In this activity people use illustrations of others to introduce themselves through comparison and contrast. I have used images by Joe Sacco from Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt by Chris Hedges and Joe Sacco, but it would also be interesting to use images of historical figures (known or unknown), literary figures, objects (a cactus, a fish net, a wave), etc.
Hand out pictures randomly (or lay on table for self-access).
Participants study the picture they have chosen/been given and make a list of all the details they can describe, feeling free to ask for needed vocabulary. (Description merits lots of time, the joker should push for detail. "She has long hair." - "What kind of hair style? What color?")
Then they prepare to present their pictures, comparing themselves to the people depicted. Participants will describe the person: "in what ways are you the same? In what ways are you different?"
Participants take turns introducing themselves to others, comparing themselves to the person in the picture:
“She is a woman, I am a man.
“She is in her 40s or 50s, I am too.
“She has long hair, mine is short.
“She has two earrings, I have one...”
"She looks exhausted, maybe I do too?"
End with discussion of the images and the people in them. In the case of illustrations from a book, if people are interested, they can read the chapter to which the images belong.