Be Real

A deadpan zombie graphic novel that rips into our age of curated authenticity

Written in poetic form by Felix Cheong and illustrated by Arif Rafhan, Be Real- A Guide to Authenticity is a graphic novel satirising the hunger for authenticity in an age of curated fakeness.

The story revolves around Q, a successful hack known for his zombie novels. His latest bestseller is met with scathing reviews from critics who accuse him of writing to formula. Fans are also growing tired of his predictable stories.

His problems are compounded when his trophy wife dies from a drug overdose. At her funeral and near the end of his rope, Q meets an old flame, a down-but-not-out writer. As they have bereavement sex, she bites him, saying- 'You got to keep it real. You can't fake it till you make it. Be real.'

He takes these words to heart and, like a method actor, explores what it takes to live like a zombie. He buys viscera from a butcher and eats it raw. He gets into it and suddenly, his words flow powerfully.

This 'method writing' leads him to greater success but also a slow descent into zombiism. At fan meets, he goes around biting each of them, saying 'Be real'. #bereal starts trending and before long, #bereal becomes the tagline we see at bus stops, on TV, on social media.