Background

Representation has not been lacking in the common media for white, male, cis-gendered, straight, able-bodied humans. However, there always seems to be a fight for more representation on tv shows, movies, books, etc. We Need Diverse Books has turned into an inspiring campaign focused on putting diverse books into children’s hands and has been a constant resource for educators to turn to for diversity. Yet, it can still be difficult to find authentic representation of disabled people in literature.

Even graphic novels, that generally have diverse characters, become subject to criticism when the characters with disabilities in the graphic novels only portray stereotypes and tropes. These misrepresentations are harmful and discouraging to those who have picked up the graphic novel to review it; I cannot imagine the impact that these tropes have on children both disabled and able-bodied when they read that the only way a disabled person can be happy is when they die. So alike, We Need Diverse Books, there comes a need for diverse graphic novels about disabled characters. They are out there; it just can take some searching. Which brought on the realization that a curated list of accurate representations within graphic novels could be beneficial to educators and students along with a focus on #OwnVoices authors.