I am super excited to release this beautiful cover image for Unfamiliar Heroes that was created by the talented Rose Adare. Rose is a queer, disabled, gender fluid artist who has shown a lot of enthusiasm for this project and I’m so excited to be highlighting their work here.
This illustration depicts three characters, each from a different genre of story, and each with a disability. On the left is a black gnome archer riding in a chariot pulled by a large brown dog. The chariot has a chair in it so that they can sit instead of stand. In the middle is a Latina woman manipulating a tech device on her wrist as she begins to go invisible. She is wearing an air filtering mask of the type that people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity sometimes wear. On the right is a white muscular superhero wearing a very gay, blue superhero outfit. He has lightning crackling between his two hands, which are shaped atypically. This beautiful work of art was created the amazing Rose Adare!
The core idea for this illustration was to have three characters, each with different disabilities or chronic illnesses, each from a different genre of game, and each with different intersecting marginalized identities. These are not characters from specific games, but instead are meant to represent the kinds of intersectional characters that I hope to bring to life in this project. In order to create such richly intersectional characters, this illustration started with a detailed concept for each character. I don’t want these three characters to be limited to the concepts that started them, but because I believe that the ideas behind each characters adds additional meaning to their illustration, I am going to share their character concepts with you here.
First we have Imani, a black nonbinary gnome archer from a high fantasy genre like Dungeons and Dragons. They have limited mobility in their legs, so they shoot their arrows from a dog pulled chariot outfitted with a chair. One of the benefits of having their chariot pulled by a dog is that they can direct their dog entirely with verbal commands, leaving their hands free.
Close up illustration of Imani seated in their chariot with their bow drawn. The chariot is decorated in greens and browns and pulled by a large shaggy brown dog. Imani’s metal armor is silver with blue and purple accents.
Next we have Star, a Latina trans woman with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity wearing an air filtering face mask. She is from a science fiction setting and is depicted with a cyberpunk aesthetic. Star is based on the character Fallen Star created by my partner, Tobi Hill-Meyer. In May 2018, Tobi will be performing Fallen Star, a one woman play about a trans superhero turned villain who tries to take over the world. The background to this play is that Fallen Star realized that the Heroes Regional Council perpetuates many of the forms of oppression that she aims to eliminate, so she left it to find her own brand of vigilante justice.
Close up illustration of Star looking over her shoulder as she manipulates a tech device on her wrist. She is beginning to go invisible, starting with her feet. Star is wearing purple, black, and red cyberpunk style clothing with a black and white air-filtering mask.
Finally we have Volt, a muscular white male superhero with electricity powers. An important goal with him was to portray a person with a visible disability as a tough, front-line fighter. Our other major goal was to make him as visibly gay as possible using a gay BDSM aesthetic.
Close up illustration of Volt wearing a very gay, blue and purple superhero outfit. He has lightning crackling between his two hands, which are shaped atypically.
I’m going to close by saying one more big THANK YOU to Rose Adare for creating this beautiful art! They are currently fundraising to transform their garage into an art school. If you want to support their work, or are interested in purchasing their book, PocketGuide for Badass Artists, I encourage you to check out their Indiegogo campaign.
