John Horn writes in the Los Angeles Times that an international comic convention in San Diego is attracting many attendees with disabilities. People with disabilities say they appreciate Comic-Con’s efforts to reach out to them, and say they have a special connection with comics, fantasy fiction and video gaming.

So what’s the appeal?

“Each hero or villain in a comic is different in some way that makes them stand out in society. Their differences may be anything from the powers that Clark Kent tries to hide from the general public to the blindness that Matt Murdock embraces as a part of his life,” said Megan Drummond, a journalist who [had] a brainstem stroke at age 7 and now writes about disabilities.

“Each one is trying to make the best of a sometimes difficult situation, which is something that people with disabilities do on a daily basis. Some people with disabilities may draw inspiration from that, some may feel that the situation of a certain characters mirrors their own life, and others may just find entertainment in it,” Drummond said.

Fans with disabilities say fantasy and gaming enable them to explore other identities and lessen isolation by building connections with people via the Internet.

Event-goers previewed footage from James Cameron’s film, “Avatar,” a futuristic sci-fi thriller in which a paralyzed soldier takes over the body of an able-bodied alien.

Earlier posts here.

(Melissa Eckardt, Los Angeles Times photo)

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 25th, 2009 at 2:02 pm and is filed under entertainment, NOT2BEMISSED, physical disabilities, technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.