Germantown teen self-pubs Holocaust GN in 2013

 

 Did he find a career in comics? ComicsDC wants to know.

 

14-Year-Old Author Tells Story of Holocaust in Graphic Novel [Christopher Huh, "Keeping My Hope," a self-published graphic novel]

By Laura Moser May 9, 2013 https://forward.com/culture/176210/14-year-old-author-tells-story-of-holocaust-in-gra/

 

Chatting with Sam Kidlet: "I wanted to go big for charity, and my first thought was Galactus"

by Mike Rhode

I've known Sam Kidlet (a nom de pen) for years, since she's been part of her family's comic and children's books creative team. I usually see them at Baltimore Comic Con and catch up, but COVID and then my shorter visits to the Con have screwed that up. But I saw Sam the other day at a local bookstore though, and heard that she'd done a successful piece for the annual Heroes Con auction. She agreed (with her parents' approval) to answer our usual questions.

 What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

A little of everything; I know If I want to pursue comics, I won't have as much time to draw for myself so I try to draw a little bit of everything now. I used to love drawing horror, the more creepy and spine-tingling the better, but being the daughter of a children's book author and creating kids comics myself, I needed to let up a little bit. I try to draw things that will challenge me, and work on concepts that will allow me to grow. I'm not great at drawing women, so every once in a while I'll attempt to draw a woman. I'm not great at stuff geared towards kids, so every once in a while I'll try to draw something all ages. So, a little bit of everything. I get bored drawing the same things really easily. 

How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?

 

99% of the time I use pen and ink to draw and use markers to color. I don't like drawing digitally, but I'm trying to practice with inking digitally, so I don't completely shut myself off from it. Whenever I work on a Hippofartamus issue, (a comic series my dad and I work on together), he pencils, then I ink and most of the time, color. We both work on the story. I always use Clip Studio to color. 

When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?

 

I was born in the mid-2000's in a hospital around DC. 

Why are you in Washington now?  What neighborhood or area do you live in?

 

My mom is a fed, so it's more convenient to stay in the DMV, and we're where we are now until I graduate, as then there isn't a school district we have to think about. I'm in Springfield now, but I absolutely want to stay in the DMV or right outside of it when I can get my own place. 

What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

 

Practice! Not to be a cliche. I was lucky to grow up with a dad that loved comics and conventions, and when he took me with him, I probably subconsciously picked up a love for it. As we kept showing up, we made more artist friends and I learned from them, so conventions are probably my most significant part of my learning. I only took one art class in middle school and hated it. As far as education goes, I soaked up as much as I could with videos of artists drawing and kept watching those over and over. I worked with my dad on our series and he taught me a lot about art and the process of creating through that as well. 

Who are your influences?

 

Basically the whole art community. I look up to Brian Stelfreeze because he's mentored me for a while now and believed in me when I could barely draw a smiley face. He inspired me to leave a good impact, because I still remember how welcomed I felt when he was teaching me. I look up to Cat Staggs and Amanda Deibert, because they're great people, but also because for every 10 men in comics I've met, there is 1 woman creator. They help me put those doubts away about entering a male-dominated industry, but I also have Kelly Sue DeConnick to thank for that, as an influence and a friend. The love and support that comic fans show at cons inspire me to be a better person and be a better influence for younger artists. Then there's my family, who are all artists in their own right. It's definitely an amalgamation.  

What would you like to do or work on in the future?

 

Comics is a bucket list job. I'd love to work on Daredevil and Joker one day, but I also want to work on some movies. I'm really fascinated by cinematography and I'd love to mash those two interests together.  

What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?

 

I start to think about what I haven't drawn. I try to think about what angles I can play around with, what concepts, what characters, and if it's just not working out, I try to take a deep breath and switch papers. Sometimes I get wrapped up in needing to draw something, but sometimes it can just be the piece of paper. A strange way to describe it is to say that the paper is intimidating, because you've tried and tried to draw on it, but all you see is eraser shavings. If switching the paper and drawing a lot looser doesn't work and I'm already frustrated, I'll put my art stuff away and chill for the rest of the night, and try a different approach tomorrow. Usually the more frustrated I get the less productive I am.  

