Creative Storytelling Unleashed Through New Comic Book Club
From the planet of Asgard to the streets of Gotham, the new Comic Club is bringing St. Michael’s College School (SMCS) students together to share their favourite stories, heroes, and adaptations.
“Starting the SMCS Comic Club has been a longtime dream of Alex Morassutti, Luke Fadel, and I,” says Luke Galle, Grade 12. “In starting this club, we hoped to create a welcoming environment in which students interested in reading comics could gather and discuss their favourite stories.”
This year marks the first year in SMCS history that the school’s clubs and activities roster will include an official comic book club.
“To the best of my knowledge, we have not had a club like this before, which is strange considering the fact that many students and staff have expressed their love of comics, comic book characters, and the cinematic universes that come from these comic books,” says Calvin Cahatol, Theology Department Head and staff moderator of the new club.
The Comic Club debuted at this year’s Clubs and Activities Fair, an annual event held during the lunch periods, where students can learn about and get a taste of the more than 60 clubs offered at SMCS. They can also talk with club moderators, try out club equipment, and sign up for any activity that interests them.
“The clubs and activities fair was a huge success,” says Cahatol. “Many students expressed interest and joined the club. We are hoping word of mouth will also be a huge driver for increasing the size of the club.”
As of today, the club boasts about 30 members who meet on a bi-weekly basis.
“The Comic Club meetings will somewhat look like a book club (except for comics) where we discuss our thoughts and any questions we have on the comic run,” says Fadel, Grade 11. “There will be assigned comics to read for the next club meeting.”
Students have access to online comic databases that will make it easier for them to read wherever they are and find older issues that are more difficult to find in print.
“Club members can access the reading list on the club’s Edsby page, where links to the comics and expected reading date can be found,” says Fadel. “Once a run is finished, if a movie adaptation of it is available, we will watch it in the following meeting. At the first meeting of a new run, there will be a PowerPoint with background information on characters and important context for the comics.”
Students in the Comic Club can also look forward to special events such as attending a Fan Expo or comic book convention downtown and watching movies in the theatre.
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