Earlier this year, I had the distinct privilege of putting on a 3-day cartooning workshop for the fourth and fifth graders at Huegel Elementary here in Madison. I had fun, the kids had fun, and I’m pretty sure the teachers did, too. One of the coolest things that happened after my visit is that the kids ended up doing a letter writing campaign to the Wisconsin State Journal on my behalf. As far as I know, every single student in both grade levels wrote a letter requesting that Kim & Jason be added to the comics page. Who knows if it will make a difference in the eyes of the editor, but it sure made an impact on me. I just had to share some exceprts from a few of the letters:
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Dear Mr. Milfred,
I am writing you to suggest that the Wisconsin State Journal put in cartoons from jason Kotecki. His comic is called Kim & Jason. I love making comics. I never knew it was so much fun. Jason taught me that whatever you put your mind to, you can do it. He is a very good comic artist and writer. People in Wisconsin would enjoy his work. I showed my mom a Kim & Jason comic and she laughed. She said she loved it. So put Jason Kotecki’s comic in the newspaper and put a smile on people’s faces.
Sincerely,
Javonae
Dear Mr. Milfred,
I am writing to suggest Wis. State Journal put in comics from Jason Kotecki. He is a local artist and you can see his work on KimandJason.com. He is a very talented cartoonist, and he inspires many people to make their own comics, including me. He works very hard, and all that hard work should be able to pay off. My class knows how much Jason wants his comics in WSJ, and we want to help him with that.
Sincerely,
Alana
Dear Mr. Milfred,
I think Jason Kotecki (the cartoonist for “Kim & Jason”) deserves to have his cartoon in the Wisconsin State Journal. One reason I believe that Jason should have his cartoon published in the Wisconsin State Journal is because people who would read it would be entertained and you would have happy customers. Another reason I think this is because he worked with my class and did an excellent job. He also worked with other classes at my school, and all the kids that worked with Jason were able to create there own cartoon. The third reason is because I know a lot of kids who get a laugh when they read a “Kim & Jason” cartoon. Jason is a local cartoonist and has worked very hard. Jason has a website (www.kimandjason.com) and I think people would like to read it in the Wisconsin State Journal, not just online. I appreciate you listening to my opinion. I hope to read “Kim & Jason” in the Wisconsin State Journal soon!
Gabriela
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Convincing arguments, no?
Thanks Huegel!
(Another girl named Sydney wrote her letter in the form of a comic strip, with the text: “I think you should put comic strips by Jason Kotecki in the newspaper. He inspired me…Look how good I can do cartooning now!”)