When Jewel Kats was a little girl recovering in hospital from a car accident that shattered her leg, she took solace in Archie Comics.

Twenty-six years later, Kats is still reading Archie Comics — but now she’s part of the story.

Kats is the inspiration for Riverdale’s newest character, Harper Lodge. The fictional teen is sassy, fashionable and extremely smart. She’s also the first Archie comic character to be featured with a disability. The issue hit the newsstands on Wednesday.

“I can’t, for the life of me, remember who introduced me to Archie Comics,” said Kats, “but I do remember reading Archie as an in-patient at the Hospital for Sick Children.

“I would read Archie for hours and hours and hours and hours, and I was always attracted to the colourful illustrations, the guaranteed punch lines, the characters and it just continued from there.”

Now 35, Kats suffers from chronic pain, arthritis and low bone density in her right leg, a result of the accident when she was 9. She uses a pink walker equipped with a cheetah pouch when she’s at home, and a hot pink wheelchair outside.

The children’s author and self-proclaimed disability advocate says the comic became a comfort to her, even in her sometimes turbulent adult years, including a divorce after a 10-year marriage.

And still, despite her love for the comic book, she couldn’t really relate to the characters.

Her chance to voice that problem came at the Toronto Fan Expo last year.

Kats had a booth there and was promoting her graphic novel, DitzAbled Princess

END, when she saw Dan Parent, long-time writer and artist for Archie Comics.

“I wheeled up to him, looked at him square in the eye and I said, ‘Why isn’t there a character with a disability in Riverdale? How is that possible?’ ”

Parent didn’t have an answer for her, but Kats said he gave her something even more valuable: his contact information.

They continued to talk, and less than a year later Parent has designed a character that not only represents Kats but looks and acts a lot like her too. “We do have the same fashion sense, which is a good thing.”

Kats describes many qualities that she and Harper share.

“She’s very accomplished as a young teenager, she is very outspoken and a lot of people have the misconception that when you have a disability, you know, you’re afraid to speak your mind, and that’s not true.”

Kats has published eight books and has no problem being outspoken.

In her comic book persona, Harper is a cousin to the affluent Veronica Lodge. The character is edgy, much like Veronica, but is definitely her own person, said Parent.

“I always like to bring in the characters and make them feel comfortable in Riverdale,” Parent added. He said he took a similar approach when he introduced Kevin Keller, Archie’s first openly gay character. “You just sort of want the characters to fit in. And Harper fits in immediately. It helps that she’s a Lodge.”

Kats is overjoyed with the new addition to the comic.

“I think Harper can definitely be a role model and I think she can change the fabric of society by being a role model,” she said. “I think people have a lot of misconceptions about disabilities, that we’re limited in what we can do, and Harper definitely demonstrates that you can achieve your dreams even if that means reaching for the stars differently.”

Parent said now that Harper’s here, Archie fans will be seeing more of her.

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“When we introduce characters, they stick around.”

He couldn’t reveal much about the plot, but Harper does strike up an “unlikely romance.”

“Let’s Hear it for Harper,” issue #656, went on sale June 18.