Comics In Schools - Ghost Train!

Across the nine arches...

We're delighted to report that we've been awarded £1950 from the new Scotrail Cultural Fund to work with a local school to create a spooky comic. This was the first time we had come across the Scotrail Cultural funding – and it’s a really excellent fund for smaller projects. We liked the challenge of creating something quirky that would fit with the Scotrail priorities, but also get people involved in our own areas of interest, comics and heritage.

We'll be working with Newark Primary School, Port Glasgow on the comic after the summer holidays. 'A Journey on the Ghost Train' will be released in time for Halloween, and will form part of our Galoshans celebrations this year, along with a few other projects still to be announced...

I'm really pleased that comics are increasingly recognised within school settings as a way of encouraging visual literacy and also as a creative way of engaging pupils who are less confident with traditional reading models. We've really enjoyed our Comics in Schools work over the last few months, we've tackled all sorts from French sci-fi mysteries to Gaelic songs and footballing robots. All the finished comics are being launched at schools throughout June, and we'll share the online versions with you soon.

We'll be expanding our comics work over the next year to include after school comic clubs, sessions for teachers and some community group sessions too. To keep up to date with all our comics news, and to read some of the work produced by local pupils, check out our Magic Torch Comics site. Or you can contact us directly on info@magictorchcomics.co.uk.

Pupils at Whinhill Primary in March, working on "Le Mystere de la Princesse Sorciere"

Character design with Artist Andy
 

Magic Torch Comics at Edinburgh Comic-Con

Comics. Also free haribo.

We had an excellent weekend at the wonderful Edinburgh Comic-Con - meeting lots of new folks and also having shots of speeder bikes and the TARDIS.

We were especially pleased how many parents and teachers were interested in Magic Torch Comics work with schools and visual literacy - it looks like we'll be doing a bit more delivery over on the East Coast soon.

We'll have another stall at Glasgow Comic-Con on Saturday 2nd / Sunday 3rd of July, and if you are looking to purchase quality folklore based books and comics meantime, there's always our online shop.

Darren races through Endor

Another childhood ambition achieved

Remember you can see lots more of our comics and exclusive work from Andy Lee and Mhairi Robertson at the 22 Pages - Scenes From Scottish History exhibition at Paisley Museum. And it's free entry!

Comics In Schools - Camanachd Ghrianaig

For the last few weeks, Magic Torch Comics have been having a blast working with Whinhill Primary School in Greenock, creating a comic using Gaelic language - no mean feat considering no one from Magic Torch can speak Gaelic. Thankfully however, Gaidhlig Primary 4 - 7 are really good at it, and were able to help us out.

The comic is the first of 3 we will be creating with the support of Inverclyde Council Education Services 1+2 Language Development programme.

The 4 week project has involved the class learning about the language of comics and then researching a Gaelic song with particular relevance to the Greenock Highlanders, Camanachd Ghrianaig by Mairi Mhor Nan Oran - it tells the story of a Shinty match played in Greenock in 1877 between the Greenock and Glasgow Gaels. The class then helped adapt verses from the song into a comic strip for our artist Andy Lee.

The next step was for each member of the class to create their own characters, and tell a story about them getting to the shinty match too. Here are just a few images of some of the wonderful comics created below. We look forward to sharing the finished comic with you soon...

artwork by Rowan Watterott

Artwork by Ceitidh Cameron

Artwork by Stacie Lewis