On June 15, 2022, Eisner Award-nominated Fanbase Press will launch its first foray into Graphic Medicine with Ripple Effects, a five-issue comic book series which explores life as a superhero with an invisible disability.  In an effort to help readers better empathize with and understand the difficulties of navigating invisible disabilities, Fanbase Press is excited to announce that every issue of the series will feature “Unseen Ripples” – an essay series written by individuals with invisible disabilities who relate Ripple Effects‘ events to their own lived experience. 

The “Unseen Ripples” essay series will include a powerhouse lineup of contributors who were generous in sharing not only their time, but their very personal journeys with invisible disabilities and illnesses, including multiple sclerosis, type 2 diabetes, paranoid schizophrenia, Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and thrombophilia.  Featured contributors to the essay series will include:

• Dr. Theresa Rojas – Founding Director – The Latinx Comic Arts Festival, Founding Board Member – Graphic Medicine International Collective
• Jazmine Joyner (They/Them) – Writer / Editor, The Story Eater 2024
• Mike Ahn – co-creator, Out of Order
• Amanda Lawson
• Jordan Hart – writer, Ripple Effects, Terminarch, Doppelgänger, Emergence

                                                           
                                                                     Dr. Theresa Rojas                                                                                    Amanda Lawson

Ripple Effects is created, written, and colored by Jordan Hart (Terminarch, Doppelgänger, Emergence), illustrated by Bruno Chiroleu (El Borde, Mara and Samu), flatted by Shane Kadlecik, lettered by Oceano Ransford (Eisner Award-nominated Rikki, The Sequels, Haphaven), and featuring cover art by Justin C. Harder (CLAUS Studios).  The series is one near and dear to creator Jordan Hart who lives with an invisible and incurable blood-clotting disease called thrombophilia. 

In a world that is no stranger to superheroes, George Gibson is invulnerable to physical harm but fights every day to stay alive. Suffering from an acute case of type 1 diabetes, his invincibility is offset by a defective pancreas that must be monitored and treated daily. This incurable disease makes George’s body both his greatest strength and his eternal weakness.

What sets this series apart is a positive, person-first representation about life with an invisible disability . . . which just so happens to also include superhuman abilities. But, Ripple Effects isn’t just a story about a character with an incurable disease. It’s also a thrilling and relevant superhero tale that touches on the difficulty of finding a work/life balance, the class struggles and economic inequality experienced by many in our nation, and the desire to help others during trying times.

Issues #1-5 of the comic book series will be released digitally through Hoopla Digital starting on June 15, 2022. In addition, the series will be collected into a printed trade paperback following the digital release. The Ripple Effects trade paperback is currently available for pre-order through the Fanbase Press website (www.fanbasepress.com). Pre-orders made by August 1, 2022, will receive an exclusive print illustrated and signed by series creator Jordan Hart.

For more information on Ripple Effects, please visit www.RippleEffectsComic.com or www.fanbasepress.com. Ripple Effects may also be found on Facebook and Twitter, @RippleFXComic.

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