The following is an interview with C.K. Carpenter and A.J. Camorlinga regarding the upcoming Kickstarter campaign launch for the comic book anthology, unSEEN/unHEARD: Disability & Neurodivergence. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Carpenter and Camorlinga about the thematic approach to crafting a complementary collection of stories, what readers can anticipate in terms of backer rewards, and more!
Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: You will soon be launching a Kickstarter campaign for the unSEEN/unHEARD: Disability & Neurodivergence anthology. For those who may be unfamiliar, what can you tell us about the overarching premise of this collection?
C.K. Carpenter: As a disabled comics creator, I’ve noticed a lack of disability representation in the medium and among the creators themselves. We creators often do not have the time or finances to commit to longform stories, as our “spoons,” so to say, are used up just to get by. As such, I had the idea of bringing together creators with disabilities and those who are neurodivergent (as they’re often misrepresented in media) to create a comics anthology centered on telling what it’s like to live with our conditions, whether it be through a slice-of-life, romance, horror, sci-fi, or fantasy tale (all of which are included in the collection). That’s how unSEEN/unHEARD: Disability & Neurodivergence was born. And, of course, I couldn’t have done this without the help of the other editors, Ringo-nominated Anas Abdulhak (Etheres) and Aubrey Lyn Jeppson (Scott Snyder Presents Tales from the Cloakroom vol 1), whose depth of knowledge has been instrumental at every step of the process.
BD: This project is truly amplifying underrepresented voices in both the disability and neurodivergent communities. C.K., as one of the editors of the collection, how would you describe the process for bringing the various creators together, as well as the thematic approach to crafting a complementary collection of stories?
C.K.: Anas, Aubrey, and I wanted to open up the process to as many people as possible. We’ve seen quite a few anthologies move toward an invite-only approach, which is justifiable in its own right, but for us, it didn’t quite fit. If we were to truly create a representative unSEEN/unHEARD, then we had to put a call out for open submissions. Whether it be an award-winning, well-known creator or someone writing their very first script, we wanted everyone to have a chance at getting in. Furthermore, we went off of a script-based submissions process rather than a pitch-oriented one, as we’ve found through our previous editorial work that not everyone who writes a good pitch can turn out an equally great script and vice versa. We also didn’t want to put undue stress on our creators when it came to putting a team together, so we decided as long as 50% of the creative team belonged to the disability or neurodivergent communities, then that sufficed. Also, we allowed for creators to submit separately, and then we would organize the teams ourselves. I’m so glad we editors had each other to lean on, because as all three of us belong to these communities, splitting the workload between us truly helped in ensuring we didn’t experience burnout or, when we did, having someone else be able to pick up the slack.
As far as the thematic approach, we had a stellar submission turnout, and I’m not just saying that to be flattering. It was difficult for us to narrow it down to just twelve stories, and we hope we get a chance to make a volume 2. In choosing the stories, we wanted to make sure we crafted an anthology that represented disabilities and neurodivergence equally, as it’s built right there into the title. We have it split right down the middle: half disability, half neurodivergence. We also wanted to make sure we represented disabilities in various forms, from invisible to physical. In order to make the stories complementary as well, we wanted to ensure we represented a range of emotions, not just “depressing” stories, which it could easily have turned into. We needed to bring all the vibes to the table. As a result, we’ve crafted a 64-page anthology ranging in subject matter, genre, and tone, but that still feels united by a common theme: What is it like to live with a disability or be neurodivergent?
BD: A.J., what can you share with us about the premise of your story within the collection, and how would you describe your creative process in bringing the story to life on the page?
A.J. Camorlinga: The premise for the story I wrote, “Fries,” is that after a physically-disabling, life-changing event, two high school boys, at odds with each other, learn to empathize with the other after discovering they share a connection. I tend to gravitate towards writing fantasy or things having to do with superheroes, and, in general, I have a hard time writing about something as personal as spinal cord injury, which I’ve been living with for 11 years now. With this story, I wanted to go against all of that. I’m still fairly new at writing, so working with a limited number of pages was a bit of a challenge for me, but I really welcomed it and am so grateful to have Terry Blas on art, Harry Saxon on colors, and Aubrey Lyn Jepson on letters. I’m very happy with how the story ended up, because I feel like I wrote more of a prologue to something larger that is kind of alluded to at the end, and I really like that the reader can use their imagination to speculate what happens after we leave these characters at the end of the story.
BD: At Fanbase Press, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums. How do you feel that these stories may connect with and impact readers?
C.K.: I know it’s cliché to say, but we’ve truly turned out something great with this anthology. These stellar tales will connect with and impact readers in three ways. First, as is the intent with any story, they’ll entertain, from a slightly comedic sci-fi tale about an ADHD robot’s struggle to get things done to a fantasy comic about a bard whose pattern recognition associated with their AuDHD both hinders and helps their life. Second, they’ll educate, from what it’s like to live with fibromyalgia across two decades and the twists and turns life takes in those years to the frustrations one faces living with dyslexia. Finally, they’ll pull at your emotions, from the fears one faces from having a traumatic brain injury to what one feels like they’ll be leaving behind once they’re gone.
BD: In light of the crowdfunding campaign, are there any specific backer rewards that you would like to highlight for our readers?
C.K.: We’ll be offering an amazing digital bundle deal for only $6, which will consist of over 300 pages of a digital comics bundle featuring books written or edited by the unSEEN/unHEARD editorial team, including the following:
- Ringo-nominated Etheres
- Scott Snyder Presents Tales from the Cloakroom vol 1, featuring an Eisner-nominated short com
- Kill My Boyfriend #1
- Eleutheromania
- Objects in the Mirror
- Wardens
- Awakening
- A Flag to Fly #1
We’ll also have available a three-art print set of the undressed covers by Al Acevedo, Arthur Cabezas, and Skylar Patridge.
In addition, we’ll have a Disability Pride Flag (the original design for the flag was by Ann Magill and community members) bookmark.
We’ll have a chance to be drawn into the book itself, with a limit of 5.
Finally, we’ll have a limited number of spots to commission Aubrey and Anas for editorial feedback.
BD: Lastly, what is the best way for our readers to find out more about unSEEN/unHEARD and its Kickstarter campaign?
C.K.: You can go to unseenunheardcomic.com, which will redirect you to the pre-launch page and then the campaign once we go live on September 17 (or you can search “unseen unheard” in Kickstarter; we’re the first project that pops up). You can also follow Anas, Aubrey, and me on Twitter at @anas_abdulhak, @rebelmusecomics, and @C_K_Carpenter, respectively. We’ve been dropping information about unSEEN/unHEARD: Disability & Neurodivergence on there, such as two of our three covers so far and information about our process.
