The coronavirus epidemic has opened millions of eyes to how our frontline workers are heroes.
Now they are being taken to the next level - as superheroes.
A Norwich-based artist has released a book of graphic novel-style illustrations of nurses, doctors, firefighters and other key workers engaged in the ‘good-versus-evil’ battle against Covid-19.
MJ Hiblen is a local self-taught artist based in Pottergate, Norwich and his illustrations have received hundreds of thousands of views online.
They have attracted a global following which includes mainly frontline health workers themselves but also celebrities including Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill and Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor in Marvel movies.
A spokesperson for Eyewear Publishing, which has produced the book, said: “The depth of feeling from health workers in response to the images has been phenomenal. One of the first illustrations he posted on Instagram of a nurse squaring up to a huge ‘virus’ received this response: ‘Can I buy a print of this? It’s the greatest expression I’ve seen of how this feels as a nurse. Thank you for making it’.”
Mr Hiblen said responses from health workers to his illustrations “reminded them of their strength and what this time of Covid-19 has meant. A lot of the images were ideas I took from messages of what they were dealing with, so in a way the frontline community created a lot of the ideas.”
He added that the feeling he got was that these workers felt they were waging war on this new, and potentially fatal, virus.
He said the illustrations were inspired by seeing friends who worked in the health service “battered” by the virus.
The book, called Front Line Heroes, has more than 40 illustrations, and features an introduction by comic legend Geof Isherwood (Marvel illustrator of Dr Strange, Thor and other classic titles).
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