When Chip Reese of Wichita, KS found out his son would be born with Down Syndrome he took to his comic book collection to find characters that his son could relate to in some way.
1010 WINS -When Chip Reese of Wichita, KS found out his son would be born with Down Syndrome he took to his comic book collection to find characters that his son could relate to in some way. After realizing how underrepresented those with the genetic condition were in his collection, Chip decided to take matters into his own hands.
Chip’s son Ollie was born in June of 2010, spending his first seven months in the hospital undergoing surgeries for two congenital heart defects. It was then that Chip thought again about the superheroes in his comic books and was disappointed again at the lack of a character like his son.
So Chip took matters into his own hands. He has a published comic about Ollie’s adventures with the help of illustrator Kelly Williams, called “Metaphase.” The 10-page graphic novel follows the story of a superhero father and his son named Ollie, a boy with Down syndrome, who desperately wants to have powers just like his father. Due to his son’s heart defects, his father tries to hold Ollie back, but when a company called Meta-Makers promises to give Ollie superpowers he has to make a tough decision.
Publishing company Alterna Comics even showed interest in the idea, asking Chip to complete even more for publication so in 2014, Chip started a KickStarter campaign raising almost $10,000 to help publish the book — which was released on Amazon in 2015.
This past weekend at the Air Capital Comic Con in Wichita, the pair showed off the book spreading their unique story once again.
-Joe Cingrana
