Friday 27 May 2016

Amazing Adventures Of Your Hairline - comics by kids in Barking, Plymouth & Wilts


Were you aware of dabs, or dabbing, or doing the dab? If you're as old as me, probably not. According the pupils in Year 5 at Widewell Primary near Plymouth, it's a thing that Jason Derulo does. You live and learn. Anyhoo, they chose that as the title for their comic, and had Donald Trump doing it. Just one of the comics created by pupils in this week's Comic Art Masterclasses.


The pupils in Year 5 at Northbury Primary in Barking, which I was returning to after visiting for last year's Magna Carta project there, are obsessed with something different. Their hairline. Or rather the phrase "your hairline" which was an in-joke phrase that came up in every group (I was working with all 4 of their year 5 groups over two days). Like all in-jokes, I never got a satisfactory explanation as to why it was funny. If you have to ask, you'll never know.


In the village of Broughton Gifford in Wiltshire they were reassuringly infantile. For one class at least, where Big Bottom won the search for our favourite title (everyone in the class writes a title on a piece of paper, then we have a knockout contest to find the most popular). Then they were back to Year 5 level with My Teacher Is A Psycho (one of those words, like Zombie Apocalypse, that every kid wants to know how to spell but for some reason no teacher has ever told them).


What kids find funny will always remain unfathomable, which is why "Jeff" and his popularity can never be explained to me. This comes from a meme from two years ago, where a character from a film says "my name is Jeff" in a funny voice. Quite why, two years later, some ten year old kids think this is the funniest thing on god's good earth I cannot imagine. But it seems to be. Sigh.


The celebrities they chose for my "treads on a worm" demonstration were Barack Obama, Justin Bieber, Kim Kardashian, JK Rowling, Rihanna, Simon Cowell (still suggested in 75% of classes if not finally chosen), Ariana Grande and (most original suggestion of the week) Leonardo DaVinci.



Kev F Sutherland, as well as writing and drawing for The Beano, Marvel, Doctor Who et al, runs Comic Art Masterclasses in schools, libraries and art centres. After a morning or an afternoon every pupil goes away with a photocopied comic containing a strip by every single one of them, and an individual caricature by Kev F. Please email for details, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter. View the promo video 

No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...