Comics by Kids

Young storytellers debut first collection Like many boys, Grayson and Logan Gatto (11 and 9) love sports. Their parents park in the street so they can shoot hoops in the driveway, choosing from eight basketballs resting in a rack. Bicycles, soccer balls and other outdoor gear fill the family garage. But they also converted a small playroom with a decent-sized television into a neat, well-stocked art nook. A sign on the wall reads "la galleria di Gatto" and the two sit next to each other at a desk, collaborating on zines, a 75-page stop-motion flipbook and other creative endeavors for hours as the TV remains dark and silent. In the Beacon bubble, screen fatigue is real. Along with 11 other young comic creators, the brothers completed an intensive, week-long workshop at Stanza Books. For three hours a day, they honed their drawing, storytelling and character development, then took another week to gussy things up and submit their panels for publication in Comics by Kids. Stanza and the young artists are hosting a launch party at the Howland Cultural Center on Saturday (Oct. 3). "There is definitely a trend toward putting down the phones and getting away from computers," says Mark Harris, Stanza's co-owner, who linked up with fellow comic fanatic and writer Jose Sheehan-López to co-edit the compilation and run the sessions. It's a windfall for Sheehan-López: When Stanza moves into the former Mase Hook & Ladder firehouse next to the Memorial Building, he'll help transform the current location at 508 Main St. into a comics mecca with "graphic novels, comic-adjacent stuff and more programming for kids and adults," he says. During the workshops, he focused on plot and pacing rather than pictures. "People can be turned off if they think it's an art class," he says. "There are many places where you can learn to draw, but it's all about how the story is told. The medium needs new readers and creators, and a way to make that happen is to publish them, engage them and build a passion for the comic style." In his note from the editor, Sheehan-López writes about the "occasional insanity on display," which could include the adventures of Pickles, the intoxicated cat (August Birks), a dog food-stealing brachiosaurus (Lucas Schaerlaeckens) and time travel back to the dinosaur age that a character fears will "break history" (Rhys Donnelly). Parker Sheehan-López's protagonist, who forgets his weighted boots on a low-gravity day, is just dumb, she says, nothing more. Elliott Enos feeds his fish a boatload of inappropriate items and Rowan Craig, who chafes at losing a comic contest, unleashes a beast in the streets (with a cliffhanger). In Lily Nguyen's panels, a vase and lamp get bored and run away. Despite the nice weather and friendly greetings from neighbors, they return to their domestic roles. Logan Gatto's characters deal with betrayal when the orb gets stolen. Brother Grayson admits that his comic is bleak. Frolicking on a lovely afternoon, the main subject realizes that the entity in charge is deleting reality and warns people, "You're gonna die, leave the planet." The ending fades to black. There is no symbolism, he says. For visual artists, discipline can be advantageous. Asked what he learned, Logan says, "Deadlines are important; you can't procrastinate." The Howland Cultural Center is located at 477 Main St. in Beacon. The Young Storytellers Guild's comics launch party begins on Saturday (Oct. 3) at 3 p.m. RSVP at stanzabooks.com/comics.