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Seismic Press Announces Superhero/Mental Health Story “Side Effects”

By | June 28th, 2022
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Cover by Tara O'Connor

AfterShock Comics’ young adult imprint Seismic Press have announced “Side Effects,” an original superhero graphic novel by writer Ted Anderson (“My Little Pony”) and artist Tara O’Connor (“Fly By Night”), with lettering by Dave Sharpe, releasing this fall.

Centered around the theme of mental health, the book follows Hannah, a freshman college student who gains superpowers from the medication prescribed to treat her anxiety and depression. “Now, on top of juggling tests and dates, Hannah has to deal with occasionally shooting lightning bolts from her fingers or reading her girlfriend’s mind. Maybe she’s supposed to be a superhero, but all she wants to do is make it through the year in one piece.”

Anderson describes the book as “a light-hearted, slightly adventure-y look at mental health and how we get better – and what, ultimately, ‘getting better’ even looks like. This is a really personal book in a lot of ways – I’ve been grappling for years with my mental health and trying to feel ‘okay’ – and I wanted to make a book about my thoughts and feelings that also has a happy ending. (Sorry for the spoiler!)”

O’Connor adds, “I think everyone could benefit from picking up this book, whether you are someone who struggles with their mental health or know someone who does. There’s still this stigma around taking meds, and while it’s gotten better, it’s still far too prevalent. On a personal level, I wish I had this book growing up ‘cos I think it would’ve made a huge difference in my life to help combat my own stigmas that I had about being on medication that took me far too long to get over.”

For more from the creators, and a preview, head to the link for the full synopsis and Q&A. “Side Effects” will be released on October 5, and retail at 128 pages for $17.99.


Christopher Chiu-Tabet

Chris is the news manager of Multiversity Comics. A writer from London on the autistic spectrum, he enjoys tweeting and blogging on Medium about his favourite films, TV shows, books, music, and games, plus history and religion. He is Lebanese/Chinese, although he can't speak Cantonese or Arabic.

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