The Cartoonists Club by Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud

The Cartoonists Club introduces young readers to the techniques and rationale of sequential graphic storytelling.

The Cartoonists Club by Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud. Scholastic Graphix, 2025, 261 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8-10

Recommended for: ages 8-14

Makayla is a fountain of story ideas but has a hard time connecting them. Howard doodles obsessively but needs a story. Art’s creative juices flow through a multitude of media, while Lynda, a talented artist, never thinks she’s good enough. These four need inspiration. Even more, they need each other, and Ms. Fatima, the librarian and fellow comics fan, has what it takes to be an informative and encouraging sponsor. Thus is born the Cartoonists Club. Club members contribute their ideas and individual talents to develop their own mini comics, culminating in the local comics convention.

Each member of the club has his or her backstory and personality, but the spotlight is on sequential art and how to make it, from comic strips to graphic novels. Raina Telgemeier is here for the story, and her drawing style predominates. But the inspiration comes from Scot McCloud’s classic Understanding Comics. The Cartoonists Club is actually a primer on McCloud’s approach to sequential graphic storytelling, with discursions on story creation and pacing, how to communicate simple and complex emotions, and how readers fill in the gaps.

That last point is especially interesting, for no true work of art exists in and for itself. The audience response supplies its power and effectiveness. McCloud’s emphasis on the reader’s role in creation reminds me of Dorothy Sayers’ classic Mind of the Maker, in which she outlines the trinitarian nature of art, and indeed all creation. Every creative work begins with an Idea, or the original conception of the work in one’s mind, the Energy, or the objective work itself, and the Power, or the effect of the work on an audience. These correspond to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It’s doubtful that Scott McCloud has any such divine framework in mind, but his recognition of the role of the audience is striking.

The members of the Cartoonists Club represent a variety of racial and ethnic groups, but aside from Art, who introduces himself with they/them pronouns, there are no other nods to wokeness. Art is clearly a boy, or just possibly a very tomboyish girl, and they/them pronouns make no further appearance.

Bottom Line: An entertaining and encouraging excursion into “Understanding Comics” for a younger crowd.   

Also at Redeemed Reader:

• Reflection: The Power of a Picture explores the development of visual art and what it means to a Christian worldview.
• Reviews: Other cartoon how-to books are Draw Out the Story and the Cat Kid Comic Club series.

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