Comic Artist Dabin Han Visits KIS

October 10, 2024

“Comics take you directly to another world,” says comic artist Dabin Han. She grew up reading comic books and appreciates the popularity of graphic novels now. The imagery invites reader engagement. Understanding comics comes from understanding the interaction between the words and the images.. Dabin drew her first comics in high school when she signed up for an art class called Drawing as Thinking. “Before that class I thought making comics was out of reach for me,” Dabin says. “But then I realized I could make comics and loved it.” Drawing comics gave Dabin a way to express herself.

In September Dabin visited KIS middle and high school classes. She wants young readers to consider how they interpret illustrations to understand a story and to recognize the design choices a comic artist makes. She also wants young artists to think about the possibility of finding their voice through imagery. “Comics are about communication,” Dabin says. Comics do not have to be photorealistic to feel accurate to an experience. That’s the fun and challenge of this medium!

Dabin’s high school senior project was an 80 page graphic novel about the college application process. In college she continued to draw and reached out to her high school mentor Caitlin Cass for professional  advice. Soon Dabin saw her comics in The Washington Post. 

In 2022 NPR published Dabin’s comic about identity. Dabin grew up in the US, spent part of her middle school years in Germany, and asks what many of our students ask: how do my separate identities fit together and how do I fit into the larger global community? The NPR comic explores that question – if you haven't seen it, take a look. Dabin believes that we do not need to feel alone. Sharing your experience and listening to others’ experiences builds empathy. 

Try this: with friends or at the dinner table, draw a comic about your day. Let that start the conversation.

And be sure to check out a few titles Dabin recommends:

• Out on the Wire by Jessica Abel
• The Delicacy by James Albon
• Suffrage Song: The Haunted History of Gender, Race, and Voting Rights in the US by Caitlin Cass
• Why Comics: From Underground to Everywhere by Hillary Chute
• Passing for Human: A Memoir by Liana Finck
• The Waiting by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim
• Magic Fish by Trung le Nguyen
• Alison by Lizzy Steward