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SARC Update Spring 2017

COMIC BOOK CLUB BRINGS LAUGHS AND LIFESKILLS Growing up, very few people I knew read about the adventures of The Amazing Spider-Man or shared their true feelings of the Dark Knight (Batman) because it was one of those things that you didn’t dare talk about. Part of growing up means learning to read more mature literature and in doing so, we adopt bigger worries and start to shape the world as we know it to be true. Heroes and villains become real life chess pieces and the child inside of us is told to "put down the picture books!" A really important part of me went away the day I heard those words for the first time. My desire to read. Not only did my desire to read adult literature disappear, but so did my desire to read ‘picture books’ as well. It had little to do with imagination and even less to do with being uncomfortable with words. It was all to do with knowing how to properly grow up because picture books are for little kids. Comic Book Club is about busting through that mold. It is okay to make goofy voices and it is okay to read for fun. It is okay to let that inner fan boy/girl ‘nerd’ out and be whoever they want to be! Sometimes it is a Russian Rhino and sometimes it is a raspy voiced gangster, but the focus is on fun ALWAYS! Since our first meeting last October, our Comic Book Club (all made

possible because of Inclusion Regina’s Next Chapter Book Club), which meets at Comic Readers Downtown, has grown to 10 members on any given Tuesday. There is a wide range of reading abilities in the room that ranges from sitting and listening, to sound FX making, to being the Narrator with three other reading parts. We have also had folks break out of their shell and take on larger parts as their comfort levels evolved. So not only have we grown in numbers but we have grown together as well. Upon completion of the book, we have started doing a Team-Up Trivia challenge to help with recall and to add some excitement to the completion of the book. We divvy out prizes, share some laughs, and all the while create a safe, no strings attached learning environment. We create art related to comics we read as well as host a final wrap-up movie party. This generally takes 6-8 weeks depending on how long the comic book is. Experiencing the evolution of an inclusive comic book club is a childhood dream come true where acceptance meets comradery. Being part of this energetic team has reverted my heart to its former more youthful

identity. For at least an hour a week, I can be whomever I want to be. I can read picture books and act like a goof while I do it because I am not alone anymore, and my new friends like me for who I am! Ben Morris, COR