When his daughter was born with a combination of Spina Bifida and hydrocephalus, Dan White wanted to make sure his daughter didn’t feel left out. But when young Emily said to him one day, “I don’t see wheelchairs on the telly, are they allowed?” he was devastated.
So, Dan decided to do something about it. The father created “The Department of Ability,” a comic book about superheroes who use their disability as their superpower. In a phone interview with Today.com, Dan added, “The project began when Emily, my daughter, was 3, and now she’s 9. We searched and searched and we just couldn’t find anything in the entertainment industry that related to her. So I decided to create it.”
The comic features a wheelchair-bound girl who uses her chair as a tool for flight. It has evolved over the course of its years and received international attention from disabled and under-represented communities.
The Department of Ability also evolved from Emily’s character into a group of characters. It includes a cheetah called Pawsy who has one leg. But he still gets up to super speeds by using a fusion powered running blade. Also included is a visually impaired ghost, an alien with a prosthetic arm, and a dog that uses carbon wheels and a tail to get around quickly. The wheels and tail act like a radar and jet.
A few years ago, Dan realized he couldn’t promote and create the comic and still work full time. So, he devoted himself to the creation and dissemination of the comic, making sure it could be completed. He also gives lectures at local organizations about life with a disabled child.
The first D.O.A. Comic is written and illustrated by Dan. An agent armed with the comic and everything Dan gave her is heading to the London Book Fair soon to see if she can win a mainstream publishing deal.