What do you think will be the future of your field?

 

I have no idea. I don't know enough about paper comics or web comics to even hazard a guess as to where were headed, but as for creating can definitely see more artists switching to online programs and interfaces to draw.

What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Awesome Con, or others? Any comments about attending them?

 

We don't really do any local shows anymore, really only signings at local comic shops, mostly in Virginia. We go to Fairfax CC sometimes, though. We went to Awesome Con a couple times, it was fun but not one of our main shows. Our constant show is Baltimore Comic Con. 

 

We're also  at Heroes Con in Charlotte, NC. I'm really excited to come back this year. Heroes will be the first convention after I graduate, so I'm really happy that it comes right afterward, kind of as a personal celebration. For last year's Heroes Con  auction, I wanted to go big for charity, and my first thought was Galactus. It took me around 2 months or so to finish. I did a 19x24 drawing done with primarily Prismacolor markers and a white paint pen. At the auction, it went for $775. The folks at Heroes last year put a spotlight on me, and I still don't believe I thanked them enough; I'm excited to come back and do my best make them proud.

What comic books do you read regularly or recommend? Do you have a local store?

 

I don't get around to reading comics as much anymore with school, everything I read is almost religiously for school, but Daredevil, especially Zdarsky and Hawthorne's run was an instant love for me. As for shops, Comic Logic in Ashburn, VA has been our shop for a few years now. It's almost like a second home, and they're creeping up to eight years with no signs of slowing down, so we're all happy our favorite shop is here to stay! 

What's your favorite thing about DC?

 

The food. Especially Burrito Brothers next door to the Library of Congress. And the Children's Hospital. I needed a small surgery a little while ago and they're the greatest people on the planet. They take great care of you, I owe them a debt of gratitude for making a shaky time for me a lot easier to navigate. They're great folk. 

Least favorite?

 

The amount of times you need to fill up your metro card, drives me up the wall. Driving and parking isn't fun either, I'm not a fan of real-life Mario Kart. 

What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?

 

The Museum of American History was a favorite of mine when I was a kid. I also really loved going to the National Museum of African American History. I'd definitely recommend those out of pure entertainment and importance of what those sites hold. 

How about a favorite local restaurant?

 

Jaleos is my favorite out of what I tried. It's been a while, but I'd love to go back. 

Do you have a website or blog?

 

I used to! I had a blog called "Kidlet Korner" on Tumblr, and my dad started posting my drawings on there when I was around 7 or 8, then switched to essays on current events when I was going through a writing phase. It's been inactive since 2017, though. My current website is samkidlet.com, but at the moment it's just bare bones with upcoming appearances and art.

 

How did COVID-19 affect you?

 

Around January 2020, my mental health started to collapse. My well-being as a whole slipped out from under me, and I was too scared to draw, I think the last time I drew was in November of '19. I don't know how I worked up the courage, but I eventually started drawing again, and I still remember the date: 6/26/2020. Being a full time student in the worst of the pandemic and quarantine, meant it didn't affect me too much professionally. Unlike other artists, I was lucky to not have the pressure of relying on my art to pay the bills. Personally, Covid taught me a lot about myself and healing in general. Professionally, I struggled with seeing myself as an artist in the future, but I kept asking myself, "would I be satisfied with the work I've put in and out, and satisfied with my life if I don't become an artist, if I stopped?" So I kept drawing. 
 

