As the illustrator for probably the only high school newspaper in the country to publish a daily comic, much responsibility and praise falls onto the shoulders of my younger sister, sophomore Katie Barisic, the creator of “The Good Times.”
I must admit that Katie and I butt heads more than I do with my elder sister, Lauren, ’10 alumna, and I attribute this to my middle child syndrome. However, I have come to realize that Katie’s comic project has, in an odd way, helped our relationship.
Since she began drawing the comics last year, it has provided us with a discussion topic that never gets old. It’s not as though we didn’t talk before, but it just feels nice to always have something worth chatting about.
Katie gets most of her ideas from our family, but I have found that things I’ve said and done end up in her comics more than any other member of our family. I am aware of the fact that I say and do some incredibly stupid things, and Katie never fails to be right behind me, jotting down a new idea for “The Good Times.”
At first I was embarrassed to have Katie’s comics feature what she sees in me, but now, in a sense, I feel honored. My sisters and I will be together and then suddenly Katie will say, “I’m putting that into a comic!”
However, there have been times when Katie takes an idea or happening from a certain occasion and makes it into a comic, not earning my satisfaction with the outcome.
For example, in the Feb. 11, 2010 comic, character Zack visits his neighbor, Shelley, to ask her to Night of the Stars (NOTS), with his twin brother, Nick, going with him for moral support. Zack expresses his anxiety, going over all of the worst-case scenarios: “What if …?”
This comic was inspired by my own nervous experience of asking my neighbor to NOTS last year. Lauren went with me for support because I was so nervous, and on the walk over, I muttered every possibility as to what could go wrong, which inspired Zack’s dialogue.
However, I still think that Katie’s comics are entertaining and funny. They express her sense of humor, which is a great component of The Feather. The characters paint a picture of everything that high school is about: hanging out with friends, homework, stresses and simply being a teenager.
I am proud of my sister for her dedication to produce a comic every day. I hope she continues to illustrate “The Good Times” up through her senior year, because I know she enjoys it so much. In fact, I think she will find it difficult to retire her comic strip when the time comes.
For more columns, read the Jan. 11 article, Competition challenges, motivates freshman rivals.
