Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: Alan Moore, Broodhollow, Comics, Dave Gibbons, entertainment, Liana Kerr, Peter Svensson, Watchmen, Watchmen for the Blind

Great Dedication Leads To Watchmen For The Blind

Peter S. Svensson writes for Bleeding Cool:

Comics are a visual medium. Combining illustration and text into a whole greater than the sum of its parts. (Or so Scott McCloud taught me.) A great comic is a sight to see.

Which is a problem if you're blind or otherwise visually challenged.

But problems exist to be overcome, and Paper Doll fashionista Liana Kerr has made a glorious stab it. Liana Kerr does. (Twitter @lianaleslie) In her spare time over the course of the past year, she's taken one of the most information dense comics ever created, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen, and described the art of every single aspect of the comic in text, so that blind fans can have text-to-speech programs read it aloud for them.

She began textually describing the webcomic Broodhollow for her lifelong blind friend Zach, applying the philosophies used in descriptive movies, where the audio track for the film has additional narration explaining important visual elements so that the visually challenged may still appreciate them. (Works best for dialog-heavy films.)

Check it out for yourself here or read more about her philosophy and approach here.

Peter S. Svensson is concluding his five-year run as manager of SpaceCat Comics and Cards in San Jose, and is looking for new opportunities in the comic book industry. Drop him an e-mail at peterssvensson@gmail.com.

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