 

Commentary: Alexandra Bowman of Georgetown's "The Hilltop Show" Responds to Callout and Critics

by Alexandra Bowman

Ms. Bowman is a 19-year-old student, political cartoonist, and humorist at Georgetown University. We interviewed her last December. When I met her in person last weekend, she told me about a minor university controversy about a pulp paperback book collection in a GU dorm library that had started to go national due to Brietbart picking it up. I offered her space at ComicsDC for her response. For the record, I'm in my mid-50s and grew up with many of the books pictured in the Georgetown Review story around the house, I have read some of them, and I personally do not find them generally offensive myself. However, I do believe that she and her colleagues have a right to make their opinions known without being trolled. And at least one of the books, The Cunning Linguist, is genuinely hardcore pornography. - Mike Rhode

Launched in fall 2019, The Hilltop Show is Georgetown University's political comedy show. Our team aims to make current campus, national, and international events accessible and entertaining to those who might not typically engage with the news - including not only students but the broader Georgetown community and beyond. In line with this mission, we publish journalistic pieces as well as comedic sketches and interviews with political practitioners and comedians. 

I founded the show last April. I write sketches and "informational monologues" (the thing John Oliver does), conduct and coordinate journalistic investigations, organize film shoots, edit videos in Adobe Premiere, and conduct outreach and PR for the Show. I create our graphics, drawing many by hand with traditional and digital media, like our Season 2 poster:

The Hilltop Show meets in a study space in a dorm that would be more accurately described as a glorified broom closet. Until a few weeks ago, the space included a bookshelf, on which were hundreds of books have been there since 2003 when the dorm opened and an alum donated them. During a weekly team meeting, we noticed one book that caught our eye, entitled Cherokee, which depicted a young Native American girl on the cover illustrated not only in an objectifying way but also with blood on her clothes. Upon further inspection, we realized that at least one of the books was hardcore pornography, but many others of them included derogatory racial elements and glamorized rape, including that of underage girls. We asked the university and multiple organizations if they were aware of the books and if they had any background knowledge of their origins, and within hours of one of our emails being sent, every book disappeared from the dorm library. 

The Hilltop Show partners with an independent student media publication on campus, The Georgetown Review, and we worked with them to publish a journalistic report based on The Hilltop Show's research and the events that had transpired. The Show also filmed and published a sketch (a Goodfella's parody) on the same day the books were removed. 

Shortly thereafter, the university newspaper, The Hoya, published an article that included a statement from me, with some remarks indicated as representative of the team's views and some as my own. As I noted to them, "While some were simply raucous crime noir murder mysteries representative of the literary and cultural time in which they were written, other books included extremely problematic and damaging elements, including the glamorization of rape, including that of underage girls. Completely naked women of all races were frequently featured on these books' covers. Further, many books fetishized young nonwhite women." 

The books were typical of the time in which they were written, but our main question was whether the university knew that they were present considering that the books' racist and pornographic content, regardless of when the books where written, could be harmful to those who read them. Several young children under the age of ten live in the buildings where these books were kept, not far out of their reach.

I'd point to how Disney has approached the issue of many of their older films containing culturally outdated and racist elements. On the new streaming service Disney+, films with these elements have warnings in their descriptions.  For example, on the 1967 film "The Jungle Book," the following lines are included in the description of the film: "This program is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated cultural depictions."  I believe that even a small plaque on the walls of the McCarthy and Reynolds library with a similar sentiment would have been enough. When we reached out to the university, we didn't want the books to ultimately be removed. We wanted them to be contextualized in a similar way to how Disney has handled such content typical of mid-20th century media.

Conservative higher education news site The College Fix published a laughably biased article, which was not based in fact nor particularly concerned with providing much context for the situation whatsoever. Breitbart apparently then noticed this article and then wrote one of their own based on the College Fix's report. 

Breitbart reported the story in a way that suits the narratives popular with their reader base. Their report paints the story thus: liberal snowflake college students complained when something offended them, and the university folded and banned the books those students whined about. The image accompanying the article, a photo of books engulfed in flame, has prompted thousands of commenters to compare what we did - which was to raise questions to the university regarding the presence of dime novels that glamorize rape and pedophilia - to Nazi book burnings. 

Brietbart's article has been shared over 38,500 times as of February 20th. Over 11,000 comments have been left. 

The Hilltop Show has released a statement via a tweet commenting on the Breitbart article: 

"First, we didn't want the books removed altogether. We wanted them contextualized. Censorship? Nope. Second, if you're a fan of keeping books around that glamorize rape and pedophilia, we have Some Concerns. Something tells us you didn't read @thegureview's actual report."

