Three local Greece artists have combined talents to create a comic book story that illustrates how to turn one‘s “disability into an ability.”
Entitled DREAMER, the story begins when a 14-year-old boy suffers serious life-threatening injuries while saving children with disabilities from a hospital fire, forcing the doctors to put him in an induced coma to save his life. With damage to his brain and nervous system, the young boy, if he survives, may be disabled for the rest of his life. In his coma, he awakens in a dream-state world and discovers that, because he was willing to sacrifice his life to save these children, he can now travel into their dreams to help them overcome their fears in their daily struggles by motivating them to tap into their inner strengths.
Through his encouragement and devotion to help make their lives more meaningful, the Dreamer helps each of them to discover the “true hero” within themselves. In the continuing series, he races against time to help as many children as he can, while the doctors debate whether to end his coma, and possibly end his life.
Each issue of the comic book will explore the lives of different children and their individual “disability.” Storylines will include blindness, autism, immunity disorder, speech and hearing impairment, shyness, and suicide. The main character in the comic book, the Dreamer, will help each person to “Flip the Hero Switch” in themselves, particularly when they are being faced with bigger-than-life challenges.
The comic book is drawn by Greece artist, Ken Wheaton, illustrator of Popeye and the Simpsons comic books. The story was created and written by Greece comic book writer and novelist, Joe Janowicz. Greece resident Liz Pritchard, a nationally known artist who has autism, also contributed to the comic book.
Joe Janowicz wrote DREAMER based on his life-long friendship with Frank Johnson, a Rochester resident who was trapped in a fire over 40 years ago. Frank incurred a TBI, traumatic brain injury, which impaired his speech and some hand movements. It changed his life and altered his dreams. Throughout his life, Frank showed perseverance and courage as he fought his innermost demons to overcome his deficiencies and became a nationally recognized inspirational speaker and friend to not just others like himself, but to anyone who has a disability. He is the author of the book From Flawed to Fantastic, How I Turned my Disability Into an A$$et. He was also one of the people written about in the Chicken Soup for the Soul: Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injuries.
Frank continues to be an inspiration to all people, and Joe made him the inspiration for DREAMER. According to Joe, “This story is dedicated to Frank, a comic book fan who is a ‘real dreamer,’ not only discovering the inner strengths in his own life but influencing and helping the dreams of others.”
Joe Janowicz, a Kodak retiree, said inspiration for his many literary works comes from the experiences he had as a writer and producer for Kodak. “I’m fortunate to have a good life and to have worked at a company like Kodak that gave me the opportunity to travel worldwide. After retirement I focused my energy on my writing. It is a way to leave a legacy for my grandchildren to enjoy,” he said. Joe’s inspiration for his stories comes from the many places he traveled to, and the people he met during his years working for Kodak. He filed these experiences away in his mind, and draws from them now in his writing.
DREAMER will be marketed online as well as through hospitals, schools, and comic book shops. Part of the proceeds from sales of the comic book will be donated to Golisano Children’s Hospital. Joe has a personal connection with Golisano Children’s Hospital. He said, “Years ago I work in the hospital as a photographer. I would go into the children’s wing and meet the people, and they inspired me. With DREAMER we are working closely with hospitals. We have donated books to many hospitals and hope to do more with hospitals across the country. The message that runs through the book is that if you have a disability it doesn’t have to define your life, you can live a purposeful life and touch others with how you live. If you see someone with a disability, don’t turn away, there is much to be learned from everyone we encounter in life. We are all dreamers in our lives. If we don’t follow the dreams in our minds and hearts we will be left with regrets and be left with the feeling that there was so much more that we wanted to do.”
Joe Janowicz has written several novels and is currently working in collaboration with Greece screenplay writer Rob Jones in adapting the DREAMER comics into a potential TV series. Joe, who is also an avid comic book collector, met Rob Jones at a comic book store. “It is important to surround yourself with other creative people. We can learn from each other. In talking with Rob we decided to adapt the comic books to scripts for a TV series. We are also working with another Greece resident, book agent Marisa Zeppieri, who will be contacting Hollywood agents about DREAMER. Marisa is the author of her own book dealing with her disability Lupus. She read DREAMER and was excited to represent the scripts for TV and take it to the next level. It is all about connectivity and getting your work into the right people’s hands. DREAMER is a story that I really want to tell. It is a family type story, and it has heart. It is about the idea that disabilities should not hold us back from achieving our dreams,” he said.
DREAMER illustrator is freelance artist Ken Wheaton. Ken has worked on local and national projects, contributing artwork and designs for a series of television ads for clients Toyota, McDonald’s, and Wegmans. Ken teaches popular comic book production workshops each summer, which yield anthologies of student work and prepare young students for entering the field. He has also worked with The Strong National Museum of Play as a teaching artist.
Liz Pritchard is an Autism Advocate and Disability Rights Advocate. She is also an author, videographer, and comic book illustrator.
Recently Ken, Liz, and Joe did an in-person signing of the comic at Rhino’s Comics & Collectibles, 3805 Dewey Avenue, in Greece.
To find out more about the DREAMER comic, where it’s being sold or how to order online, go to www.dreamercomicbook.com
