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A review by whtbout2ndbrkfst
Superb Vol. 1: Life After the Fallout by David F. Walker, Sheena C. Howard
1.0
I will preface this by saying I only read this because of the character with Down Syndrome (my sister has Down Syndrome and I was super pumped to see a superhero display some of the same characteristics). This character does NOT have Down Syndrome. As a reader, you would not know it at all if there wasn't one throw away line 2/3 of the way through - not from mannerisms, not from physicality, not from physical or mental abilities. Jonah has no visible or invisible disabilities.
Surprise, surprise, the author(s) have no experience with Down Syndrome. I went to a talk done by Howard and she fully admitted she didn't even KNOW anyone with Down Syndrome. But, like, even if they got Down Syndrome a little wrong, where was any exploration at all of a super hero with disability? I bemoan the lost possibilities. Show me the hero who has super strength, but poor fine motor skills, a superhero who has the cognitive reasoning of a 2nd grader and a first grade reading level, a superhero most people have trouble understanding when they speak and the media is frustrated with, a superhero who can't go save the world right now because it's 8pm and 8pm is bath time and there are no exceptions. Any and all of these would have been new, refreshing, insightful; they would have been INTERESTING. But nooooo, we got a dime-a-dozen superhero story about a boy who has Down Syndrome In Name Only, for what? Woke points? Fake representation?
Okay, but what if we remove Jonah's supposed Down Syndrome? Is it a decent comic. No. Not really. It's kind of a hot mess. I couldn't follow who and what Foresight was and what their goals were. The dialog is lacking (and forced) and none of the characters are fully fleshed out. Too much exposition. Artwork is fine, but not amazing (and clearly none of them had ever seen a person with Down Syndrome and didn't know how to use Google).
Walker, Howard, Height: Do your research. This comic is an embarasment.
Surprise, surprise, the author(s) have no experience with Down Syndrome. I went to a talk done by Howard and she fully admitted she didn't even KNOW anyone with Down Syndrome. But, like, even if they got Down Syndrome a little wrong, where was any exploration at all of a super hero with disability? I bemoan the lost possibilities. Show me the hero who has super strength, but poor fine motor skills, a superhero who has the cognitive reasoning of a 2nd grader and a first grade reading level, a superhero most people have trouble understanding when they speak and the media is frustrated with, a superhero who can't go save the world right now because it's 8pm and 8pm is bath time and there are no exceptions. Any and all of these would have been new, refreshing, insightful; they would have been INTERESTING. But nooooo, we got a dime-a-dozen superhero story about a boy who has Down Syndrome In Name Only, for what? Woke points? Fake representation?
Okay, but what if we remove Jonah's supposed Down Syndrome? Is it a decent comic. No. Not really. It's kind of a hot mess. I couldn't follow who and what Foresight was and what their goals were. The dialog is lacking (and forced) and none of the characters are fully fleshed out. Too much exposition. Artwork is fine, but not amazing (and clearly none of them had ever seen a person with Down Syndrome and didn't know how to use Google).
Walker, Howard, Height: Do your research. This comic is an embarasment.