The Appalachia Comics Project is working to produce its first book, “Islands in the Sky” (which will be available in digital and print formats) about Hurricane Helene. The project, which formally launches Tuesday, June 17, has paired more than a dozen local survivors with renowned comic creators like Andrew Aydin (a project leader and National Book Award winner), Brian Michael Bendis, Gene Luen Yang, Matt Fraction, and others. Harrowing, inspiring, humorous, and tragic — this history is being brought to life in comics to create a first hand account of what really happened by those that lived it.
The above panel is by Asheville artist Jarrett Rutland. “Aesthetically I wanted the storm to be seen first, and become more active with people as you scan down, because I knew it was going to be seen on a computer,” Rutland said about the piece. “Conceptually I wanted it to be respectful — and hopeful.”
Distributed with permission by Beacon Media, available for republishing under Beacon Media’s guidelines.