Technolandy

Day 180 (of 2024/25) #comiccon reflections

I had a couple of “too soon” asks on how I think our school comic con went. Whenever there is something ‘big’, I am my own worst critic and know I need a couple of days to not think of the negatives/worries that I was worried about and to instead let some of the praise and positive comments come in… as I am linking this event to our school goal on Community and Connection, I am thrilled that for the second year in a row, a parent commented to me: “this is the first school event that my child has ever wanted to attend”… similar comments about how many year end activities are focused on sports or beach events, but how that doesn’t always engage … “some”… children. I also know (from first hand experience) how much time and stress that those other events put onto teachers… my comic con idea (I say the possessive meaningfully) is meant to not be another ask on teachers… though their support and offerings are always appreciated – as I have designed two spaces that are definitely helped out by having an educator in the space…

This year, the superintendent and a director of instruction were able to ‘pop in’ for a bit – it is a busy time of year with way too many meetings and phone calls, so I am honest in expressing my gratitude to anyone who takes the time to stop by and get a sense of the vibe… two other principals also swung by… that was nice as well! It is nice to help validate what academia is better communicating – comics are amazing literature. Not a genre. Not for kids. Not for non-readers. Like all genres, there is a range of depth… but unlike all media, the genres are… all of them.

Now, I’ve made the statement a time or two that I’m starting to reflect that perhaps ‘we’ are too quick to move into the black line masters that focus on sight words and not giving enough time for youths to explore the variety of stories – and sense of story – through a visual media. I think the sciences of reading are a bit too focused on the methodology but not enough on the why-ology. Good stories lead to wanting to read more. It’s why a common question for librarians (and book sellers) include “they’ve finished all the [alice osman, dogman, etc] what should they start next?” – some of the most popular books are graphics… imagine if we leaned a bit more into this and explored comics… I used to use ‘graphic novels’ as the term to help justify comics in the classroom… I’m no longer using that term… they’ll always be comics to me (even the amazingly good and rich ones – Ducks.) I’m not hosting a literature fair featuring graphic novels… we are unpacking comic books.

Context: we are on online school – so the downside is that we do not have a captive audience… anyone who wants to come, ‘gets to be here’ nobody ‘has’ to be here. Same with all of our in-person opportunities – and that mindset is important as we never truly know if we will have 5 people show up or 50. Today was one of the bigger events with (my unofficial count) about 80 on site. And again, meant to be an edcamp style/mindset where explorations are encouraged, though I was happy that our main presenter lived up to expectations – in fact the superintendent came by while Tony Weaver Jr was dropping “nuggets of wisdom” that were getting the audience nodding along. The book Weirdo resonates with me in so many ways, it is highly recommended, and Tony is such a dynamic personality – he only enhances the reading experience!

Educators are our own worst critics – so my initial thoughts on the comic con are the thinkings about what coulda gone better… what I had to quickly pivot away from… what didn’t happen – and then let the positive feedback irk it’s way back in. Unanimous support from staff, based on what they heard from kids and families, for another one next year (and already thinking about doing a whole-year emphasis on having students show off their works!! More panels and sharings of our own artists!

And by going to other comic events… I’m only getting more and more ideas… and exposure to more and more amazing content creators. Tony Weaver Jr was absolutely perfect with his very aptly titled Weirdo – Toby Price returned for a second year!! and I can’t wait to see what/who connects with our school based comic con next year! But as comics are about sharing… here is one standout from TCAF (Toronto Comic Arts Festival)

#booktok share:

The book Be Yourself! Oh, Not Like That kept getting my attention while I was exploring the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. Loved the title… and the artwork… and I trusted my instincts that kept pulling me back to it (later finding out it was nominated for best small/micro-press book) and thoroughly enjoyed the coming of age story of someone discovering their neuro uniqueness with a relatively late – autism diagnosis. 

Showing how life can feel like it’s on ‘difficult mode’ on her own pathway to discovering who she ought to be… despite what others hoped/wished she might’ve been… with some followup letters to little her, parents, friends… I am looking forward to what Emilia Strilchuk writes next!