Kapow! - The Zoom comic classes of August

 

I surprise myself in discovering that, through August, I ended up producing nearly half a dozen comics with kids in Zoom Comic Art Masterclasses. Because, to be brutally honest, they have been the most poorly attended classes I have ever done, for reasons discussed in this earlier blog. (In short, class organised by school or library = they provide the 60 bums on seats, class organised by me = I have to find every single bum on seat which is the equivalent of me finding 60 schools or libraries).

One class I cancelled outright (August 20), and asked the kids in the morning to move to the afternoon session. The final ones, (Aug 28th) I asked the two sets of kids who'd booked the morning if they'd move to the afternoon, but only one could. So I had a class in the morning with only one paying customer. It was a pair of twins, meaning their £9 ticket (from which I take away little over £8) for two hours saw me working for about a third of minimum wage! It was fun, but not quite as worthwhile as my classes usually are. The afternoon session had three paying customers, so not so bad, but still rather a silly way to be spending my time. (That said, the classes were fun, I loved doing them, and the kids had a great time. But doing them as good as voluntarily is not something I'll be doing again in a hurry).

As a last minute bonus, I've added the first comic of September, produced in a class with kids in Harrow, organised by Harrow Arts Centre.

The celebrities these six groups chose to appear in my demonstration strip were The Queen, Jason Manford, Stan Lee, Harry Hill, Kylie Jenner, and Michael Jackson.

I shall begin the process of selling myself to schools for the new term and hope normal service returns soon.

Kev F Sutherland, as well as writing and drawing for The Beano, Marvel, Doctor Who et al, runs Comic Art Masterclasses in schools, libraries & art centres - AND NOW ONLINE VIA ZOOM. email for details. His debut graphic novel Findlay Macbeth is available on Amazon. Follow Kev on Facebook, Twitter. Promo video here.