It was announced via the Hollywood Reporter that Lion Forge is publishing the first comic starring a superhero with Down Syndrome. While I am excited to see another comic book company make this move…I have to say unfortunately that their new comic Superb which is set to hit stores in July, is not the first to do this.
In 2014 Chip Reece and Kelly Williams created the comic Metaphase. The comic would then be published by Peter Simeti’s Alterna Comics in 2015.
Synopsis: Ollie, a boy with Down syndrome, wants to have powers just like his superhero dad. The problem? With congenital heart defects, his father has no intention of letting his son get in harm’s way. Enter Meta-Makers, a company that promises to give powers to anyone who wants them, an opportunity Ollie can’t resist. Will he become the hero he wants to be or will his ambitions lead to the destruction of the person he admires most?
METAPHASE is a story about self discovery and living with Down Syndrome, wrapped in an exciting super-hero shell!
Chip Reece wrote Metaphase based on his own experiences with his son who was born with Down Syndrome as well as two congenital heart defects. He wanted to tell a story “that would spotlight just how spectacular individual’s with Down Syndrome are!”
So it is pretty simple, more than two years ago Alterna Comics actually published the first superhero comic starring someone with Down Syndrome. While I do applaud Lion Forge on creating Superb and putting this comic book out there and I do wish them success. Fact are facts.
What’s your two cents??
Discover Metaphase for yourself at Amazon and Comixology!
*Update: Nov. 20th, 2017 Metaphase has started to gain major attention. So we decided to add this video from CBS News.
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