Second Semester of Comix

By KIMBERLY PILON

John Porcellino has spent three years involved with Beloit College, from observing the Intro to Creative Writing class, and now two semesters teaching the Comix class. One of his favorite parts about the class is the students showing up very reserved, and then begin to open up and find out who they are in the world of comics throughout the semester. He really enjoys watching the students’ personalities shine through their comics. 

The Round Table then asked how he feels about teaching and the type of experience that it has been for him. In the past, he has only taught workshops in a non-academic setting, but he feels like he’s doing good at teaching, which he finds rewarding and enjoyable.  As an artist and a person, Porcellino says he learns a lot through the class himself, especially since he’s been doing comics his entire life. He has learned how to do things, and his work has become patternistic, and this class has allowed him to explore new aspects of his work.

We discussed the feeling as an artist when you do something new, and it works out perfectly, and the pieces connect. However, he says that the more experience he’s gotten, the less that has happened. He thinks it is revitalizing to see students react in real time to doing this work, and the surprise of everything working out. This contrast with his own work is something he describes as “so cool to be around that all the time.”

Then, I asked Porcellino what led him to comics, and what he loves about them, and he said that as early as he can remember, he loved writing, drawing, and consuming the printed page. He knew he was creative and wanted to make art in some form, and he started his painting major at Northern Illinois University. Halfway through, he realized that comics fulfill all of his creative needs, not just one. He said that since comics have both writing and drawing, a “weird combination of text and image,” he began to realize how right it was for him. This also gave him the ability to be able to make something and have it reproduced, which was special to him.

Porcellino is grateful to be involved in helping others access creativity, and he has found it very fulfilling and educational to be here. One of his favorite things about comics is the communication and connection between the creator and reader. Specifically his comics feel like they’re not a one way street, that the reader is not passively consuming it. He often gets a return from the readers, whether that’s from events, or through letters, and that connection is what he tries to emphasize in his class. “Look at life in a creative way and use that creativity to make life more fulfilling.” – John Porcellino