I'd like to conclude by saying that we are more entertained by our Breitbart callout by anything else. After all, Breitbart has now called the Hilltop Show a "crack research team." Rest assured that "Crack Research Team Member" T-shirts are currently being designed. Cheers.

More information about The Hilltop Show can be found on our website, hilltopshow.com where you can also sign up for our newsletter. Our YouTube channel is linked here. We post updates, political cartoons, memes, and more on our social media pages: we are @hilltopshow on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. As our slogan states, we will continue to #capitalizeonthechaos. 

Meet a Local Cartoonist: A Chat with Alexandra Bowman

by Mike Rhode

My friend Bruce Guthrie recently attended a political cartooning event at Georgetown University featuring Matt Wuerker and KAL, which I had to skip due to a scheduling conflict. Afterwards, he made a point of introducing me via email to Alexandra Bowman, the student political cartoonist who organized it. In keeping with our attempts to learn more about local cartoonists, I asked if she would answer our usual interview questions.  Alexandra did so directly upon finishing her final exams, and I think you'll all be impressed by her answers.


1. What type of comic work or cartooning do you do?

I am a political cartoonist, children's book illustrator, and fine artist. The menu of galleries on my website is a bit unwieldy at this point.

I served as the Editorial Political Cartoonist for "The Hoya," the Georgetown University newspaper of record. I left this past fall to start my own political comedy show at Georgetown, "The Hilltop Show"--I create hand-drawn and digital graphics for the show. I was also recently hired as the Editorial Political Cartoonist for Our Daily Planet, a climate news outlet with a readership of 13,000 (my first cartoon was published here), as well as the Georgetown Review, an independent news source on campus.

I also have illustrated three children's books and do freelance work and commissions. My work has been published by BBC News, BBC Books, Penguin House UK, Puffin Books.

I serve as the Live Political Cartoonist for the Georgetown Institute of Politics for Public Service (GU Politics). My first event was this past September's MSNBC Climate Forum; I created cartoons and life drawings of candidates, including Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders, throughout the two-day event. I also do freelance artwork for GU Politics. All my live cartoons, as well as my past work for "The Hoya" and other political pieces, can be found here.

2. How do you do it? Traditional pen and ink, computer or a combination?

I am partial to drawing/sketching my political cartoons and illustrations in pencil, inking, and coloring with alcohol markers and colored pencils. I'm becoming increasingly fond of coloring via Photoshop, as it's much faster and I don't have to wait three days for the Copic ink to come off my hands.

When making fine art, I enjoy using mechanical pencils for detail work. Oil paint and colored pencils are helpful for creating broad swathes of color.

3. When (within a decade is fine) and where were you born?

I was born in March 2000 in Sierra Vista, AZ. Yeah, I really haven't been around that long.

4. Why are you in Washington now?  What neighborhood or area do you live in?

As a current Georgetown undergraduate student, I am currently based in DC. I live in Kennedy Hall at Georgetown, which has only about half the leaks and rodent sightings as the other dorms. When I'm not fending off rat attacks, I live about 30-40 minutes from Washington D.C. in Fairfax, VA.

5. What is your training and/or education in cartooning?

I took AP Studio Art in high school, and took an Oil Painting class last year at Georgetown. I've had a few extracurricular art classes here and there. My mom is an artist: she ensured that I always had access to art supplies and art books, and took me to museums on almost a weekly basis as a kid. I have also spent years teaching myself to draw. Every break from school invites the existential question of "how many coffee table-sized Art-Of-The-Movie books should I bring home?"

6. Who are your influences?

While teaching myself over the years, I have devoured art books and classically-illustrated children's books, particularly animation concept art books and anthropomorphic animal stories. Beatrix Potter, Dr. Seuss, Milt Kahl, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Byron Howard, Jin Kim, Shiyoon Kim, Cory Loftis, Jim Davis, Christopher Hart, the illustrators of the Geronimo Stilton books (whose pseudonyms on the copyright pages have been tragically unhelpful), and Trina Schart Hyman. From a young age, I have been particularly enchanted by illustrations of anthropomorphic animals, especially those with a semi-realistic tone (e.g. the work of Beatrix Potter, Disney's Robin Hood, Zootopia, Aesop's fables illustrations, etc.).

