By setting a creative goal, finding a starting point and learning some skills, at the end of Powell River Public Library’s MiniComic Camp, young participants had created their own comic strip.
Library teen services coordinator Sonia Zagwyn developed the program as a spring break activity. She said MiniComic Camp grew out of the library’s former Go Graphic series. This year, 17 participants took part in the second annual three-day camp, held from March 15 to 17, two more than Zagwyn’s cap of 15.
“I put a cap on it and then I can’t say no to anyone,” said Zagwyn. “So I say, ‘Okay you can come.’”
Grade five École Côte-du-Soleil student Luce Liefsoens, 11, said she wanted to attend the camp because she likes to draw and likes the Peanuts comic strip made popular by Charles Schulz.
“I like to read them, but I’ve never really drawn one before,” said Liefsoens, adding that her comic was about bunnies. “The bunnies are going to try to attack the wolf instead of the wolf attacking the bunnies, because that’s usually how it goes. They live in snowy ranges, so I thought they could attack with snowballs.”
Fellow grade five École Côte-du-Soleil student Tristan Somers, also 11, said his comic character was bored.
“I’m a big fan of Garfield, so I wanted to make another cat comic,” he said. “He’s really bored and keeps on missing everything that’s exciting.”
Each daily session at the camp started with a warmup taught by local visual artists, including Brad Collins, who picked up his skills and equipment while working in the video game industry.
If there is a comic book industry in Powell River, Collins said he is not aware of it.
“If there is, it was me and that’s it for the last 10 years,” said Collins. “I haven’t met too many others. There are fans, people who are into comic books, and there were comic book shops in town, but nobody as far as I know making them.”
Collins said he has one comic book on his laptop, a tie-in for a video game, and many more ideas where that one came from.
“I have tons I would like to finish,” he said. “This one, for example, and a dozen more in the same setting or a bunch of other ones.”
Managing to find motivation and time, said Collins, and knowing if it will be published or used somewhere, is important to completing the work.
According to Zagwyn, youth who attended the camp will have their work published.
“Every year we copy their comics down to booklet size,” she said. “Then we catalogue, barcode and make them available at the library.”
