Manga comics workshop draws on young artists' imagination

Thirteen-year-old Devon George has never set foot in junior high school. As a Nashua home-school student, she can only imagine what classroom and cafeteria dynamics would be like.

Maybe that’s what inspired her to create “High-Breed Junior High” or “HJH,” a nine-page comic strip drawn in the Japanese cartoon and comic style known as manga.

“My mom says write about what you don’t know, so you’ll come to know about it,” George explained at the Nashua Public Library’s Manga Comics Power! workshop Thursday. “I don’t go to junior high school, so I could write anything I think about.”

In George’s manga strip, she takes everything she envisions about junior high and adds her own artistic twist. Her comic revolves around half-human, half-animal students that attend HJH.

“I wanted (half-cat) Masi to be a little crazy,” said George, discussing HJH’s characters and plot. “She jumps out of the window because she thinks transfer students are bad luck.”

Sound slightly over the top? That’s the true essence of manga, she explained.

“Manga is supposed to be exaggerated,” George said. “I love having the character’s mouth fall off the face, but then if I can’t get the right mouth, I just get rid of it completely.”

During the weeklong workshop, 20 teens like George received similar related manga instruction. The Japanese-influenced comics distinguish themselves from western strips in the way they relay information, according to instructor Marek Bennett.

“It’s all about taking a complex set of information, breaking it down into pictures and juxtaposing it with the text on the page so readers get the emotions, relationships and concepts,” Bennett said. “Manga is a quintessentially Japanese way of doing that.”

George has plenty of experience conveying information creatively. She’s been practicing manga since age 10. But George admits she’s actually never completed a comic.

“I’ve had ideas for comics, but I stop halfway because I get bored,” George said. “I’ve never really had someone push me to finish something.”

The library’s workshop was just the motivation she needed, she said. From 10 a.m.-4 p.m. everyday this week, the teenage “mangakas” sketched and erased, planned and penned manga comics for a convention today. From 3-4 p.m., rain or shine, visitors can check out stories, chat with artists, and even get an autograph or two.

Fellow 13-year-old Jacob Corney hopes to shock readers with his 32-page comic, “The Quest for Sqat.” He tried the Japanese style of drawing for the first time this week, “manga-fying” his favorite bizarre creatures with animated expressions.

“Most of my drawings are like a Dr. Seuss nightmare gone wild,” Corney said. “Someday I’d like to give my comics to surgeons’ patients in waiting rooms and they’ll get knocked out by it.”

Corney’s protagonist Sqat, a squid-cat with wings, is a “mix of all things demonic and friendly” and keeps the secrets of life and the universe. Corney’s other characters tackle booby traps and dark caves to absorb Sqat’s knowledge, he said.

“My comics aren’t scary, they’re very different,” Corney said. “They’re for those bored rainy days in the car. You’ll be able to grab a pile of these and read away.”

Whoever attends the comic convention will walk away with a pile of one-of-a-kind manga comics, of all shapes, sizes and genres.

Eleven-year-old Katelin Hogan-Hines spent the week outlining a manga prom catastrophe with one guy and three dates.

If you go

Sarah Livermore, also 11, has taken her own written series and transformed it in to a comic strip, “Legend of the Guardians: The Final Battle,” a classic clash of good versus evil. The comic depicts the final chapter of her seventh book, she explained.

“I started this because I got a big idea in my head and was afraid I might forget it,” Livermore said. “It’s always fun to write a cool idea down and make a diagram of it.”

Livermore originally joined the workshop to practice illustrations for her written stories, she said. She’s enjoyed manga so much she might convert the whole series into comics.

“You have mythical creatures and fantasy, but you get reality as well,” Livermore said. “It’s a really cool mix. I’m interested to see how much people enjoy it (at the convention). Then I can see what might happen if I try and publish it someday.”

Maryalice Gill can be reached at 594-5833 or mgill@nashuatelegraph.com. distinguish themselves from western strips in the way they relay information, according to instructor Marek Bennett.

“It’s all about taking a complex set of information, breaking it down into pictures and juxtaposing it with the text on the page so readers get the emotions, relationships and concepts,” Bennett said. “Manga is a quintessentially Japanese way of doing that.”

George has plenty of experience conveying information creatively. She’s been practicing manga since age 10. But George admits she’s actually never completed a comic.

“I’ve had ideas for comics, but I stop halfway because I get bored,” George said. “I’ve never really had someone push me to finish something.”

The library’s workshop was just the motivation she needed, she said. From 10 a.m.-4 p.m. everyday this week, the teenage “mangakas” sketched and erased, planned and penned manga comics for a convention today. From 3-4 p.m., rain or shine, visitors can check out stories, chat with artists, and even get an autograph or two.

Fellow 13-year-old Jacob Corney hopes to shock readers with his 32-page comic, “The Quest for Sqat.” He tried the Japanese style of drawing for the first time this week, “manga-fying” his favorite bizarre creatures with animated expressions.

“Most of my drawings are like a Dr. Seuss nightmare gone wild,” Corney said. “Someday I’d like to give my comics to surgeons’ patients in waiting rooms and they’ll get knocked out by it.”

Corney’s protagonist Sqat, a squid-cat with wings, is a “mix of all things demonic and friendly” and keeps the secrets of life and the universe. Corney’s other characters tackle booby traps and dark caves to absorb Sqat’s knowledge, he said.

“My comics aren’t scary, they’re very different,” Corney said. “They’re for those bored rainy days in the car. You’ll be able to grab a pile of these and read away.”

Whoever attends the comic convention will walk away with a pile of one-of-a-kind manga comics, of all shapes, sizes and genres.

Eleven-year-old Katelin Hogan-Hines spent the week outlining a manga prom catastrophe with one guy and three dates.

Sarah Livermore, also 11, has taken her own written series and transformed it in to a comic strip, “Legend of the Guardians: The Final Battle,” a classic clash of good versus evil. The comic depicts the final chapter of her seventh book, she explained.

“I started this because I got a big idea in my head and was afraid I might forget it,” Livermore said. “It’s always fun to write a cool idea down and make a diagram of it.”

Livermore originally joined the workshop to practice illustrations for her written stories, she said. She’s enjoyed manga so much she might convert the whole series into comics.

“You have mythical creatures and fantasy, but you get reality as well,” Livermore said. “It’s a really cool mix. I’m interested to see how much people enjoy it (at the convention). Then I can see what might happen if I try and publish it someday.”