It\u2019s a coincidence, but given the timing of Juneau\u2019s first Alaska Robotics Mini-Con, it\u2019s a pretty lucky one. About 50 students in two of Dzantik\u2019i Heeni Middle School teacher Miah Lager\u2019s classes have been making zines this semester \u2014 under the direction of student teacher Jordan Kendall \u2014 and many of them will display their work along with professional exhibitors at Juneau\u2019s first comic con.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re not familiar with zines, Kendall says that \u201ca zine, unlike a magazine, is determined by the maker\u2019s imagination.\u201d The small booklets, usually self-published and self-directed, go all the way back at least to Voltaire, and had a heyday in the 1980s, with punk bands and the popularization of Xeroxing.<\/p>\n
Seventh grader Camille Varner created a moving zine about self-doubt, pain, and faith.<\/p>\n
Initially, she said, she didn\u2019t think she had a theme.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought there was no correlation between the pages, but there was actually a story going on subconsciously in my mind,\u201d she said. Some were inspired by events in her own life, like the death of her grandfather.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the beginning. That\u2019s pain,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have to keep moving forward. You have to keep thinking about your dreams, and you can\u2019t fear the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
One spread of pages compares natural and manmade disasters. Another drawing is surrounded with negative, critical things people say to each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost ugly words come from your own mind,\u201d she said. \u201cThese words represent what people are telling you\u2026 I feel like everyone, at some point, goes through the stage of thinking \u2018Am I good enough? Do I say the right things?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Another page asks if the reader has faith in him or herself. More whimsical drawings feature animals in clothes.<\/p>\n
The final one is an expression of love.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think people need to know that they are loved all the time, because without love it\u2019s really hard to move on,\u201d Varner said.<\/p>\n
Seventh grader Jenae Pusich\u2019s zine, which uses both collage and drawing, features the journey of an old maid and her cats to fast food restaurants in the Lower 48. At the beginning is a collaged map, and the story follows the woman as she checks off locations: McDonald\u2019s \u2014 a bright yellow beacon against a black and white background\u2014 Dairy Queen and others. Along the way, the woman gets progressively unhealthier. (The cats, a fun addition, follow her everywhere, twining around booths and tables.)<\/p>\n
Pusich was inspired by the movie \u201cSuper Size Me,\u201d and learning about what fast food does to the body in her Life Skills class.<\/p>\n
Seventh grader Jasmin Holst\u2019s zine is an exploration of shape and color, incorporating animals and faces as parts of a landscape. She starts out with a quote from Walt Disney \u2014 \u201cLaughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever.\u201d One page is different colored circles, another a tightly packed city of buildings, another a bunny making a shadow that looks like a hand. Another shadow drawing is a dog quailing at the enormous shadow of a cat, accompanied by a line about how worry makes small things bigger than they are. Another page cross-hatches music.<\/p>\n
Seventh grader Claire Scott (the name she plans to publish under) isn\u2019t in the zine class \u2014 she\u2019s doing an independent study with Lager as she works on her graphic novel, a superhero saga inspired by her two cats, Willie and Bertha. Scott will also be showing her work at the Mini-Con.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my story, they\u2019re superheroes, and they\u2019re trying to start up their family\u2019s old business again,\u201d Scott said. \u201cPeople hire them to do heroic things.\u201d<\/p>\n
At first, they catch thieves \u2014 they\u2019re not that experienced, so they have to start off small.<\/p>\n
Willie \u2014 as a cat and as a human superhero \u2014 is outgoing and likes to be around people, \u201ckind of like a dog,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n
Bertha, on the other hand, is very shy. \u201cShe hides all the time,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n
Scott has already outlined the book, complete with dialogue and scenes. It takes place in the imaginary city-state of Pherin.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d say my favorite part of the superhero genre is that the right person always wins in the end,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s drawing her entire novel by hand, something that feels warmer to her than computer drawn work, she said. She\u2019s also working in black and white.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it has a nice, dramatic style to it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was impressed by the level of craftsmanship that I was seeing,\u201d Kendall said of the zine class. \u201cAnd I was pleasantly surprised how much they enjoyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was neat to see all the different paths they took,\u201d Lager said.<\/p>\n
The class, originally scheduled for a month, ended up being a month and a half.<\/p>\n
Other student groups will have booths at the Mini-Con too, said Aaron Suring, who\u2019s helping organize the event. The Juneau Charter School will have a booth, as will some high school students.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of kids are not touching magazines, or looking at print material,\u201d Kendall said. \u201cI wanted them to have a greater appreciation for print material.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 Contact Capital City Weekly managing editor Mary Catharine Martin at maryc.martin@capweek.com.<\/p>\n
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