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Recent comic book workshop shows diverse appeal and fine art techniques in art form

Miho Myojin, left, aids South Scranton Intermediate School student Taylor with his artwork during the recent Children’s Comic Book Workshop held at The Unknown comics and gaming store in Scranton. Twelve students, ages nine to 14, worked to create two-page comics for a printed anthology of their work.

SCRANTON – Thanks to the work of a Scranton resident and several talented guest artists, “The Adventures of Super Bread” and other original titles may soon reach the shelves of local comic book stores.
Marc Graci, of Scranton, has worked at various levels of the comic book industry for the last 10 years. In that time, he said, he realized the art form was underappreciated. For that reason, he created the Children’s Comic Book Workshop, a three-week collaboration in March dedicated to discussing the finer points of storytelling and art through comics. “The arts are really underfunded in today’s school systems,” Graci said. “Comics aren’t conventionally thought of as an art, but they deserve to be addressed. This was a good way to showcase the importance of comics to children as a visual and literary art form.”
Graci said that comic books contain much more than their face-value pen and ink artwork or stories about crime fighting and heroism. A good comic book contains dynamic characters, compelling storylines and well-drawn characters, which relate to the ideas of creative writing and fine art technique.
To help students create comics containing each of those elements, Graci called on local playwright K.K. Gordon to discuss the development of an intriguing storyline and Tedd Hazard, founder of SMP Comics which publishes several monthly titles, to advise students in fine art techniques. Graci’s wife, Miho Myojin, also attended the workshop. “She’s great with kids, so she was a very valuable asset to this program. She made the students a lot more comfortable,” Graci said of his wife’s role in the project.
While he admits that an artist’s grant from the Lackawanna County Council on Education and Culture was necessary in providing art supplies and refreshments for the dozen young artists ranging from age nine to 14, Graci said the program would have been nearly impossible without the use of The Unknown, a comics and gaming store located at 352 Adams Ave., Scranton. “Eric (Wescott, owner of The Unknown) offered the use of the store, which offered great space and a great environment for everyone to work in,” Graci said.
The 12 students participating in the program were recruited through notices sent to several area schools as well as flyers posted at The Unknown, Comics on the Green in downtown Scranton and the Endless Mountains Movie Theatre, Dickson City.
“I’m really happy with the diversity of the group and the variety of stories they produced,” Graci said of the students involved, which included both boys and girls from several different cultural backgrounds. “Comics are generally thought of as being for white males, and this group showed that is not the case.”
Storylines created by the students include the aforementioned tales of Super Bread, a young man who confronts Death at his father’s grave only to gain his powers, a 12-year-old girl who battles bullies as The Tornado and alien invasions threatening the safety of Earth. Stylistically, Graci said students worked in traditional comic and cartoon styles as well as in forms mimicking traditional Japanese manga.
The final installment of the workshop was held on March 31, and students have an extra week to complete their stories. Once the project is completed, Graci is having the 12 two-page comics printed in an anthology to be sold in local comic stores. The young artists will hold a book signing on May 4 at The Unknown in honor of their work. Finished comics will also be posted at www.drunkduck.com/The_Childrens_Comic_Book_Workshop in the online comic book community showcasing amateur works from across the planet.
“It’s a real confidence booster that the students will create a book from this project,” Graci said. “Hopefully they will carry some of the skills and a love of the arts that we tried to emphasize with them now that the workshop is over.”