Comic Book Artist to Hold West End Event for Kids

Children from across Alexandria are invited to meet comic book artist Jonathan Todd during the Campagna Kids after-school program Wednesday, Nov. 14, at William Ramsay Elementary School.

The event begins at 4 p.m. It is free and open to the public.

Todd, a nationally published cartoonist, will share his creative process with children. He is currently illustrating a graphic novel about the history of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich and will give children the inside scoop on how he developed his idea and how he draws.

After speaking, Todd will coach children in drawing their own comic-strips.

David Sarpal, sire director of the Campagna Kids program at William Ramsay, said the program serves about 750 children citywide. The event featuring Todd has a limit of 250 cafeteria seat spaces.

“It is a very engaging style in terms of getting kids interested these are characters, that are children of color, so it makes for something that is regular to kids’ everyday life,” Sarpal said. “Plus, they get to meet a comic book artist and talk about his work. And it’s not every day kids get to meet a comic book artist.”

Todd met Sarpal in September at the Small Press Expo, an annual festival of small press comics creators and publishers in Maryland. Todd, a former second-grade teacher, said in a statement he jumped at the chance to speak to the children in Campagna Kids.

“I am grateful for any time I can speak with the young people I write and draw for,” Todd said in his statement. “I also attended an after-school program when I was a kid in Miami!”

Todd’s comic, geared for 7- to 11-year-olds, can be read online here. His cartoons and illustrations have appeared in The Boston Globe, The Nation and Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year (Pelican).

For more information about the event, call Sarpal at 703-232-4325 or email him at dsarpal@campagnacenter.org. William Ramsay Elementary School is located at 5700 Sanger Ave.

The Campagna Center is a leading children’s organization in Alexandria, caring for more than 1,700 children daily. Since 1945, The center operates programs that support children in Alexandria by providing services that allow them to arrive at school ready to learn and ensure they are academically successful at each grade level.