What's the Matter with Kids? Not Too Much.

Here I sit - twenty-ex years old, an aspiring storyteller with a four-year degree in writing to my credit, and working on the second draft of a novel I actually hope to publish someday in the near future - and I'm starting to realize that the best stories I have ever read were cranked out by people with no formal training or "legitimate" experience.

Makes the thousands of dollars I spent on my Bachelor's feel like a waste of money.

I read a lot of comics - everything from superhero works to some more historical material. A lot of it's just for fun, although sometimes I come across something genuinely thought-provoking. It's great when I find something that can be both. Amazingly enough, three of the best comics I've read all year were written by children.

No joke. I seriously love these comics. First up we have a comic I've linked to before: 7-year-old Katie Mignola's "The Magician and the Snake" (drawn by her father, Mike Mignola).


There's not a lot of context here, but the basic story of two friends soon to be separated by death is told with a sincerity most writers have to work REALLY HARD to fake.

Also submitted for your consideration is "Kistapher Cumulus," a story told by the eleven-year-old sister of my friend, Dashbo.



That's a cloud whose job it is to sink boats on the ocean. TELL me that doesn't sound like a Pixar short right there.

The third example is, sadly, not one I have a visible example of - my cousin's son drew a comic adapted from an episode of Spongebob Squarepants, replacing the characters Spongebob and Patrick with Calvin and Hobbes - an alteration I have no problem with. Now, even though the jokes and dialog are ripped almost word-for-word from the episode (or so I hear - I haven't watched the show), I have to tell you that the kid's PACING is brilliant. It's hard to break down fluid actions between static panels, as you have to do in a comic, and my cousin's kid (can I just call him my cousin?) does it in such a way that I was totally drawn in to the story.

Okay, so lesson time. While one COULD see these stories as proof that talent matters more than anything else - an "either you've got it or you don't" philosophy, I think that the important thing to note is what these children do that makes their stories work.

1. They actually draw a complete story. Just because the art isn't as detailed as *cough* grown up art doesn't detract from the significance that these kids took time from their busy day of school, homework, and whatever else kids do these days (Pokemon?) to work on something they loved.
2. All three kids have familial support. Katie Mignola got her dad to help with the artwork. "Kistapher's" author got her work posted online by her brother. My cousin's parents passed his book around at a family party. Creative types need support from their loved ones, and that encouragement leads to great things. Have you hugged an artist today?
3. There's definitely something to be said for a child's ability to let their imaginations run amok. The simplicity of the emotions on display - not dolled up or couched in hours of exposition - make them a lot more intense and effective than they would be otherwise.

Sorry, CSNY. Maybe the kids should be teaching US.