A wheelchair user reviews depictions of wheelchairs in comics.Banner by Stephen Green.
6 posts
Last active 60 minutes ago
Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.
Last Seen Blogs
jintaov
REVENGE *
fiyjago
Untitled
ladytessa74
come rain or come shine
iwritenarrativesandstuff
I Like to Write Things
refend
History Of Loving Heart
Text
Shazam! #5 (2019)
Other Aid Saturday! Because I've used a lot of mobility aids and I have opinions on all of them.
Freddy (blond kid in the middle) uses forearm crutches, and they're usually drawn great, which was what made this panel stand out to me so much.
Holding a forearm crutch backwards like that isn't just hard or useless - it's painful!
The full rant with pictures and videos is under the cut, which is much more educational than anything against the artist of this particular panel. I know it was probably just a drawing error lol
TL;DR A character that uses forearm crutches would be more mobile without crutches at all than holding a crutch backwards, even as a weapon.
What are forearm crutches for?
Forearm crutches are for weight bearing! They're better than canes in this aspect, and even better than rollators (rolled walkers) which can bear less weight before you compromise the stability of the wheels.
Why does the orientation matter?
Check it out! It's my forearm crutches! You can see the angle that the crutch takes from my elbow down to my arm - this helps distribute my full body weight between my wrist and my elbow, which is way less strain on my sensitive joints.
Here's those exact positions with my crutch again - "wow!" I can hear you say. "Pecan! That looks like such a strain!" It is! I have to bend my elbow and my arm backwards in order to hold the crutch at 90 degrees from the ground. Ouch!
Also beyond that, my crutches have a full cuff (a personal preference) but Freddy's do not. With my full cuff it pinches me - with an more open cuff it would just not stay on!
How do you move with forearm crutches forwards vs backwards?
Well. Lucky for both of us I was having a pretty good pain day a little ago and took some videos for this purchase because I kept this post in the drafts since I made this blog. Here you go!
Standing/weight bearing with a jump:
And weight bearing with a jump and backwards crutches:
It's a lot easier to put my weight on the crutches and maintain balance with them facing forward as opposed to backward.
As for walking, here's me taking a couple steps (kicking my legs for fun) with the crutches forward:
And then here's me taking a couple steps with them backwards, trying to do the same thing:
Even on my lesser-pain day it's hard to even keep my balance with the crutches backwards!
Aaand lastly,
Pecan, what if they grab it backwards and don't have time to get it on properly?
Not a concern! Look at how easy and fast it is to get a crutch flipped using just your wrist and broad hand movements!
I hope that this is educational or informational or something - this amount of explanation is not proportional to the drawing error with Freddy's crutches in that panel, so this was honestly more for the love of infodumping than a full critique of that panel. I love Freddy and this was genuinely the only error I saw in this particular run. I love my forearm crutches and I love seeing people who love theirs too. :)
4 notes
·
View notes
Note
Thoughts on this from The Wicked + The Divine Issue 10?
Just a silhouette, but at least a bit more practical than some comic wheelchairs.
Oh thrilling! Thank you for the wheelchair!
So I don't know this character, but I can tell a lot about this wheelchair even from the silhouette - and it shows someone who likely knows their way around wheelchairs!
So a couple things jump out at me - the first is the spoked wheels. Those are a common trait of custom wheelchairs, unless you get really fancy. [Both links lead to LoopWheels and SoftWheels listing for education purposes. Sometimes wheels will have lightweight plastic spokes but it's less common on custom chairs.]
The single piece footplate implies this person is either a full-time user or, if they are ambulatory, they use a wheelchair enough to get a custom one.
The back looks low enough that their shoulders are free, and though there are push handles that isn't an automatic problem - a lot of people opt to have them, choose them "just in case," or need them sometimes but not always.
A really neat note is that you can see that single axle running under the chair - this is a great detail! Most (if not all) rigid frame chairs have that one single axle to connect the wheels. It's kind of like homestuck troll horns in that even people who are into drawing wheelchairs will forget to put it there lmao.
So I can't give it an exact score since I don't know the context of this wheelchair user - but I can say that this is a great depiction of the silhouette of an active custom manual wheelchair! In that aspect it's a 10/10 outline lol
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
Birds of Prey #13 (2000) - 10/10
Look at this chair! Excellent choices.
The push rims are so close to the tires! They're at an easy height to grip and get as much distance and force for your push as possible. My only concern is how smooth those tires are - but as I understand it she doesn't off-road it very much.
The low back gives Barbara a lot of extra maneuverability. It frees up everything above her waist which prevents unnecessary upper body strain. The wheels are also so close to the bucket (seat) that they definitely have almost all of her body weight above the axle (an ideal).
The lack of handles is a great choice! If someone can consistently self-propel and doesn't like strangers (or even non-strangers) deciding where they go, leaving off the handles is a common choice. Given Barbara is an independent person with no arm strength/paralysis issues, it's a natural option!
All of the above speaks to this being a customized and efficient chair. Exactly what Barbara would have, as someone with access to a lot of resources to get one!
While the rest of the chair isn't visible, from what we can see this is a great depiction of an active chair for an active user. Just by looking at it you can infer accurate things about her as a person!
