Since the beginning of the school year, the Blue and White has served as a space for Upper School artists to showcase their comics. This edition, a new feature is coming to the comics page: middle school political cartoons. In their art class, fifth graders have created comics about topics ranging from politics and global conflicts to Gen Alpha lingo.
Ever Goldberg ‘33 made a comic about girlhood and the predictable plots of some movies. When asked about what inspired the comic, she said, “Sometimes I feel like there are so many movies about a boy and a girl and a happy ending and never about a girl and a girl and a happy ending or a boy and a boy and a happy ending, and I feel like [it] has to be shown that everybody can love whoever they want and you don’t have to have a happily ever after with a boy.”
Alana Brickhouse ‘33 focused on international issues in her comic. She said, “So, I was thinking about all the current events that were going on in this world, and I thought we just needed something to represent how bad it is and how we needed change.”
The subject of the comic by Levi Goodstein ‘33 deviated from those of many of their classmates. They said, “I was just thinking about how often in class a math teacher just says the numbers ‘67’ and then the entire class cohesively says, like, ‘6-7!’ and I thought it would be funny to make a comic about it to show the difference between just normal numbers and ‘67’.”
Students learned about important drawing techniques while making their comics.
When asked about what she had learned, Brickhouse said, “I learned about crosshatching, and, it’s like, you have to find the light source … and then the shadow is getting lighter and lighter the further it goes to the spot of the light source.”
Full versions of these three comics, as well as other classmates’ comics, will be available on the comics page of the Blue and White.
Tsukki • Mar 10, 2026 at 9:19 am
Drawing used to be a really big part of my middle school experience, in part, because it had to be, but I always found myself loving to be creative and express myself through artwork, whether it be inside or outside of the classroom. I never drew comics myself, but I often drew inspiration from other comics that I read, which helped influence my artstyle. Art is a great way to let out emotions, both the good and the bad. It gives individuals a non-verbal way to let out whatever emotions might be on their minds, and it can, in the long term, leave a positive impact on a person’s mental health. These are amazing!
Jess • Mar 9, 2026 at 6:23 pm
These comics are great! Creating comics was a big part of my life. I read a lot of comics and I still draw some occasionally. Actually, they’re my preferred form of media to consume. I think making comics can be a great storytelling form and really combines art and writing, and its a great outlet for emotions because of how versatile they are. You can really make anything into a comic, given you have enough imagination, and I think that’s awesome. Expression of emotion and events through comics can leave as much of an impact on others as an art piece or a piece of writing. I think that’s so valuable, and all the middle school comics are all really reflective of that.
Olivia Giraud • Mar 7, 2026 at 8:03 pm
I really enjoy these comics! I mean, don’t wanna sound old, but I remember when I made political cartoons in middle school in 2021. I made some comments about COVID-19 and criticised the discrimination & “The Wall” that President Trump tried to make in Mexico. That unit for me encouraged my love for art more and helped me realise that I could put some meaning to it, rather than just drawing cool stuff I liked. Seeing how our generation’s views change over time is really impressive, and I appreciate that they’re not afraid to share what’s on their minds through a creative medium like comics. I used to try my hand at comic making, but I think I enjoy reading them more. I really like Ever G.’s explanation of her artwork and Alana B.’s representation of international issues through animals.
Joseph Lee • Mar 5, 2026 at 8:47 am
Artwork is great, whether they’re written by a young person, a middle-aged person, or a very old person. It is especially encouraging to see them created by young people – specifically elementary schoolers or even middle schoolers – who typically aren’t considered capable of super deep thoughts. We see hidden perspectives that can’t be conveyed through ordinary writing, in the artwork of these amazing kids. What may not have been fully articulated in their verbal expression is reproduced in a more genuine form in their visual artwork. This is important because most don’t realize that young people, including the really young people, have more to say than we give them credit for. Words aren’t the only form of communication – pictures are just as important.
Liam Hilliard • Mar 4, 2026 at 2:47 pm
I drew a lot of comics when I was a kid. I can’t really look at them now, because it’s a reminder that I really wasn’t as funny as I thought I was in elementary school, but I really loved making comics at the time. I remember reading some of Scott McCloud’s book “Making Comics” in middle school and being daunted, though. It’s not even that long of a book, but it presents so many different layers to making a comic that’s actually Good, and so many rules that are also sort of made to be broken but are still rules nonetheless, and on, and on. (This is not to say that the book isn’t good – it’s a very fun and informative read.) It did sort of frighten me at the time, and eventually (perhaps as a result of Making Comics), I sort of fell out of love with the hobby. I’m still glad I had that moment in my life where I loved making comics, though, because I think they were an essential creative outlet for me that helped me understand storytelling, even if I wasn’t ever good at it at the time.