Comics Club Collection

OCTOBER 2012

A collaborative project between

Dear Reader, Get ready. You are about to behold a very exciting compilation -- it’s The LAB’s first publication!

Blink a few times. Look left and then right, up and down. Now see if you can cross your eyes.

Twitch your nose. Wiggle your ears. If your stomach is rumbling, please grab a snack. And don’t forget to breathe.

The LAB and Assemble are places for activation. Sometimes it’s a quiet process, and other times it’s noisy and kinetic. Throughout Comics Club, we worked collaboratively and independently, boisterous in some moments and still in others. Writing and drawing went hand in hand, along with a healthy dose of quirk, a juice box, and a granola bar.

The comics in this collection were written and illustrated throughout October 2012 by a group of students, ages 9-13, brought together through a collaborative effort between Literary Arts Boom [The LAB] and Assemble. You’ll encounter a variety of images and words spawned by the following four club encounters: Frieze!

During session one, students divided into pairs and struck 4 poses each. Their partner had to draw the pose and create a narrative from the sequence.

Ego vs. Alter Ego During session two, students discussed characteristics and learned about the geometry of the human face. After drawing portraits of themselves and their alter egos, they wrote about an encounter between the two.

Personification During session three, students learned about giving human characteristics to non-human things.

Then they chose letters of the alphabet, objects, and animals to personify.

Narrative Structure During session four, students reviewed the elements of a story and incorporated some of their previous work into a final comic panel.

I’d like to thank Jim Rugg – a comic book artist, illustrator, and designer living in Pittsburgh – who has generously donated his time to designing this collection. Apart from his talent, it’s worth noting that Jim is an incredibly nice guy who actively participated in our sessions and brought a bunch of comics for the kids to look at and keep.

Art Spiegelman described Comics as “a gateway drug to literacy.” We think some of the kids are hooked, and we hope you will be too.

Happy Reading!

Paula Levin Lead Experimentalist Literary Arts Boom [The LAB]

Comics Club Collection Design and layout: Jim Rugg Design assistance: Paula Levin This project was supported in part by a Spark Award from The Sprout Fund.

Copyright © 2012 by Literary Arts Boom.

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Rose Wang 2 Elias Tew 10 Joseph Wang 10 Jasmyn White 18 Gavin Brown 20 Tyrek Jackson 22 Quanyia Jackson 24 Robert Ashkettle 26 Aislin Winters 34 Gwen Winters 40 Exquisite Corpse

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Assemble is an open physical space in an urban neighborhood in Pittsburgh. We unite artists, technologists, and makers with our neighbors of all demographics. Assemble provides a platform for experiential learning, opening creative processes and building confidence through making.

WWW.ASSEMBLEPGH.ORG

Literary Arts Boom [The LAB] is an explosively fun creative writing laboratory in Garfield that offers free out-of-school programming to Pittsburgh youth, ages 6-18. Students practice and improve their inquiry and writing skills in a safe and unique space by participating in projectbased workshops that incorporate art, technology, and communication. The Mad Scientist theme encourages youth to explore, experiment, and invent.

Mentorship and creativity inspire students to pursue their interests, find their voices, and tell their stories.

WWW.LITERARYARTSBOOM.ORG

Special thanks to Anya Weitzman for leading the sessions and Nina Barbuto for sharing so many great ideas and activities.

These comics were written and illustrated throughout October 2012 by a group of students, ages 9-13, brought together through a collaborative effort between Literary Arts Boom [The LAB] and Assemble. Readers will encounter a variety of images and words spawned by four fun-filled club encounters.