Beatrix Potter and Jim Davis were my earliest influences. Whenever I draw an animal or a chubby character, its arms and paws/hands are (unintentionally) posed exactly like Garfield's. I drew Garfield all over my notebook and test margins in the fifth and sixth grades. And when I saw "The Hobbit:" when I was 12 (on December 22, 2012; yeah, I know), I became engrossed with Tolkien and Bilbo Baggins. I received a Bilbo Baggins bobblehead for Christmas three days later, and I decided to draw it that evening. I proceeded to cover my seventh and eighth-grade planners with drawings of Bilbo, and that doodle instinct has not since abated.

I've only begun to get into political cartooning recently, but I have long adored the work of the Washington Post's Ann Telnaes, Politico's Matt Wuerker, and The Economist's Kevin Kallaugher. I actually helped plan a GU Politics/Hilltop Show event this month hosting Mr. Wuerker and Mr. Kallaugher on campus; I delivered the event's opening remarks and introduced the cartoonists.

Vincent Van Gogh, Albrecht Durer, and Leonardo da Vinci are some of the biggest influences of my fine art.

7. If you could, what in your career would you do-over or change?

I don't think I've been drawing professionally long enough to have had any major slip-ups or regrets. I think.

I am, however, at the stage (the "Early Life" section on Wikipedia?) that I will look back on in 5-10 years and wistfully think "If I had only known/done X at that time!" Advice from more experienced cartoonists is always much appreciated!

8. What work are you best-known for?

Live political cartooning at the Climate Forum was a pivotal moment in my artistic "career" (I'm 19, I squirm when I use that word). Since coming to Georgetown, I have immersed myself in political cartooning for multiple publications. I think if you were to ask someone who has a second-degree connection to me (socially or on LinkedIn) what I tend to draw, they'd mention "the girl who draws political cartoons and foxes and John Oliver and had that massive display in the library coffee shop once."


As mentioned, I was also recently hired as the Editorial Political Cartoonist for Our Daily Planet, a climate news outlet that John Kerry apparently reads every morning.

On a fun note, one of my drawings of the Fourth Doctor and K-9 was published by BBC Books and Puffin Books/Penguin Random House in an international anthology for sale in Barnes and Noble.

9. What work are you most proud of?

I'm particularly proud of my recent political cartoons, as I'm excited to have ventured into a field of art that I believe has more of a tangible positive impact on the world. I believe that political satire is one of the most effective means of reaching those who would not otherwise engage with the news in politics, as young people and the politically uninitiated are much more likely to engage with informational media if it is presented in an entertaining package.

10. What would you like to do or work on in the future?

I would like to be a broadcast journalist, news anchor, or political comedy talk show host. Writing for the latter would be an ideal intermediary position. I really admire how Jake Tapper has been able to tactfully combine his interests in strict news reporting and political cartooning by hosting both "The Lead" and his "State of the Cartoonion" segment.

I would also love to direct films for Pixar.

In the case of either life path, I would like to use my career to create meaningful media and/or entertainment, particularly for young people.

11. What do you do when you're in a rut or have writer's block?

I'm blessed that I rarely have to deal with writer's/artist's block. Keeping a notebook and writing down ideas whenever they occur to me helps keep creative blockage at bay.

Watching a 2-D Disney movie or watching late-night comedy never fails to offer heaps of inspiration.

12. What do you think will be the future of your field?

I hope that illustrators and filmmakers who intend to create meaningful, character-building animated films for children enter the field of animation. I admire how Pete Docter has imbued the films he has worked on/directed (i.e. Wall-E) with his Christian faith.

