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ACCESSIBILITY (OR LACKTHEREOF) IN COMICS // A THREAD
You may wonder why I say lackthereof. And thatâs because there are some serious issues regarding the accessibility to comics that arenât immediately obvious unless you are part of those impacted groups.
You may wonder why I say lackthereof. And thatâs because there are some serious issues regarding the accessibility to comics that arenât immediately obvious unless you are part of those impacted groups.
Comics themselves are inherently visual experiences.
This is not a bad thing in and of itself.
People like stories. People like pictures. They go together hand-in-hand, and are both present in various mediums â films, picture books, many novels, cartoons, newspapers, ect.
This is not a bad thing in and of itself.
People like stories. People like pictures. They go together hand-in-hand, and are both present in various mediums â films, picture books, many novels, cartoons, newspapers, ect.
But one big difference between comics and these other forms of media is that comics very rarely, if ever, come in a readable format aside from visual.
Newspapers have websites. Picture books often have large text options or an audiobook version, as do novels.
Newspapers have websites. Picture books often have large text options or an audiobook version, as do novels.
Films and cartoons have sound, and often have an audio descriptive option for people who cannot see them. Otherwise, cartoons are often brightly coloured, so on a large screen some blind people can have an idea of what is happening, even if they cannot see detail.
Comics, however, do not usually come with an audio description. They do not have large text. They do not have separate text online so that people can have a computer read it to them (although @neomeruru does this beautifully with Motherlover).
This means that most comics are completely inaccessible for blind people to enjoy.
Itâs especially heartbreaking since so many people develop blindness during their life â they go from having a hobby they love to no longer being able to access the stories and characters /
Itâs especially heartbreaking since so many people develop blindness during their life â they go from having a hobby they love to no longer being able to access the stories and characters /
/ theyâve followed until that point.
This is an issue I think mainstream comics needs to address.
There are several ways to do it, as well! Transcripts could be supplied when you purchase a digital version. Text on physical versions could be larger.
This is an issue I think mainstream comics needs to address.
There are several ways to do it, as well! Transcripts could be supplied when you purchase a digital version. Text on physical versions could be larger.
Novelisations of arcs could be made, like a series.
As it stands now, mainstream comics do not take a lot of accessibility concerns into account, and I would love to see that change.
These donât only impact blind people â but people with language delays, dyslexic people, /
As it stands now, mainstream comics do not take a lot of accessibility concerns into account, and I would love to see that change.
These donât only impact blind people â but people with language delays, dyslexic people, /
/ people with language processing disorders, and ADHD and autism.
Just by adding something small, like a digital transcript, the accessibility would widen so far.
If you are someone creating comics, please consider doing this one small thing for your audience.
Just by adding something small, like a digital transcript, the accessibility would widen so far.
If you are someone creating comics, please consider doing this one small thing for your audience.
