From Garfield to Calvin and Hobbs, to the fabled Marvel and DC, and of course the lesser-known Japanese Plants versus Zombies comics, comics have played an important part in the history of art, and a new club aims to bring comic creation to the high school. The brainchild of Mrs. Payne, a Spanish teacher for LHS. I, being one of the few to originally sign the sheet to set the club into motion, got to see the club be created. It started November 17th with the newest gathering being March 9th (as of writing). The club meets every other Wednesday during B lunch in room 205. And the most important part is anyone and everyone is welcome!

In the club, Mrs. Payne will show off a tutorial video from an artist of her choice. Then, the students try their best to follow the steps. “Some students don’t even follow the video, and just do their own thing,” said Payne, which she fully encourages in order for her students to be as expressive and creative as they want.

“I’ve always loved reading and making my own comic books. I think they can be a super fun and creative way to unwind and after seeing a few of my Spanish students submit really cool comic projects or create some really fun doodles on the back of their assignments, I realized that I had quite a few students who felt the same way!” said Payne. She said that her inspiration comes from wanting to help kids express their creative passions. “I made the club as a way for all of us to further hone our comic creation skills and to potentially meet new friends who are like-minded.“ 

There are dozens of clubs in the school, all with their own unique aspects, so what makes the comic creation club special? “An average club meeting is different for every kid. I typically have some sort of drawing challenge or tutorial that I run in the background, but many kids just come and work on their own art from earlier in the day or doodle while catching up with friends,” she said.  The students work with pencil and paper, even iPads and Chromebooks to suit their needs, allowing them to make their art to the best of their ability. 

New clubs can be shaky, and it takes a while to get used to the environment and learn how to guide the club best. “I feel like the club has been a very calm and positive environment so far, which is exactly what I wanted. It’s usually fairly quiet, everyone is drawing or creating something awesome, and we have calming music that plays in the background,” said Payne. Sometimes the best thing for yourself is just a little quiet time, and that’s exactly what the Comic Creation club provides, with the bonus of learning some new drawing skills. “It’s just been a very nice break in the middle of the day to unwind, share what you’re working on with friends, and create something fun!” said Payne.

Along with Mrs. Payne’s view on the club, a lot of the students had things to say for themselves. “It’s a very relaxed and explorative club that helps encourage practicing your artistic skills, as well as getting the chance to share your art with other members!” Annabel Klever (10) said. Another student, Sara Terzic (9) said the club was peaceful and can let your mind wander while drawing. 

Payne hopes the club continues next year. “I definitely hope to continue the club next year! I think it would be fun to expand the club and work on different projects together! Maybe we could even try each creating a chapter to one big comic and publishing it at the end of the year!” She also says her dream would be to eventually get a grant to purchase a few small drawing tablets so more kids could attempt digitizing their art and trying out apps like Procreate or Adobe Photoshop which would hugely expand their possibilities. 

Mrs. Payne has been working hard to make this club the best it can be and hopes to make it even better in the following year. It’s a fun, interactive, and relaxing club that you should totally give a try if you are interested in drawing or learning how to draw because we all need to start somewhere!