Comic Book
This comic book was developed as a resource for children (of all ages!) based on the below evidence-based publication on psychosocial issues:
“Erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) and X-linked protoporphyria (XLP) are rare photodermatoses, generally presenting in childhood with severe and painful photo-toxicity. EPP has been reported to negatively affect quality of life (QoL), but there is limited information on the psychosocial issues faced by patients and families. To address this, an online focus group study was conducted to explore the perspective of parents of children with EPP, and young adults and children with EPP.”
Naik, H., Shenbagam, S., Go, A. M., & Balwani, M. (2019). Psychosocial issues in erythropoietic protoporphyria - the perspective of parents, children, and young adults: A qualitative study. Molecular genetics and metabolism, 128(3), 314–319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymgme.2019.01.023
Meet the Illustrator
Tina Chu
Tina Chu is a Taipei-born, Mississauga-raised illustrator, currently living in Toronto. She fell in love with illustration as a grade school student via her Mandarin textbooks and decided to pursue it later in life. Tina’s meandering path to illustration means she also had the opportunity to develop as a learning experience designer, her daytime hat of choice. To date, Tina is most known for her zine, “Do You Have a Cervix?” which was nominated for a BROKEN PENCIL INFOZINE AWARD in 2020, as well as the online comic, SHADOW JUMPERS, which was re-published by the United Porphyrias Association in 2023. These days, Tina is most intrigued by learning-based projects that aim to make information digestible through storytelling and comics