Walking Dead at a (real) prison
I am a volunteer teacher in a level four (that’s four out of five, five being serial killers) prison in Stillwater Minnesota, built in 1914. I’ve been doing it for five years, once a week, so I know the inmates (25) in our program. They range in age from 19 to 70, and are white, African-American, Hispanic, Hmong, Thai, and Somali.
Whether you know anything about “prison art” or not, you might imagine much of it emanates from an interest in tattoos, graffiti and fantasy art ala Frank Frazetta with an emphasis on muscular scantily dressed Neolithic warriors living harmony with ferocious beasts.
For some time I have been after someone to “get into” graphic novel (making) as I thought the world of the prison was a natural place to foster this kind of skill. They have the stories, the talent and the time. Lots of time. I bought in the Idiot’s Guide to Creating A Graphic Novel to encourage them.
My own knowledge of all things “graphic novel” arises from my two boys who have been reading them for years and putting them in front of me. There’s a great store in the Twin Cities, call Source Comics and Games. The hooked me on “Y, the Last Man” and now “Preacher.” Years before the AMC show of the Walking Dead, the graphic novels were hanging around my house, but somewhat unbelievably, I never read them.
Some of these guys have been in here a long time. I forget. Finally one of them, shaved headed, tattooed, said he didn’t know what a graphic novel was. I looked over our collection and decided on two finalists: Walking Dead Vol. 1 and Sandman #1. I took them both into the prison, but left the Sandman in my desk drawer. The black and white images of The Walking Dead, plus the fact that they do get cable TV here (yes, rather amazingly) and many watch the show. They gathered around it, paging through it. One guy said, “It’s just like watching the show!” I haven’t seen any results yet, but I’m sure something will come out of it.
