Now in its fourth year, Chapel Hill High School’s Comic Club has embraced the digital environment of remote learning to expand its activities, despite club members’ inability to interact in person.
The club’s first meeting of the year on September 18 featured a virtual interview with Raleigh-based author Jeremy Whitley, allowing students to interview an established member of the comic book industry.
Whitley, a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, is known for his work on the comic series Princeless, which features a young black princess who questions the expectations placed upon her as royalty. Whitley has also served as a writer for the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
Whitley’s most recent work, School for Extraterrestrial Girls, was released in August and follows the story of protagonist Tara Smith as she learns about her powers in an intergalactic school for aliens. Kirkus Reviews praised the series as “engaging science fiction that is fiercely female-forward.”
Students asked Whitley a wide range of questions, allowing the artist and writer to touch upon everything from his character creating to his experiences working in the comic industry.
“It is important to write stories not for praise, but to represent yourself and the stories of others,” Whitley told students.
Even some students who were not familiar with Whitley’s works were eager to pose questions to the writer.
“To be completely honest, I had just learned who he was that day, but I am always excited to get to talk to someone who makes comics,” Michael O’Sullivan, the club’s president, said.
The Comic Club will host its next guest–Tommy Jenkins, author of Drawing the Vote, a graphic novel about the history of voting rights in America–on Friday, October 16, just two-and-a-half weeks before Election Day.
The club’s faculty advisor, Garrison Reid, arranged both interviews for the club. Reid was inspired to start Comic Club after rekindling his love for comics following a trip he made to the public library, where he discovered dozens of stories he hadn’t known existed.
“I thought [the club] was a good opportunity to share something I am passionate about,” Reid said. “I think back to when I was in high school, and I remember how I would become enthralled with things my teachers were excited about. If I can share [my interest in comics] and it becomes something [students] become intrigued by as well, that’s great.”
He hopes that club members see that comic books go well beyond superhero and action tales where the good guy wins and the bad guy loses. He points out that the comic industry is more diverse than ever, with writers of all different cultures and backgrounds.
The club has started using the service Hoopla, an arts and media collection that gives public libraries access to digitally stream comics, e-books, movies and more.
“It’s certainly quite convenient to have free access to all the comic books,” Chapel Hill senior and Comic Club member Ethan Hauf said. “The only thing is they’re available for about a month before they’re automatically returned, and you can only check out three items at a time.”
With the popularity garnered by films and television series taking place in the Marvel or DC cinematic universes, the allure of comics has begun to catch the attention of students.
“I got interested in comics after watching The Flash TV show,” said Hauf. “I started reading the New 52! volumes of The Flash I got off of Amazon about three or four years ago when I was beginning high school.”
O’Sullivan, who joined the club last school year, has been interested in comics ever since he could read, and, as someone who wants to work with comics in the future, he hopes the club’s guest artists can provide him with professional insight and tips from which he can learn.
“I am looking forward to any future meetings with guest speakers,” O’Sullivan said. “No matter who they are, I always enjoy speaking with someone who can advise me on how to obtain my dream job.”
