Kelly Williams

On what it was like drawing a Down’s syndrome superhero

How did Metaphase start?

Chip Reece did a write-up about The Cabinet, a crowd-funded horror comic I was working on. He emailed me about Metaphase and asked if I’d be into drawing it. I read the pitch and saw the heart and thoughtfulness in it. So, I was in.

What style were you going for?

We wanted Metaphase to be an all-ages story, to appeal to kids and parents who may not read comics at all. I decided to draw the book digitally, with a really clean look and bright colouring. It was fun to play around with.

What was it like drawing a child with Down’s syndrome in a sensitive way?

Coming up with the design for Ollie was tough at first. I had concerns about being very detailed and trying to draw a perfect representation of DS and it coming off as a caricature, or jarring. Plus, this character was based on Chip’s son and I really didn’t want to accidentally offend. But I probably had more fun coming up with Ollie’s look than any other character.

How well do comics represent disability at the moment?

The comics industry is slow to change. Far too many people are holding on to old ideas and outdated conventions of what defines a hero, villain or meaningful story. The fact we still have to work so hard for everyone to be included is nuts.