Comics students share works inspired by Kengo Kurimoto’s Wildful

This spring, 250 first year comics students wrote and drew comics inspired by Wildful by Kengo Kurimoto. Wildful is a beautifully-crafted graphic novel about two young people exploring an overgrown vacant lot. Kurimoto immerses readers in a world with almost no human voices, full of the sounds of rain, leaves and birdsong. For students of comics, Wildful offers a masterclass in pacing, character development and world building. In a frank and generous class visit, Kurimoto shared the process of creating his book, from conception to finished artwork. The book was greatly informed by his own exploration of a wooded area close to his home in rural England.

Cover of Wildful by Kengo Kurimoto

Clip from Kengo Kurimoto’s visit to our comics class

Page from Wildful

Research sketch for Wildful

Following Kurimoto’s example, students were asked to create their own one-page location-inspired comic, starting with a close observation of a place of their choice. They made notes and sketches at the location, then explored possible story directions through writing and drawing. The final comics ranged from documentary to speculative fiction; the requirement was simply that the final comic emerged from the initial observation.

The following comics and research sketches were all created by students in CRWR 208, Introduction to Graphic Forms, and they’ve kindly given me permission to share them with you. Please enjoy the careful observation and creativity that the students brought to this challenge. — Sarah Leavitt, Comics Professor