Santa Maria Sun / News

Holy comics, Batman!

BY AMY ASMAN

Attention, citizens of Santa Maria: There are some Super Writers among you, creating exciting, new stories and teaching others about the magical power of words.

Look what she did! Camper Isabella showed off her comic cell drawing of evil villain LavaKnight. PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE SANTA MARIA VALLEY DISCOVERY MUSEUM

Unhand those comic books! Superhero Captain Comic Book (Sun Executive Editor Ryan Miller) stopped the evil Mrs. Meanie (General Manager Georgia Shore) from destroying the class’ comics.

From July 16 to 20, I led more than a dozen 6- to 10-year-olds on a daring adventure through the world of comics at the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum.

The first day, the class brainstormed about what makes a great superhero. The answer: A superhero is someone who uses his powers to help or save people. Superheroes are brave, kind, strong, and a little mysterious.

While we were brainstorming, the awful, horrible Mrs. Meanie (Sun General Manager Georgia Shore) stormed into the room. An evil schoolteacher bent on ridding the world of comic books, Mrs. Meanie threatened to rip up all of our work. Luckily, Captain Comic Book (Executive Editor Ryan Miller) swooped in to save us by using his magic pen to send Mrs. Meanie packing to Jupiter.

Later in the week, professional artist Irene Flores gave the children some tips on drawing comics. The class helped Irene create a plotline and dialogue for a comic strip featuring Blinky the Robot, a teenage robot who lives in Robot City and hates taking out the trash.

It’s Tortoise Girl: Inspired by Discovery Museum staffer Erin Kiniry’s animal husbandry skills, one camper created a superhero called Tortoise Girl.

Artist inspiration: Professional artist Irene Flores used one of her own creations, an air pirate named Reins, to teach the kids how to make a character biography.

The kids then started drawing and writing their own comic strips, which featured an eclectic cast of characters, such as Dino Dog, a superhero who’s half dog and half dinosaur; Love Bug, a teenage robot who spreads love throughout the world; and Ironhand Man, a superhero with searing-hot irons for hands.

The camp ended with an evening exhibit of the children’s art and an award ceremony, where friends and family learned about what we did throughout the week and congratulated the children on all their hard work.

Special thanks go to the Discovery Museum, including museum staffers Kelly White-O’Neil, Erin Kiniry, and Erika Garcia, C&D Zodiac Inc., the Sun, and the Community Action Commission for making it all possible!

Contact Managing Editor Amy Asman at aasman@santamariasun.com.