Friendships are hard to maintain, especially during a crisis like this one, and the current situation leaves us wondering; what will our lives be after this all is over? Aftermath, a post-apocalyptic zine, focuses in on a young woman, Harper, who is trying to find one her friends after the pandemic has ended.

The zine is a hand-drawn comic, highlighting the challenges of meeting others in a post-quarantine world. It follows the main character, Harper, as she travels across the Boston Area to meet her friend, Ivy. She runs into several challenges along the way, ranging from crowds to an unrecognizable city. This comic is completely hand-made, which illustrates the possibility and authenticity of the situation shown.

A series of four short stories illustrating how memories and imagination help youth find comfort during quarantine

Brief: 

Isolation Imagination is a series of short comics illustrating different moments during quarantine. In each story, the main character re-imagines their setting to find comfort in a time of isolation. 

The first comic illustrates a girls sixteenth birthday. When she blows out her candles, she is transported to a room full of friends and family. Polaroid images of the party highlight imagined celebratory scenes. When the girl opens her eyes, she is still in her dining room with her two parents, but now warm light radiates off of them. 

In the second story, a young woman sits on her phone in a dark room. Closing her eyes to sleep, she dreams of a friend named Maria. The two embrace, but suddenly the woman is awoken to a face time call. Holding up her phone, she realizes it is her friend Maria from the dream and smiles.  

The third comic illustrates how children use imagination as a tool to play while stuck in their homes. Two young brothers are depicted running around their apartment. While playing tag, the boys run into an imagined jungle. They run around playing tag and hanging from vines. In the final panel, the brothers are transported back to their apartment where they are seen playing. 

In the final story, a young couple separated by quarantine dreams of a remarkable prom night together. After receiving an email about the cancellation of prom, both seniors go to sleep. That night they dream of a vibrant and euphoric dance. The whole comic series ends on a final image of the two dancing. Unlike the other stories, this tale ends still in the imagined world. It is meant to leave the reader with a sense of hope and an emphasis of the importance of imagination. 

Project Description:

The Vacation is a comic about a kid whose trip is canceled due to the pandemic. The story captures the real emotions that the author imagined if he were able to experience those places first hand.

Brief:

    The main character is riding in a taxi cab through the streets during morning rush hour. There is an excitement on his face that he can’t seem to wipe off. The cab pulls up to the airport, where life is bustling. He walks through security with his boarding pass in hand. It reads, “Boston to Malaga.” Next thing he knows, the plane is landing at Costa del Sol. The vacation has started.

    It is a magnificent drive to Marabella along the Costa del Sol. Upon arrival, he enjoys heaps of seafood and surfing in the crystal blue waters. Moments after the stop in Marabella, the rock of Gibraltar comes into view. It Is a massive cone of earth that juts out of the ground at a mouth-dropping 45-degree angle. People are in awe all around him as they gaze up to the point. It is truly an incredible sight. Next on the list, our traveler arrives at the town of Tarifa-A small town that was once part of the Moorish empire. There is fantastic middle eastern architecture with mosques dotted around the city. The view from the roof deck in the old town is unlike anything he’s seen before. 

    A short trip across the Strait of Gibraltar on a high-speed fairy leaves him in the city of Tangiers Morocco. He inhales the new culture, exploring the Madina Markets full of spices and treasures, and visiting the golden gates of the Dar el Makhzen palace. Seville is the next destination on his journey. As he arrives, he is greeted by the grand cathedral de Seville. It stands tall in the city skyline. Its brown walls surround the beautiful gold shrine inside. A short walk leads him to the Plaza de Espana, where arches surround him. The steeples rise high; the tiles are mesmerizing. It is an architectural beauty. On the final leg of the journey, he decides to head to Granada and stay in the Alhambra Fortress. As he arrives on the grounds of this fortress, he spots a beautiful place to lay down under a tree, looking up at the bright blue sky. Just as he is about to doze off, he is startled, awakened. With a mask over his face, he slumps over in his subway seat.

Isolation is an issue that plagues many people, and affect people's mental health in very negative ways. On account of the current self-isolation and need for aknowledgement of this mental health crisis, Desolate, a traced comic, focuses on isolation and its impact on the mental health of teenagers. The comic aims to illustrate how one person, Ellie, navigates this isolation, and her experiences with other people in and out of quarantine.

Ellie is sitting in her room, thinking about her friends and her school life. She remembers her first day, where she felt like she was alone. When she arrived at her school, there was no one whom she knew, and everything was strange. There was so much light, so much noise, and she didn’t really see a place for her in it. On a particularly rough day at school, she struggles through her classes, and once everything is over and all of the people are gone, she curls up in the hallway and hides herself away. One of her friends, however, wondering where she is, finds her. Her friend  comforts her, and helps her onto her feet. Ellie looks at her phone- however, no new messages pop up, and it seems like her friend has forgotten her. She starts to cry, missing the only person in her life who she felt cared. She can’t talk to that person anymore, and so she starts to break down. Her mother knocks on the door, and after noticing her crying, she hugs and supports her, telling her that everything is going to be okay.