Glasgow pupils get creative with famous comic artist

Published: 27 January 2016

Comic artist renowned for Beano and Marvel work visits two South Glasgow Schools.

The dreams of pupils from two South Glasgow primary schools came true this week when they had the opportunity to draw with renowned comic master, Kev F Sutherland.

Pupils from St Fillan's Primary in Cathcart and St Bartholomew's in Castlemilk had the chance to create their very own comic strip with the famous artist, whose work includes drawings and writings for The Beano, Marvel, Star Trek and Doctor Who Adventures, after one lucky pupil from each school won a competition with St. Enoch Centre.

The competition was held as part of the shopping centre's inaugural SToryfest celebrations in 2015. Designed to encourage reading and creativity amongst local primary schools, the festival featured visits from famous characters including Gruffalo and Dora the Explorer as well as free workshops and author visits from Badger the Mystical Mutt and Attack of the Giant Robot Chickens to name a few.

Schools across Glasgow were tasked with creating a cover and title for a comic book or an action packed story with a winning pupil chosen for each category. Zoe Craig won the workshop for her class (P6) at St Fillan's after impressing judges with her aptly named tale 'so that is why I don't have my homework', while 11year old Lewis Mulheron from St Bartholomew's (P6/7) was awarded the prize for his fun canine inspired comic cover 'Pug Thug, Pug Life'.

As part of the masterclass pupils at both schools learnt everything there is to know about making comic strips before getting the opportunity to work directly with Kev on their individual designs. The famous artist also turned each pupil into a caricature during his visit to the Glasgow primary schools.

Commenting on the masterclass, head teacher at St Bartholomew's Primary, Ms Saunders, said: "The pupils had a wonderful time from designing their entries to taking part in the masterclass and we would like to say a big thank you to St. Enoch Centre and Kev F for making this possible."

Mrs Penman, head teacher at St Fillan's, added: "To have this exciting opportunity to draw with an artist who has worked on some of their favourite comics is hugely inspirational for the pupils and I am sure it'll be talked about for a long time!"

Anne Ledgerwood, general manager of St. Enoch Centre, said: "The comic strip masterclass with Kev F has been a fantastic way for pupils to have fun while finding out about different forms of art - a key aim of our SToryfest celebrations.  The competition received some brilliant entries but the judges particularly enjoyed Zoe's story; we can only imagine what the teacher would have to say when faced with such a tale!

"At St. Enoch Centre we try to put on a range of entertainment offerings for our family customers to ensure they have the best experience. As a mother, I realise how important reading and creative arts are to stimulate children's minds and we wanted to bring this to life and create a place where families could have fun and learn more with the help of some much loved characters and authors, during the October break."