I believe the future of political cartooning may lie with animated political shows, such as Stephen Colbert's underrated animated series "Our Cartoon President." The show has been more or less panned by critics, but each show is essentially a 30-minute moving political cartoon and deserves credit for being more or less the first of its kind.

13. What local cons do you attend? The Small Press Expo, Awesome Con, or others? Any comments about attending them?

Being a Georgetown student with newfound access to DC has given me a new perspective on the sheer quantity of phenomenal cons available to me. I'm eager to continue learning about new cons to visit, particularly those that focus on film-making and illustration

For a number of years I have attended AwesomeCon, where I have met Wallace Shawn, Cary Elwes, Chris Sarandon, Adam West, Burt Ward, and David Tennant. I met David Tennant while dressed as the Tenth Doctor; I gave him a drawing of Ten meeting Scrooge McDuck, which David said "was the pinnacle of all his work." I continue to share this story with my Uber drivers.

14. What's your favorite thing about DC?

Coming to Georgetown, I was concerned that DC did not have the media and/or entertainment presence of New York or Los Angeles. However, perhaps partially due to my interests changing since arriving on campus a year and a half ago, I'm realizing that DC's political focus makes it a media hotspot particularly well-suited to my own interest in politics. DC being where the action is in terms of current global chaos is also a plus.

15. Least favorite?

See previous sentence.

16. What monument or museum do you like to take visitors to?

#ripnewseum.

17. How about a favorite local restaurant?

My favorite restaurant of all time is Filomena in Georgetown. I am comforted knowing that my culinary tastes have been validated by Bono and Harrison Ford.

18. Do you have a website or blog?

My work can be found on alexandrabowmanart.com and on Instagram (@alexandrabowmanart). I also tweet about illustration and current events under the handle @scripta_bene. I have a Facebook page for my work, which sends me notifications two or three times daily saying "Your followers have not seen a post from you in months." It's linked here if you're still interested.

Jim Scancarelli, Arlington high school cartoonist

Yesterday, we reprinted a piece about Gasoline Alley cartoonist Jim Scancarelli being selected for Arlington's Wakefield High School's Hall of Fame. Today we present some of the cartoons he did for the school newspaper, again courtesy of the Alumni group which also sponsors scholarships.

The Signal, November 10, 1955

The Signal, November 21, 1955

The Signal, December 7, 1955

The Signal, February 9, 1956

The Signal, March 28, 1956

The Signal, May 17, 1956

 

The exhibit at Wakefield High School featuring the original art for Gus Todian's return to comics in Gasoline Alley.

Jim Scancarelli, Class of 1959 in Wakefield High School's Hall of Fame

Reprinted with permission from Warrior News, Fall 2017. For information on alumni from Wakefield High School (Arlington,VA) and the scholarship program, click here.

2017 Inductees into the Hall of Fame

Jim Scancarelli, Class of 1959

Provided by David Mitchell '65,
Hall of Fame Committee, Chair
 

Jim is a cartoonist who writes and draws the syndicated comic strip "Gasoline Alley". He is also a well-known and prize-winning bluegrass fiddler.

Jim's cartoon career started at Wakefield. The student newspaper and literary magazine of his era are filled with his drawings. The student newspaper featured a cartoon "Gus Todian", about a Wakefield custodian. Fifty years later, Jim revived Gus, the custodian at Wakefield, in "Gasoline Alley". During his time at Wakefield, Jim says "Comics were my escape ... The characters became my friends." He says he wasn't a good student and it was the work of several teachers who channeled his desire to draw and taught him the skills he needed to be successful.

From the November 10, 1955 Signal, Wakefield's Student Newspaper

Jim has been a freelance magazine illustrator, wrote and acted in radio programs, and was even the Art Director for "The Johnny Cash Show" in the early 1960s. Jim began his work on Gasoline Alley in 1986, and has collaborated on the Mutt and Jeff comic strip, as well.

