The following is an interview with Tereza Čechová and Štěpánka Jislová regarding the release of the graphic memoir, Bald, through publisher Graphic Mundi. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Čechová and Jislová about their shared creative process for bringing the personal narrative to life on the page, how they hope to educate readers about the lived experience of an individual with alopecia, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: Congratulations on the release of Bald! Tereza, what can you tell us about your decision to share your story with readers?
Tereza Čechová: Thank you!
It’s truly been a journey. That first year living with alopecia was incredibly tough—my mental health took a serious hit. I felt overwhelmed, depressed, and I avoided going out or seeing friends. At the same time, though, my life became filled with completely new experiences and meaningful conversations with those closest to me.
I started writing down my thoughts, important moments, and bits of dialogue that really stuck with me. Once I began speaking openly about alopecia, I realized how valuable it could be for others going through the same thing to see stories like ours being shared. Back then, alopecia wasn’t talked about much at all in Czechia—you couldn’t just look it up and find support or information easily.
One of my friends who works in publishing encouraged me to pursue the idea further, and that’s when the book started to feel like a real possibility.
BD: What can you tell us about your shared creative process in bringing this personal narrative to life on the page?
TČ: I was so happy when Štěpánka joined the Bald project. We’re friends and had already worked together on a few creative projects, so there was a strong foundation of trust and collaboration. I’ve always loved her art and deeply respected her both as an artist and a professional. That trust made it much easier for me to open up and share everything with her—which was absolutely essential for such a personal project.
Štěpánka Jislová: It was a blast! As Tereza mentions, we were friends long before we started working on Bald. I was with her during the whole process: when she first started losing hair, when she bought her first wig, I was happy to see how she gradually embraced her bald self. That’s why drawing her story came very naturally: not only did she provide me with an amazing script, but I was also present personally when a lot of the scenes were happening in real life. So, when we were discussing the best way to portray each scene, I had her trust and she had my deeper understanding of the events.
BD: Štěpánka, when tackling a project like Bald, is there anything that guides or propels your approach to the style and tone of the artwork?
ŠJ: When it comes to stories as tender and personal as Bald, I think before you even draw the first line, you need to sit down and really think what you want your story to tell. How you want it to feel. When we were going through preliminary sketches, the style was much more realistic, and we soon found that it makes the story feel . . . kinda bleak. Don’t take me wrong, there are definitely sad parts, but the comedy takes up equal place. We progressively piloted towards much more stylized drawings to emphasize this aspect of the script. After all, it is an autobiography and life is as hilarious as it is sorrowful.
BD: What makes Graphic Mundi the perfect home for this story?
TČ: What we really appreciate about Graphic Mundi is their focus on meaningful, socially relevant topics. They approach these stories with care and a genuine commitment to shedding light on areas that are often overlooked. Autoimmune diseases like alopecia are still very much a blank space—there’s little understanding of when or why they occur, and even modern medicine doesn’t have clear answers or solutions.
For those living with conditions like this, support is limited, and navigating it can feel like stumbling through the dark. In that kind of landscape, sharing honest, difficult stories becomes incredibly important.
BD: Graphic Medicine is an emerging genre that combines the field of medicine with the medium of comics. How do you feel that Graphic Medicine stories like this one can help to better depict a genuine lived experience of someone with alopecia?
TČ: Stories about illness are often heavy—they’re deeply personal, painful, and filled with challenges. They can be difficult to read. But the comics medium offers a unique way to tell these stories in a more accessible and engaging form.
It allows us, as artists, to add layers of meaning through color, symbolism, and visual metaphors.
We can express emotions and experiences that might be hard to capture with words alone. Comics invite readers in, helping them see things from a new perspective—and that’s incredibly powerful when telling a story like living with alopecia.
BD: Are there any other projects – past or current – that you would like to highlight for our readers?
ŠJ: If you enjoyed Bald and you’re looking for more autobio comics from Europe, please check out my graphic novel, Heartcore, published by Graphic Mundi! It shares many themes with Bald: both explore femininity, gender, and self-image, and to some extent, mental health. Heartcore then focuses on the dynamic of toxic relationships and asks what really lies behind our reasons to fall in love with who we fall in love.
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find more information about Bald?
TČ: You can purchase the book through Graphic Mundi or Amazon. If you’d like a sneak peek, we’ve shared a few pages on the Crucial Comix Instagram page. And if you’d like to talk about it or have any questions, feel free to reach out to me directly!
