Along with my regular Comic Art Masterclasses, it's been a special treat this past month to work on a project with ArtReach and Lincoln's Drill Hall (and various sponsors) creating a comic to celebrate 800 years of Magna Carta. Lincoln's got one and they're showing it this year. Alongside it there'll be a comic given away containing comic strips on the subject by school children from Lincoln. You'll have to wait till publication to see the kids' strips themselves, which I have been busy editing, assembling, and colouring this past week or so. But here are the front covers of the comics they took home at the end of each individual class.
Taking one of my regular classes, which shows anyone how easy it is to write and draw comic strips, and trying to turn it round to incorporate a specific subject is always a challenge, so getting the pupils to think Magna Carta while dreaming up their ideas was fun. Some creations were more on-message than others, and the whole lot were a treat.
These two comics (above) were produced in the evening at youth clubs who, to be honest, didn't seem to know I was coming and didn't have the most ideal arrangements for me. If you've ever managed to deliver a two hour Comic Art Masterclass in a village hall while there's loud music blaring out, kids playing Minecraft right beside you, others running round playing football, and the rest dipping in and out as the mood takes them, then you'll know what I mean. Their work, all things considered, wasn't half bad.
The schools I worked at included Saint Francis Special School, whose pupils came up with the title (above) that I remodelled into the front cover of the soon-to be-published Magna Carta-Oons comic.
And it wasn't all King John, I still asked them to come up with a celebrity to tread on a worm (see blogs passim). They chose Bill Gates, David Walliams, Cheryl Cole, Michael Bay, Simon Cowell and two that, sadly, I didn't make a record of.
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 - email for details, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter. View the promo video here.
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