A Down Syndrome superhero

At the end of March, Sesame Street introduced the world to Julia, the first autistic Muppet. A similar sentiment has been applied to Lion Forge’s newest creation. “Superb”, that launches in July, will feature the first superhero with Down syndrome — the chromosomal condition that affects roughly 1 in every 700 babies born.

Says Abhijeet Kini, illustrator and independent comics publisher, “The line between fantasy and reality is blurring with changing times and the evolving landscape of comics or the world of fantasy is not only witnessing inclusiveness of people with different challenges, but we have also been seeing a lot of different races, gender, sexuality (LGBT) and so on, these days. It’s a really good move.” Agreeing with him, Raj Kamal, of “Superheroes in India” fame says, “It was long due. Physically, mentally or socially challenged people are part of our lives and communities. So excluding them from popular media like animation, or any art form is just being blind. Also, it’s a great way of exposure  for our kids.”