Lincolnview student creates comic book

VW independent staff/submitted information

If you’ve ever wanted to meet a comic book creator – someone who came up with superheroes and the villain, sketched them out and wrote the story – your chance is coming and you won’t have to go very far.

Mason Welch, a fifth grade student at Lincolnview Elementary, recently won the Brumback Library Summer Reading Program comic book contest with his original comic featuring the superhero duo Super Spaghetti and Mega Meatball as they battle the evil villain, Dr. Garlic Bread.

Welch’s interest in comics began on family road trips, and his favorite series include Stranger Things and Sonic. To create his winning entry, he sketched out panels, wrote the dialogue, edited the story to ensure it flowed smoothly and avoided repetition, and then colored the illustrations.

“I was trying to think of a good superhero pair, and that’s how I came up with Super Spaghetti and Mega Meatball,” Welch said. “Lots of people don’t like garlic and it’s stinky, so that made sense for the villain!”

The contest has inspired Welch to continue creating comics. He is currently working on a second comic book and hopes to develop additional adventures featuring his original characters.

Welch thanked the Brumback Library Summer Reading program for the opportunity.

“It was my first time participating, and I definitely want to do it again.”

Outside of comic creation, Mason enjoys baseball, soccer, reading Dog Man and Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, riding bikes, playing outside, watching movies, and playing both the piano and trumpet.

Community members will have an opportunity to meet the young author and artist at a comic book launch and signing from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, October 10, at Alter Ego Comics, 230 N. Main St. in downtown Lima..

“Mason is exactly what comics are all about,” said Marc Bowker, owner of Alter Ego Comics. “A kid with a story to tell who did the work to get it published. We’re proud to host his launch, and we hope the community comes out to support a young local author.”