#barbara gordon#oracle#babs gordon#birds of prey#comic critique#time for me to admit i don't go here often#i just got sick of the bald man's bad chairs#i needed something good#a friend floated this my way lol
112 notes
·
View notes
Text
Uncanny X-Men #2 (1963) - 3/10
This wheelchair is the one that made me start doing historical research! It's a bad chair.
First trouble - the push rims on this are absolute ass. They're so close to the axle that there is no way to manually push this chair effectively - never mind on grass where he is right now!
Also the lack of caster wheels! Given how far his legs go out he'd need those suckers. I think they're seen later on but even then they're super small.
The single anti-tipper on the back is interesting! You can see it on modern dance wheelchairs. But theirs are slightly off the ground to allow for extra mobility and also, critically, are used on dance floors (notorious for their butter-like consistency for chair pushers). Pretty much anywhere else it's somewhere between inconvenience and liability. Just get the man normal anti-tippers!
I try to avoid criticizing things that are more likely just drawing errors, but I do want to point out that the wheel overlaps with his armrest, meaning he has to reach his arm out even further than his arm rest to reach those little push rims. Even more shoulder strain!
The backing is also super high, but given how chairs were in the 60's that less of an issue than if this were like. A chair for Barbara Gordon in the year of our lord 2024.
Lastly, the weight of this chair is still gonna be more than commercial chairs of the time (~40 lbs/~18 kg), and those already suck weight wise. So this chair is annoying to push with the weight of it.
Points given because it's reminiscent of older wheelchairs (like this one in 1865). It also pulls from the professor's canon traits of being. Well. A professor. It's a scholarly chair.
#charles xavier#professor x#xmen#uncanny xmen#x men comics#comic critique#fun fact i learned to do wheelies on a grassy field at work#because id tip so fucking bad#even on my shitty shitty drive chair
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
Uncanny X-Men #1 (1963) - 3/10
A very interesting wheelchair to start!
The first things that strike me are the size of the pushrims. They're very far into the wheel, and very small. Not only would it be hard to reach down and then push them effectively, but it leads into the second problem - this wheelchair is 90% recliner. It covers the back of his shoulders entirely - you try and reach down and behind you from a recliner next time you're in one!
When it comes to wheelchairs, weight is a huge factor, because you're pushing the chair and yourself! Lay-Z-Boys are heavy as shit, and even if this chair was stuffed with the lightest metal and stuffing, it's still gonna be Heavier than a more standard frame.
His legs being out so far is also an interesting but not inherently bad design choice.
All that said, he doesn't leave the house in it. And we never even see him pushing himself. Maybe he just makes Scott, Hank, or Warren do it. They're seen doing so later in the comic so I can only assume (though I wish we got a look at how beefy the castors on that thing must be).
Ultimately still gets any points for being an eccentric rich man's recliner wheelchair. Who doesn't want to live in a recliner? It still gets a huge deduction for being extremely impractical.
#charles xavier#wheelchair#comic critique#xmen#uncanny xmen#the lack of anti-tippers on that is very funny to me though#recline too far back and suddenly its a tilt table baby
3 notes
·
View notes
Text
intro post/about
Hi! I'm Pecan, and this blog is where I'm going to be rating depictions of wheelchairs in comics.
While I don't claim to be an expert on wheelchairs, I'm an ambulatory manual chair user who has the power of god and autism on my side, so I'm both open to correction and feel I have enough experience to have opinions (less so with powerchairs, which I'm much less familiar with).
Submissions/asks are open if you have any particular chairs you'd like to see me get into.
More information on me, what I'm currently reading, a labeled wheelchair diagram, and wheelchair references/resources under the cut.
About Me
I'm Pecan, I use any pronouns.
I am multiply disabled. I won't provide a diagnostic list but I feel it's relevant to share - I have chronic pain, intermittent neuropathy in my peripheral nervous system, chronic fatigue, a tic disorder, and auDHD.
I'm also dyslexic so if I misinterpret/mistype/misread something and don't catch it on my own, either clarify or walk away lol.
Please do not point out any typos unless it's like. A new, worse word.
I use a manual wheelchair! I've only used folding frames until my current (beloved) rigid frame girlie.
My other hobbies include being tired, perler beads, sewing, and casual gaming.
Labeled Wheelchair Diagram
What I'm Currently Reading (AKA where most content is coming from at the moment)
I'm working my way through the entirety of the X Men series. So. Hope you don't mind bald men.
Wheelchair References (If You Want To Depict Them Better Than 90% Of What's Here)
Guide by fancyfade
Wheelchairs & Character Design by cy-cyborg
Wheelchair refs & what each is good for by its-cripptid
If you know more/others send them my way and I'll add 'em.
Wheelchair History: Some Starting Points
Old Time-y British Wheelchairs
A brief history of wheelchairs with further readings in links
Another brief history: this time with pictures
Power chair history with a focus on the founder
Lastly, some interesting stuff on wheelchair advocacy/issues & stuff you may not know about & just stuff that's cool
Why Can I Get a Power Wheelchair But My Friend Can’t Get a Manual Chair?
The Curb-Cut Effect
A Guide For New Wheelchair Users (I personally used this one when I started out and oof. Helpful stuff.)
A bunch of wheelchair user guides/tips
How to use an escalator with your wheelchair
That's all folks enjoy the blog
2 notes
·
View notes