An Edinburgh artist who spent his 40th birthday in complete isolation after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour has had a comic book about living with the illness brought to life.
Gordon Shaw joked his condition was a “literal headf***” after turning his hand to writing about his life shortly after doctors gave him just three years to live a decade ago.
His stories follow a graphic version of himself in the surreal world of chemo and radiotherapy while living with the tumour in his head - which he named ‘Rick’.
READ MORE: Popular Edinburgh Doors Open Day postponed for 2022 over 'financial concerns'
Entitled 'Bitter Sweet,' his bizarre adventures of ‘confronting his own mortality’ feature segues into MRI machines pumping out pounding techno and sit down conversations with the remorseless tumour.
However, they also explore the anxiety and grief surrounding the illness and its impact on partner Shawn, who lives in the United States, and Gordon’s family in dealing with his condition.
The stories have now been told as part of the BBC Scotland documentary “Long Live My Happy Head’ - which follows Gordon around over the past three years of his life.
The Leith-based artist initially studied art in the capital before moving to London where he was working in hospitality when diagnosed at the age of 32.
Family members persuaded him to return to Scotland where he began drawing and writing about his experiences.
“A brain tumour is a literal headf***,” he told the documentary.
"Comics were my own kind of art therapy, I think.
"I was maybe hiding from myself. In the comics you never see my eyes or my mouth. I think that is to keep a little bit of privacy.”
Medics first ranked the illness as 'grade two,' giving a prognosis of seven to ten years. However, within six months, that had been revised to a 'grade three' - which carries a median survival rate in adults of two to three years.
"When it all kicked off again a few years ago, I thought 'no, this is not happening to me, it's happening to comic Gordon," he told the documentary.
"Which is silly, because he's not real...but he is."
Gordon met Shawn - who divides his time between Leith and Virginia - in 2017 however the couple were separated for months during the pandemic due to Gordon's immune vulnerability to the virus.
Unbeknown to Gordon, friends organised a surprise party on Zoom, then fundraised to pay for Shawn to travel first class to Scotland and isolate until they could be reunited.
Sign up for Edinburgh Live newsletters for more headlines straight to your inbox
His health has since deteriorated and the tumour grown despite several rounds of treatment in November 2021.
He underwent successful surgery to remove a second tumour last year, but the initial illness remains.
However he has since worked on a follow up story on the challenges faced by unpaid carers, which he hopes to publish in the near future.
“I’m happy, but the sadness is there,” he told the film.
“Perhaps in equal measure. It’s like having two distinct experiences at the exact same time.
“But I’m still here, eight years later.”
Long Live My Happy Head is available on BBC iPlayer here.
