Golden Blocks Legends Comic Book founders hold a panel to discuss the first comic

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – The first of the Golden Blocks Legends Comic books is now out for the public to read. The authors are using those comics to teach people about Augusta’s rich history. Those who worked on it held a panel to talk about their first comic.

The artist and consultants for Golden Blocks Legends Comics spoke at the panel about their first comic, “Lucy Craft Laney Mother of the Children of the People.” They believe telling her story in comic form is a good way for students and others to learn.

“We know that we learn better when we are, you know, engaged in the content and when it matters to us,” said Kim Barker, the Associate Professor at Augusta University Department of Teaching and Leading . “And so, using someone like Lucy Craft Laney, who is so important here in Augusta and so well known. It really just makes it a great instructional resource, and working together and developing something we feel is really just so rich and valuable to the community.”

Corey Rogers from the Lucy Craft Laney Museum, Kim Barker, and Art Abdon are just a few of the people who helped work on the comic. They wanted to make sure the story and art in the book were as close as possible to the real situations.

“First, I’ve seen older pictures after educating and principal for so many years before her death,” said Art Abdon, Head Illustrator for Golden Blocks Legends Comics. “So, I think there are a couple of photos of her at a younger age, and I kind of took that and made sure that we saw all aspects of when she was a child.”

Many schools in the area are using the comics to teach in the classroom, but they’re getting attention across the country.

“She went all the way to Minnesota. She presented to the Presbyterian general meeting there, and she left, unfortunately, without receiving any money. But when she got back to Augusta. A woman named Francine Hanes contacted her because she had seen her in Minnesota, and she gave her the money to build the building and start Hanes Institute. That’s why they named their school the Lucy Craft Laney School, and that’s why they were interested in the comic as well,” said Barker.

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