Youngsters Create ‘Boom’ Comic Books

Canyon School fourth graders Casey Alexander and Anthony Fedorko have turned their love of comics into a thriving business with their comic series ‘Boom.’ There are six issues so far, focusing on the misadventures of Agent Boom. Casey, the son of Debbie and Scott Alexander, and Anthony, the son of Debbie Zeitman and Yuri Fedorko, said the idea came up in their cartooning class this fall at Brentwood Art Center. Casey was doodling Agent Boom. Anthony looked over his shoulder and said, ‘He looks cool.’ Casey said, ‘You think so?’ Anthony offered to help draw and work out storylines. Thus, a comic was born. ‘It’s fun to do it together,’ says Casey. ‘There are more plots and evil characters.’ ‘I love to draw,’ says Anthony, who describes his drawing style as ‘cartoon-like, not detailed and realistic. And I like making other people happy reading them.’ The classmates work on the comic during recess and after school. In November, their fourth grade teacher Charlena TerVeer assigned the class a business project. Anthony and Casey at this point had an issue, so a lot of photocopying later they started selling the comic to their classmates. ‘Their comics were very popular and the kids really liked them,’ TerVeer says. ‘They’re both good artists and very funny.’ In January, the comic books began selling at HiDeHo in Santa Monica. So far the boys have earned close to $100, which they are putting back into the business to pay for copying costs. According to Casey, they are also thinking of making a ‘Boom’ movie in their animation class. Agent Boom is a round-faced fellow with big black eyes who wears a ski mask. Issues including ‘The Hunt,’ ‘The Revolution,’ ‘War in Hell,’ ‘Rise of the Dead,’ ‘Battle Star’ and ‘The Matrix’ feature Agent Boom battling evil characters. ‘He’s not that professional,’ says Anthony of the character. ‘He makes mistakes.’ Their inspiration comes from varied sources including the TV show ‘X-Files’ and Bruce Lee movies. ‘I’ve been getting a lot of xeroxed comics in since they did the Boom Comics, I’ve gotten a lot of copycats,’ said Kelly Spears, manager of HiDeHo Comics. The display at the store, made by Anthony’s mom, features a picture of the boys on the front. ‘Guys come in and they say ‘I used to do that when I was a kid and I want to support these kids.’ ‘It’s really original,’ Spears says. ‘It’s almost like reading a video game. It’s fun, I like it a lot.’ The issues have become increasingly professional-looking and easier to read, with the upcoming Boom #7 featuring a color cover. The comic book started at four pages and increased to 12 pages for volume 6. The artwork has also been refined’from 24 hand-drawn ‘teeny panels’ a page to 12 panels per page, drawn with a ruler. The two have other comic book ideas, and call their burgeoning company Boom Brothers.