{"id":382684,"date":"2025-11-16T09:29:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T09:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/382684\/"},"modified":"2025-11-16T09:29:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T09:29:12","slug":"arts-for-all-free-comic-program-comes-to-glendale-features","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/382684\/","title":{"rendered":"Arts for All: Free comic program comes to Glendale | Features"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yvonne Wan started her Focus Comic Loves Glendale art program with one goal in mind \u2014 to uplift the voices of people with autism through a medium she loves. The free art program, she said, is meant to empower autistic artists and other creatives with disabilities and put their work in the spotlight.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAutistic individuals have been fairly invisible in the media in the past decade,\u201d Wan said. \u201cThe key for change is to have a pioneering project that can transform the way individuals see themselves and how societies perceive autism and disability in general.<\/p>\n

\u201cRepresentation is really important and important that we recognize that and allocate enough support to help this group.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Focus Comic Loves Glendale students meet for up to four, free one-on-one or group sessions online or in person on Sundays in November at Glendale Main Library. