TC is taking on a risky, creative challenge, partnering grade school children with professional comic book artists to create gritty, relevant comics that reflect issues facing kids today.

The project, a collaborative effort between TC, Dark Horse Comics (publishers of Hell Boy), and the After-School Corp., aims to promote literacy, creativity, the arts and awareness about global issues. "Kids from urban areas are telling the stories," said Michael Bitz, TC alumnus and the Comic Book Project founder and director. "They deal with very adult themes, like gangs and substance abuse."

This year the Project is working with 3,000 children in grades 4 through 8 in New York and Cleveland to develop two separate comic books that will be distributed to more than 30,000 children. The New York comic will focus on energy conservation and pollution prevention.

With materials provided by the Project, students write and draw their own comic books. One story from each participating school is then chosen and drawn by a professional comic book artist.

FOR MORE:

"Leaping the Communication Gap Between Adults and Kids in a Single Bound: The Comic Book Project at TC" with Multimedia (Inside TC Newsletter, October 2003)

Published Friday, Jan. 14, 2005