Children’s Comic Contest
Pop Culture Classroom is proud to launch our fourth comic book contest for kids!
Calling all parents, educators, and comic book fans! Pop Culture Classroom is launching our fourth comic book contest for kids, and we’re asking for your help to spread the word to young comic book creators everywhere. Whether you know a budding graphic novelist, an up-and-coming cartoonist, a comic book aficionado, or all the above, we’re encouraging young artists from Colorado and beyond to enter our 2020 Kids Comic Contest!
Please read the rules for entry below, and then submit your comic.
Submit a 2020 Kids Comic Contest Entry
About the Contest
During this difficult time in our country and world, Pop Culture Classroom is providing students and educators new ways to be creative, engaged, and intellectually empowered. As art programs and artists struggle across the country, we’re helping fuel the next generation of artists and creators. Running from April 27th to December 1st, 2020, the Pop Culture Classroom Kids’ Comics Contest is open to all 3rd grade through 12th grade students and offers a unique, fun, and interactive virtual activity all learners, educators, and parents can engage in.
In addition to the prizes featured below, students have the chance to publish their work and be featured alongside amazing young artists. We believe students will feel empowered to tell their stories and the stories of their communities, increasing their sense of purpose and engagement with important issues, and be inspired by the stories they read and see from other students and artists.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the kids’ comics contest?
Running from April 27th to December 1st, the Pop Culture Classroom Kids’ Comics Contest is open to all 3rd grade through 12th grade students. Artwork must be in the form of an original comic or graphic text. Students may submit previously created artwork if it has not been published elsewhere and is age appropriate.
Two winners (Grand Prize and Runner Up) will be chosen from each of the different age categories below:
- 3rd – 5th grade
- 6th – 8th grade
- 9th – 12th grade
Submissions will be judged on the following categories:
Storytelling – Story arc, character development, setting, and dialogue/captions.
Art – Use of comic conventions, character representation, setting, and layout.
Adherence to theme – Being a hero
What is the desired length of the comic?
We do not have any specific requirements on length, though we are specifically looking for comics and graphic texts that tell a unique, engaging story through a mixture of text and art. You are welcome to submit a comic of any length that you feel accomplishes this. If the winner’s artwork is more than one page, we will print the first page of the comic in the DPCC souvenir program, with the rest located on our PCC website.
Do you have a theme?
Yes! This year our theme is Being a Hero. We encourage entries to think about this prompt in multiple ways. Your comic could feature:
- Fictional or real-Life characters
- Fantastical or realistic narratives
- Superheroes, or other types of characters that embody the meaning of the word “hero”
- Metaphor or symbolism
While the topic can be interpreted in many ways, winning comics will impact readers in a way that inspires them to make real-world change and embody the characteristics of a hero.
What are the rules/guidelines for submitting?
This checklist is used to determine eligibility for entry in the contest:
- Artwork must be in the form of an original comic or graphic text.
- Art and/or storytelling must adhere in some way to our Being a Hero theme.
- Artwork must be the original work of the student entering the contest. Entries may not be traced or copied from published works. Photographs can only be used as guidelines. Any medium is accepted.
- Students may submit previously created artwork if it has not been published elsewhere.
- Contest entries cannot be obscene, indecent, or contain profanities, excessive violence or gore (keep it PG-13). Entries must be suitable for all ages and for replication/display.
What prizes are you offering
- Winners (1 per age group)
- Digital and print publication of their artwork
- Special meet-and-greet session with professional comic artist
- Art swag bag worth $50(contains basic art supplies and promo materials)
- Set of graphic novels for your personal library
- 4 passes to future DPCC event
- Runner Ups (1 per age group)
- Digital publication of their artwork
- 2 passes to future DPCC event
- Honorable Mentions (unlimited)
- Digital publication of their artwork
How do we submit our comics?
Use this entry form to enter your comic:
All Entries must be received by December 1st
Fine Print:
No purchase necessary. A purchase will not increase chances of winning.
All artwork submitted is hereby the property of Pop Culture Classroom (PCC). PCC and their sponsors, advertising and promotion agencies, possesses the right to display, reproduce or use the artwork at any time in the future without the prior approval of, or compensation to the artists.
Employees, officers, directors and agents of Pop Culture Classroom and members of the immediate family or persons living in the same household of such individuals, are ineligible to participate. Contest is subject to all federal, state and local laws. Pop Culture Classroom does not ensure entries it receives or will be responsible for loss or damage of the entries.
Pop Culture Classroom
9am-5pm Monday-Friday