![\"me](\"\/images\/bentley\/bentley-boy.jpg\")
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There was no class at Harvard University to learn how to draw a talking crab on Patrick Henry’s shoulder.<\/p>\n
But I’ve strung together ideas and curiosity and a little bit of talent for 26 years now and have used comix to teach several generations of young people about American history and civics.<\/p>\n
When I was a kid desperate to buy a comic book — ANY comic I could find — I didn’t think we’d ever really get to live in a science fiction world with a computer in every pocket and dedicated comic book stories packed with a rainbow of books of all shapes and sizes. I did<\/em> dream, though. I devoured the daily newspaper and its comix before I delivered it every morning. I read biographies all summer long. I wrote fiction for myself and nonfiction for the school newspapers. I drew my own characters in my own comix (and quickly realized I don’t have the patience for drawing complicated city skylines — so a career with Batman was out).<\/p>\n Doing cartoons about political topics seemed a good way to make a living off all my pieces of parts. I moved to Virginia in 1992 to report and draw for the Daily Press in Newport News. I tackled local issues in my “Boyd’s Eye View” political cartoon from 1994 to 1999. One day the editors asked me to draw a few kid cartoons for the 25th anniversary of Earth Day. So I created Chester the Chesapeake Bay blue crab to be my narrator – and we caught adults reading the strips. A door had swung open. Should I go through? It’s scary to go through a door without knowing the other side. But now I had a chance to use my cartoons to teach young people instead of just make snarky remarks in political toons (I was just making memes, really).<\/p>\n In 2003 the paper gave me permission to reprint those stories in book form. Since then I’ve published 36 Chester Comix (s0me of them brand new storytelling) and launched a smartphone app to put Chester in those pockets in our sci-fi world. I hope you like some of my stories.<\/p>\n There was no class at Harvard University to learn how to draw a talking crab on Patrick Henry’s shoulder. But I’ve strung together ideas and curiosity and a little bit of talent for 26 years now and have used comix … Continue reading ![\"drawing](\"\/images\/bentley\/drawing-bubble.png\")
So I drew for my high school newspaper in Brookings, S.D., and drew daily editorial cartoons for three years at the Harvard Crimson. I liked business stuff, so I syndicated my toons across New England and earned the first Al Capp Satire Award given at Harvard. I graduated cum laude<\/em> in 1990 with a degree in History and Literature, focusing on Colonial America.<\/p>\n![\"the](\"\/images\/bentley\/the-kids.png\")
I ran through that door as fast as I could. Chester ran as a weekly feature from 1997 to 1999. When state tests got harder and put pressure on teachers, my editor asked if I would draw Chester daily and cover the state test requirements. My oldest son was in third grade. I could literally help HIM! I said yes and kept following this exciting new trail. I did all the research, writing, drawing, and coloring of Chester. I made author visits to schools. This felt like the one thing that would pull together all my pieces of interests and skills. I had a job that paid me to read books in the library every summer!! The Daily Press also paid for a committee of teachers to review each of my scripts to make sure they would help in real classrooms. The teachers and I learned a lot from each other and produced five years of fantastic stories.<\/p>\n![\"Bentley](\"\/images\/signature.jpg\")
\nBentley Boyd, Storyteller
\nChester Comix, LLC<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"