in both personal and professional life!
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