Archie Comics introduces Riverdale's first hearing-impaired character
Archie Comics and the Children's Tumor Foundation (CTF) have collaborated to introduce the first hearing-impaired member of Archie's increasingly diverse cast of characters.
Grace Alondra, who according to Archie Comics is the first character living with neurofibromatosis (NF) or schwannomatosis to appear in the pages of a comic book from a major publisher, will make her debut in an eight-page short called 'Sounds Like Music' in Archie Jumbo Digest #329 on sale April 20.
The story is also available to freely download or read on the CTF website at ctf.org/comics.
In the story, Archie and the iconic Riverdale gang meet the young "spunky and smart" Latina woman Grace. Grace loves music - especially her favorite band, The Archies - and she 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."
The publisher announced it worked with the Children's Tumor Foundation to create this character to bring attention to the many people living with NF2. NF2 is a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves in the body, and which often leads to hearing loss. According to Archie Comics, the disease affects 1 in 25,000 births of all populations equally. Diagnosis is most often discovered in the teen to young adult years.
'Sounds like Music' is written by Alex Simmons and illustrated by Bill Galvan, Ben Galvan, Glenn Whitmore, and Jack Morelli. The story is part of the CTF's global awareness campaign launching at the end of April and continues through May, which is NF Awareness Month.
"Grace is a talented and whip-smart teenager," says Archie Comics editor-in-chief Mike Pellerito in the announcement, citing the publisher's commitment to introducing
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