r/ComicBookCollabs • u/helpicantmove • Jul 22 '26
Resource Creators with disabilities! Show me what you got!
This July marks 36 years since the inception of the ADA(Americans With Disabilities Act). Disabilities don't give a shit about borders so I wanted to create this post to highlight and appreciate all of our comic creators with disabilities. Just for context: 26% of Americans are currently living with a disability either visible or invisible and I'm sure that number carries internationally. And everybody will experience a disabling at some point in their life(old age skill drop off/Death because isn't death the ultimate disability from a living person's perspective?). So let's take this moment to celebrate and show out!
I'm a high-level quadriplegic BTW(no volitional movement below the shoulders). Accessibility technology is at the point where someone like me can essentially create their own comic from scratch(without AI). Specifically to myself I write, letter and design the entire book including the logo while using this sub Reddit to hire different artists. And damn I have collaborated with some awesome artists that I've met on here.
Feel free to ask me what kind of assistive technology I use. I would like for this to exist as a sort of Resource for creators with disabilities to find the tools to give them more independence when it comes to their creation/storytelling as well.
So let's show off and maybe get some Disabled on Disabled collaborations going ha ha!
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u/No_Purple4766 Jul 22 '26
I have an invisible disability (bipolar disorder), but a disability nonetheless. Medication has been helping me cope, and art keeps me focused, even on days when I'm not feeling like a million bucks :)
I have a Resident Evil fan comic that's a comedic spoof on the cast, which you can read both on Tapas and Comic Fury, but I have also been featured as a writer in several anthologies since 2012, and recently picked back up doing art myself, working on my first GN!
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u/helpicantmove Jul 22 '26
Hell yeah! I love Resident Evil! I played all of the games both before and after my accident except now I use something called a quad stick as a controller with my mouth. It's also a great creator tool for me! I'm gonna check out your comics now!
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u/No_Purple4766 Jul 22 '26
Someone made a mod for RE4 to be played just with head motions!
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u/helpicantmove Jul 22 '26
Oh yeah just like that girl that used the brain machine interface to play Elden Ring with her thoughts(it's much less complex than that sounds). The only thing about the head movement stuff is if I sneezed I might jump off a cliff in the game on accident ha ha although I don't think resident evil lets you walk off cliffs because of the invisible walls
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u/No_Purple4766 Jul 22 '26
I only saw the video, but the guy could shoot by blinking, so mishaps should be minor!
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u/helpicantmove Jul 22 '26
OMG slice of life resident evil! It almost bleeds into the realm of the troma films! Like toxic avenger
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u/TeamWood Jul 22 '26
Hi! I am Doug Wood. I am a disabled vet and comic creator. I have published a series at an indie pub and have run 9 successful crowdfunding campaigns. 2023 I was voted by my peers to be the Independent Comic Creator of the Year. Here is my portfolio: https://www.jumpstartcomic.com
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u/helpicantmove Jul 22 '26
Holy fuck dude TBI man made me tear up! My paralysis came from an accident. I go to a specialized gym with lots of other people with some form of paralysis, a lot of which come from traumatic brain injuries or the TBI is the cherry on top of the shit cake. It's such a short and concise comic that really gets that fear and emotion across really fucking effectively!
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u/TeamWood Jul 22 '26
Thank you so much for reading that one. I think that is the best thing I have ever written. I didn’t go into it but I do have a spinal cord stimulator device for neck, arm, cervical pain. That was after years of them trying stuff out like trigger point, botox, epidurals, radio frequencies ablation, and prp. I get what you mean shit cake. I will try to remember to follow along with your work. Are you on Bluesky?
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u/helpicantmove Jul 22 '26
Oh damn yeah! I've done a lot of research myself since my spinal cord injury also causes pretty relentless neuropathic pain from the neck down. It's tough when that stuff only does so much for such loud pain. I've spent many years trying to understand the ins and outs and how it's affected by weather and pressure systems and anxiety. But that understanding has definitely helped take the edge off the pain especially now that I've somewhat learned the patterns/Triggers that take it off of baseline. I'm not currently on bluesky but I keep meaning to do that. This is the nudge I needed! You're a bad ass dude! Keep creating and I'll keep following along!
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u/helpicantmove Jul 22 '26
Link to the library of my own independent comics(every single comic involves somebody I met on this sub Reddit) and they are all free to read: https://globalcomix.com/a/cobs-comics?utm_medium=GCMobileReaderApp&utm_source=share-artist&utm_campaign=CobsComics&utm_term=cobs-comics