Comic Books (specifically, The Kamandi Challenge)

This might come as a shock to some people, but comic books are not foreign to me. I blame my dad. He read them while he was growing up as a kid, faded away from reading them once he grew older, and then picked them back up again once I was born (and he has been buying them regularly ever since).

Therefore, I have all sorts of memories about comic books in general. When I was in elementary school, my dad would buy me and my sister red Swedish fish candy in a small brown bag that the store would sell next to the register. (It was super cheap and what kid doesn’t like candy? I used to look forward to these trips just for these sweets.) I’ve been recruited countless of times to assist my dad in stuffing the comics into their protective plastic covering. For the past few years, I’ve also been roped into categorizing all the comics into their particular series so that they can be grouped together in their cardboard boxes. (It’s like my family knows I like to organize things…)

Do I actually read any of these comics, you ask?

Well, I’ve occasionally picked up one or two here and there. Usually, it was just a thing my dad and brother did. It really wasn’t until fall 2015 when I started reading The Walking Dead series. And, yes, I have read all 164 issues. I look forward to the first Wednesday of every month in order to get my greedy hands on the next installment.

But last month, my dad recommended a particular series that just came out. And if you already read the title of this post, it’s called The Kamandi Challenge.

The story itself is intriguing: it follows the last man on Earth (Kamandi) and his journey during a post-apocalyptic world where animals are humanoid and in charge.

But what made me pick it up is the challenge of the actual series. Basically, there are 12-14 teams of artists and writers. Each month, one team creates the issue and builds off of the cliffhanger from the last team. Then, in the editorial letter in the back, the previous writer will explain how they would have gone about moving the plot forward and removing Kamandi from harm’s way after the cliffhanger. The challenge is being done in honor of the legendary comic, Jack Kirby, to celebrate what would have been his 100th birthday this year.

For me, it’s super fun to try and guess what kind of direction the next writer will send Kamandi into. My dad and I also discuss which ending we prefer (the actual one or the one the previous writer would have done). It’s also cool seeing the variety of artwork in each issue.

I think it’s a really neat writing exercise, working on one particular story and making your own spin on it for a segment of it. (It reminds me of my role-playing days back in junior high and high school, haha.)

So if you’re not a comic book reader, I think you should take a journey to the nearest comic book store at least once and browse the shelves. The world-building that these writers do for these books is mind-blowing at times.

The only down side to comics is that they’re so short, so as soon as you finish the issue, you’re ready for the next one. But instead, you have to wait another week (or month) for the next one. The agony! How dare you make me wait!