Image courtesy Nate Sparks
There’s a comic book dynamic duo for a new generation in the works that has its origin story in Richmond.
The book, “SPiN,” tells of two tweens who have no super powers per se. They’re Mikki, a science and technology whiz, and her best friend, Lucas, who’s in a wheelchair. He was left paralyzed from the waist down after being hit by a car while running from bullies. Mikki has lived with a prosthetic arm since she was a little girl and helps Lucas adapt, with her attitude and by making tech adaptions to Lucas' wheelchair. The chair evolves, as does their relationship, and Lucas and Nikki learn to deal with the traumas of middle school life such as bullies and begin to take on crime and solve mysteries in their town, too.
Nate Sparks
Think more along the lines of “Scooby-Doo” than “The Dark Knight.” Lucas and Mikki are middle schoolers, after all, so there’s no major violence and no one gets hurt. The bad guys are hauled away by the cops. “That’s kind of the way I want to see these things happen,” says the comic book's creator, Nate Sparks. He’s the education director for the hospital school at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU.
Sparks conceived of the comic book series after talking with a student before Halloween last year. He asked the student to name their favorite superhero, and Sparks was surprised by the reply: that there aren’t exactly a lot of superheroes in wheelchairs, as was this child. Sparks, a lifelong fan of the genre, cited Professor Xavier of “X-Men” comics, which drew the retort that Xavier was just an old bald guy.
Sparks realized that the child and others at the hospital could benefit from a comic with characters like themselves. “These children here really don’t have any [superhero] role models,” he says.
He set to work, creating a story that focused on kids and their abilities, and that celebrated diversity, too. Sparks says he’s no artist, but he created conceptual drawings and eventually found an artist to bring his vision to reality, Zul Helmi, who is based in Malaysia.
“She used [my drawings] to come close to my vision,” he says.
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Image courtesy Nate Sparks
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Image courtesy Nate Sparks
Sparks draws a comparison to Batman, though Lucas and Mikki are equal partners, in that they have no innate super powers, but are empowered through technology and a desire to do good. The title’s lowercase “i” is a reflection of that coequal status.
“That partnership is important,” he says.
Sparks handed his comic around to his younger family members and students. He wants the work to be relatable to all teens and tweens, but he also envisions it being useful for other educators and therapists.
A Chesapeake native and an ardent fan of Marvel Comics, Sparks' favorite character is Iron Man, for his cockiness, but especially for his innovation and abilities brought to bear to construct his Iron Man suit. “He’s built what made him a superhero,” Sparks says.
The origins issue of “SPiN” is complete, and is available on iBooks and will be published on Comixology, says Sparks. The next issue is tentatively set for release around April. Sparks wants to have a book out every three or four months. Initial books will build the main characters' relationship as the wheelchair is tricked out. After the fourth title, they’ll turn to solving crimes and mysteries.
