Continuing a hundred year tradition the El Dorado (Ark.) News -Times
has announced a comic strip contest for area teens and preteens.
The News-Times is excited to announce our first-ever Comic Strip Contest!
Open to Union County students in fifth through 12th grade, three winners will be selected from our submissions to be featured in our upcoming edition of Live Union County, scheduled for publication on Feb. 28.
Our first-place winner will also be offered space each month for their comic strip in a Sunday edition of the News-Times.
Additionally, our first-place winner will receive a $50 Visa gift card. The second-place winner will receive a $25 gift card and third-place, a $15 gift card.
All submissions will require a title for the comic strip, as well as the submitting student’s name, school and grade and a phone number and email address the student’s parent or guardian can be reached at. Submissions must be made no later than noon on Feb. 1.
This continues a tradition of newspapers encouraging the young to exercise their cartooning skills that stretches back at least a hundred years. In the 1920s the Los Angeles Times offered space in their weekly Junior Times supplement.
The 1930s saw the modern comic book format emerge and they too gave teenagers a motivation to continue dreaming of being a cartoonist by seeing their handiwork in print.
There is a chance that some will even make cartooning a career.
And the News-Times even gives them a taste of reality by putting them on a tight deadline.