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Archie Comics and the Children’s Tumor Foundation Introduce Riverdale’s First Hearing-Impaired Character

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Archie Comics and The Children’s Tumor Foundation (CTF) have announced that the latest issue of Archie Jumbo Comics Digest will introduce the first hearing-impaired member of Archie’s iconic cast of characters. Meet Grace Alondra, who also marks the first time a character living with neurofibromatosis (NF) or schwannomatosis has appeared in the pages of a comic book from a major publisher. Grace will make her debut in an eight-page short called “Sounds Like Music” that will appear in Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #329, available everywhere comics are sold April 20, 2022.

Archie Comics worked with the Children’s Tumor Foundation to create this character in order to shine a light on the many individuals living with NF2, a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves in the body, and which often leads to hearing loss. The disease affects 1 in 25,000 births of all populations equally. The comic is part of the Foundation’s global awareness campaign that launches at the end of April and continues throughout May, which is NF Awareness Month. 

In “Sounds like Music,” Archie and the gang meet Grace, a young Latina woman who loves music — especially her favorite band, The Archies. Spunky and smart, Grace isn’t letting her journey toward hearing loss define her. Instead, she is eager to hear all the great music she can, while she can.

“Sounds like Music” was written by veteran comic book writer Alex Simmons whose Archie Comics work has been hailed as both entertaining and educational. Art is by Bill Galvan, Ben Galvan, Glenn Whitmore, and Jack Morelli.

CTF has used comics in the past to raise awareness. CTF’s current “NF Comics” titles include “Understanding NF2,” “Moxie and Sparx Explain NF1,” and “Moxie and Sparx Introduce the Accelerator”; the Foundation’s comic books, including Archie’s “Sounds Like Music,” are available to freely download or read on the CTF website.

The Children’s Tumor Foundation Continues to Embrace Graphic Medicine with the Understanding NF2 Comic

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Children’s Tumor Foundation

The Children’s Tumor Foundation (CTF) has released their newest resource, Understanding NF2, an eight-page educational comic created in collaboration with award-winning storytelling studio Bottled Lightning. The comic is part of the growing movement of “Graphic Medicine,” the use of comic books to educate individuals about complicated medical issues.

Understanding NF2 is a memoir-style comic that’s part of the Children’s Tumor Foundation’s ongoing effort to raise awareness about neurofibromatosis (NF) and create new and interesting resources for the millions of people worldwide who live with the rare disease.

Written by CTF’s Director of Communications Vanessa Shealy Younger and illustrated by Eisner-nominated artist Kevin Colden, the comic tells the true story of Billy Nguyen, who was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 2, or NF2, at the age of six. NF2 is characterized by the development of benign tumors on the hearing nerves, and sometimes leads to partial or complete hearing loss or other difficult problems. 

Once Billy learns of his NF2 diagnosis, the story tracks his childhood struggle to understand the difficult disorder. His Vietnamese parents spoke some English, but all the medical terms were too overwhelming, leaving young Billy to make a lot of adult decisions on his own.

Now a fourth-year medical student at the University of California, Los Angeles, Billy was a part of the process from the beginning. Colorist Chris Sotomayor and letterer Nate Pride round out the creative team.

Artist Kevin Colden has a personal connection to NF through his wife, graphic novelist Miss Lasko-Gross. “My wife’s second cousin has NF1, so I’ve personally seen how NF can affect families. Working with this script and being able to bring Billy’s story to life was a wonderful opportunity,” Kevin remarked.   

This is the third collaboration between CTF and the storytelling studio Bottled Lighting. Their previous collaborations Moxie and Sparx Introduce the Accelerator and Moxie and Sparx Explain NF1 are available to download for free from the CTF website.