At this year’s Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA 2024) trade show, custom car builder Projekt Cars will be debuting a brand-new custom car build to support a family with cystic fibrosis needs, featuring the artwork of publisher Fanbase Press’ critically acclaimed comic book series, Ripple Effects, which explores life as a superhero with an invisible illness.
The custom car build falls in conjunction with Fanbase Press’ first-ever Kickstarter campaign to fund an expanded deluxe hardcover edition of Ripple Effects, featuring all-new contributions from some of the biggest names in comics. Ripple Effects follows the adventures of a superhero whose invincibility is offset by an acute case of type 1 diabetes and a defective pancreas that must be monitored and treated daily. The gripping and inspirational story about living with an invisible illness is inspired by writer Jordan Hart’s own lived experience with thrombophilia, an incurable blood-clotting disease.
Established in 1994, Projekt Cars has long been combining comics-themed artwork with its custom car builds, having previously built a Spawn-themed Ford Mustang GT in partnership with creator Todd McFarlane and Guy Caldwell of Garage FX, as well as over 300 other builds featuring the artwork of Spider-Man, Deadpool, Thor, Ghostbusters, and more.
Carlos Molina, Business Development Director of Projekt Cars, first learned of the Allen family of Bakersfield, CA, and their son, Devland, earlier this year, when they noted the challenge of creating a traditional camping experience while also supporting Devland’s health needs in light of his cystic fibrosis.
Father Brendan Allen noted, “Devland’s equipment and medication needs have completely changed the way our family vacations, as they require more power than my truck can provide, and we don’t have a way to keep his nebulized medication refrigerated.”
In utilizing the artwork of the critically acclaimed series, Ripple Effects, by series creator Jordan Hart and cover artist Justin C. Harder (CLAUS Studios), Molina not only wanted to create a visually stunning truck for the Allen family, but he also wanted to equip the family’s 2020 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Z71 for overlanding, allowing them to enjoy travel to remote destinations while supporting Devland’s health requirements. Among its enhanced features, the vehicle will include an Ironman 4×4™ portable off-road fridge to keep the nebulized medication refrigerated and camp awnings to create a private space for administering treatments. Projekt Cars’ main sponsor at SEMA this year is Air Design USA who will be providing and purchasing the designated spot for the vehicle at SEMA 2024.
Devland Allen’s artwork will also be featured in the deluxe edition of Ripple Effects. Striving to increase awareness and representation for individuals with invisible illnesses and disabilities, Ripple Effects: The Deluxe Edition will feature new forewords by Eisner and Harvey Awards-winning writer Gail Simone (Birds of Prey, Batgirl, Uncanny X-Men) and actor/writer Todd Stashwick (Star Trek: Picard, 12 Monkeys), an afterword by Eisner Award-winning writer/artist John Jennings (Silver Surfer, Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation), study guides by Eisner Award nominee and educator Tim Smyth (Teaching with Comics and Graphic Novels) and comics literacy advocate Creators, Assemble! Inc., and an art gallery which pairs youth artists who have invisible disabilities and illnesses with superstar artists including Drew Zucker (Canto), Liana Kangas (Mariko, Between Worlds), Ray-Anthony Height (Midnight Tiger), Don Aguillo (Spawn), and Manuel Martinez (DC, Marvel). The deluxe hardcover also features “Unseen Ripples” essays written by individuals with invisible disabilities and illnesses who relate Ripple Effects‘ events to their own lived experience, ranging in topic from paranoid schizophrenia to diabetes.
“Ripple Effects was created to remind those with invisible illnesses and disabilities, and their loved ones, that they are not alone, that they’re unique, and that they’re special,” notes Jordan Hart. “Watching the impact this story has on others has been the highlight of my career.”
Ripple Effects was created, written, and colored by Jordan Hart (The Cabinet, Terminarch, Doppelgänger), 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 features cover art by Justin C. Harder (CLAUS Studios) and a foreword by Matthew Noe (librarian, Harvard Medical School).
Ripple Effects was the winner of the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics in 2023, as well as being nominated for an Eisner Award and a Harvey Award. The series was included in the American Library Association’s (Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table) 2022 Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading List and was named the winner of the 25th annual Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award in the Graphic Novels & Comics category.
To support the project, visit the Kickstarter campaign here. For updates, follow Fanbase Press on Facebook, X (@Fanbase_Press), and Instagram (@fanbasepress).
About Fanbase Press
As a GLAAD Media Award-winning and an Eisner and Harvey Awards-nominated comic book publisher and geek culture website, Fanbase Press produces new and distinctive works, as well as daily reviews, interviews, and podcasts, that span the pop culture spectrum and give voice to the themes, ideals, and people that make geekdom so exceptional.
Fanbase Press’ previous titles, including the 2024 GLAAD Media Award-winning Four-Color Heroes, the 2023 Eisner and Harvey Award-nominated Ripple Effects, the 2022 International Latino Book Award-winning Nuclear Power, the 2018 Eisner Award-nominated Quince, and the 2020 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award-winning Quince: The Definitive Bilingual Edition hardcover, are available online at www.fanbasepress.com and on Amazon, as well as digitally through Hoopla Digital, ComicsPlus, and Kindle.
About Jordan Hart
Jordan Hart is the creator and writer of Ripple Effects which was nominated for the Eisner, Harvey, and Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards. The story won the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics and was named the Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award winner in the Graphic Novels & Comics category. In 2023, the American Library Association selected Ripple Effects for its Best Graphic Novels Reading List. Currently, Jordan’s co-creation, The Cabinet, is releasing with Image Comics and Syzygy Publishing. You can find him on Instagram (@jordyjordith).