From the December 7, 1955 Signal, Wakefield's Student Newspaper

His comic strip often has social and community meanings. Through his comic strip, he brought attention to the construction of the World War II Memorial and the National Museum of the United States Army. In 1988, he received the National Cartoonists Society's Story Comic Strip Award. As a bluegrass fiddler, he founded the Kilocycle Kowboys and was a prizewinner at the Old Fiddlers Convention. The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress has his fiddle recordings. He jokingly says "I've been playing the fiddle too long to be bad at it."

Jim donated the original boards for the Gasoline Alley Gus Todian strips he did in 2015 and they are on display at school.  Photo courtesy of  Conchita.

How one school created its annual Graphic Novelists Workshop

 by Matt Dembicki

Powhatan School in Boyce, Va., will host its 4th Graphic Novelists Workshop on Friday, March 3, from 12:30 to 4:30 pm. The workshop costs $25 per participant and is open to all students in grades 3rd through high school are invited to attend. Participating students will attend sessions with each of the presenting graphic novelists and have the opportunity to use what they have learned to create their own graphic novelette. Registration for the workshop is online at www.PowhatanLibraryOnline.com 

Presenting graphic novelists include Hobbes Holluck, Carolyn Belefski and Art Hondros.

Below, we chatted with Tracie Chloel Lane, library media specialist at Powhatan, who has spearheaded the annual workshop.

How did the idea for these comics workshops originate?

Several years ago, one of my students came across Trickster, and bought a copy for our library. The donation was quickly followed with a “Ms. Lane, you should get this guy to come visit our school.” Engaging my investigative skills, I logged into Facebook, and typed Matt Dembicki into the search feature, thus beginning my side job stalking graphic novelists and authors so I could lure them to our school. The resulting author visit ignited our students. Our graphic novel collection was born. And an idea formed. The following year, we invited Matt back and asked him to bring a couple friends. It was our first Graphic Novelist Workshop @ Powhatan School.

 Tracie Chloel Lane

The workshop format is really great for the participants. Author visits are wonderful. They give students the opportunity to meet and learn about the authors of the books they read and love. A workshop takes that visit to a deeper level. It gives young people the opportunity to learn from people who are writing the stories that feed their brains and fires up their imaginations. The workshop gives them the opportunity to see themselves as the writer, the illustrator, the creator of books. It demystifies the experience of having a byline on the cover of a book. It gives our children and teens the opportunity to see themselves in that role.

Our Graphic Novelist Workshops spawned our writing workshops that take place in the fall.

What’s been the reaction among the students, teachers, parents?

This is the fourth year we have hosted the Graphic Novelist workshop at Powhatan School. Every year, we have more students and alumni coming than the year before. Several of our students have produced their own graphic novels. One of our young novelists has gone on to sell his work and another is heading off to Virginia Commonwealth University in the fall to study Communication Arts. Our parents and teachers love anything that gets kids reading more, writing more, and enthusiastic about the process.

You always look for ways to add a new spin to the program. Can you briefly outline what you’ve done in the past and your ideas for the upcoming program in March?

Art by Carolyn Belefski

Our base group of participants come every year. A new spin on the workshop is essential. Our participants want to build on the skills and knowledge they’ve gained. We host different novelists each year. The novelists are active participants in determining what skill will be shared and how it will be taught. We coordinate this through a private Facebook group that gives current and previous presenting novelists and editors the opportunity to communicate ideas and experiences with each other. That helps mix things up a bit.

This year, I want to take it a step farther. I want to publish a collection of the works of the children and teens that participate in the workshop. To facilitate this goal, we’ve invited a former editor of the Magic Bullet to participate this year.

If other teachers and librarians might be interested in adapted a similar program at their school or library, what advice would you give them on how to get started?

First, they need a Matt. Matt helps me find the up-and-coming (and already there) graphic novelists and editors that I invite to our workshop each year. Visit another graphic novelist workshop. Our program is open to our students and the community at large. Visiting teachers and librarians are welcome at our Workshop (though I may put them to work).

What has been the most challenging part of the program?

Art by Hobbes Hillock

Funding. For the first three years we offered the workshop free or with a small fee for expenses. This year, funding has made it necessary to charge a $25 registration fee to cover the costs.