THOUGHT BUBBLE MONTH 2026! To start with the obvious observation readers will make about this graphic biography, The Great Marc Evers: The True Story of a Champion Against All Odds is an exceptional example of how to use the unique properties of comics to add alternative communicative layers to an existing work. Adapted from the prose account by Ivo van Woerden by Dutch artist Gemma Plum this is the story of one of the greatest Paralympic swimmers of all time and how he and his family defied a childhood diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder that had written him off at just two years of age.
The Great Marc Evers is not just a story of beating the odds of the title. It’s one of defiantly refusing to accept them. Marc’s parents Frank and Gitty are as much a focus in this moving account in their determination to ensure Marc has as fulfilling a life as anyone else, providing the driving force for his later achievements.
This is an adaptation that leans heavily into using the narrative tools of comics to convey the specific ways in which Marc interacts with his surroundings as a child. A scrawly black cloud is overlaid across panels in many of the early pages, for example, and Plum expertly uses comics’ relationship with ideas of time and space to display things like the young Marc’s reliance on almost ritual-like behaviour to comfort himself. A five-page sequence of tight 40-panelled pages showing him constantly opening and slamming a door is testament to this. It’s a narrative technique that is used frequently throughout these pages.
It’s also a story that is reflective in its analysis, with a contemporary commentary on events from Frank and Gitty and from other contributors to the events depicted, including medical experts and trainers, intermittently dropping in with retrospective thoughts that add extra context. As Marc’s love of swimming evolves into something more pronounced we see the highs and lows, the setbacks and the triumphs, as his journey towards the epic 2012 London Paralympics continues.
Of course this is a story where the wider realities of living with ASD are always a backdrop. Plum’s visuals are based in a heavily realistic style but one that constantly captures a sense of motion and is replete with expressive visual characterisation. Marloes Dekkers’ colours are sympathetic and delicate throughout. This is an incredibly inspiring read. One that reminds us that tenacity can overcome the most unlikely obstacles but, more vitally, of the importance of embracing what we believe could be possible over what we are told is impossible.
Gemma Plum (A and adaptation), Ivo van Woerden (W), Marloes Dekkers (C) • SelfMadeHero, £22.99
Buy online from Gosh! Comics here
Review by Andy Oliver
SelfMadeHero are at Table B33 in the 2000 AD Hall at Thought Bubble.
Thought Bubble 2026 runs from November 9th-15th with the convention weekend taking place on the 14th-15th. More details on the Thought Bubble site here.
Read all our Thought Bubble 2026 coverage so far in one place here.
Poster art by Núria Tamarit
