Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Blind Comic Artist Battles On, Like Daredevil

Andre Campbell, visually-impaired since birth, is still chasing his dream

By Drew Nelles, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 14, 2008 6:40 PM CST

(Newser) – Life as an independent comic artist is never easy. It's even harder when you’re legally blind, the Washington Post reports. Baltimore's Andre Campbell, vision-impaired since birth with a retinal-degeneration condition, has only sold about 100 copies of his company’s comics since the mid-'90s. But the artist, who idolizes the sightless superhero Daredevil, keeps plugging his Alpha Agents comics at conventions—blindly, some might say.

“I guess where things go, and they just seem to fall into place,” he says. His wife's work and his disability checks keep them afloat, and his business partner has hung in there. Still, a single distributor monopolizes the comic book market—and industry types say Campbell’s work just isn’t that good. "Do I get discouraged sometimes?" Campbell asks. "Yes, but it don't last that long."

[Images (2)]

[Videos (1)]

Daredevil has always been a source of inspiration for Andre Campbell. (Flickr)

Marvel and DC Comics are the two main players in the comics biz. (Flickr)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

"That was me," Campbell says of the superhero Daredevil. "Daredevil was me." (thegoldenhitman992)

View larger videos >>

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Will Smartphones Kill Braille?

Only 1 in 10 people who are blind can read it

(NEWSER) - Braille's battle to avoid the fate of the Dodo is a long-running one: In the 1950s, more than 50% of the blind learned it; today, that figure is down to just 10%. And smartphones are just making matters worse, reports NPR . It takes a look at the life of a blind 19-year-old who relies on his iPhone for the things you'd expect—email, texting—but also as a set of eyes. One app allows him to pass a bill under his camera to learn its value. But there's a cost. "All through elementary school I used Braille," he explains. "But when I got a laptop, I switched over and I went away from Braille. If you don't use it, you lose it. And that's what happened to me." More»

Star Trek -esque Device May Let Blind 'See'

Uses sound to activate visual cortex

(NEWSER) - Remember the iconic Star Trek visor that allowed a blind engineer to see? A team of scientists in Israel has developed something like a real-life version of the gadget, the Daily Mail reports. The Sensory Substitution Device turns visual information into sound that blind people can interpret after a little training. The noises activate portions of the visual cortex, which are normally dormant in the blind; this allows them to detect shapes and people around them—and even read. More»

Stem Cells May Reverse Blindness in Women

Scientists thrilled by use of embryonic cells

(NEWSER) - A treatment made from embryonic stem cells is apparently restoring sight in two women who were slowly going blind, NPR reports. "I can't tell you how excited I am about this," says Steven Schwartz, a UCLA opthamologist leading the research. "For these patients, the impact is enormous." Scientists injected retinal cells into the women's eyes, hoping to counteract Stargardt's macular dystrophy in one and dry age-related macular degeneration in the other. More»

Archie Celebrates Gay Wedding

Kevin Keller marries in January issue

(NEWSER) - The Archie gay wedding is here. Kevin Keller, the first openly gay character in Archie’s hometown of Riverdale, is getting married as promised in the January issue of Life With Archie. Kevin, who serves in the US military, and his African-American partner, Clay Walker, met in a military hospital. The Huffington Post has more on the story, as well as the cover art . More»

Family Circus Creator Bil Keane Dead at 89

Family-oriented strip was 'last frontier of wholesome family humor'

(NEWSER) - Family Circle creator Bil Keane, whose single-panel cartoons have appeared in newspapers across the country for some 50 years, died yesterday. He was 89. The AP recounts a 1995 conversation with Keane, in which he attributed his comic's staying power to its simplicity and consistency. "It's reassuring, I think, to the American public to see the same family"—in his case, Billy, Jeffy, Dolly, PJ, and their parents (wife Thelma was the inspiration for "Mommy," and her spitting image, notes the AP). More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Blind Comic Artist Battles On, Like Daredevil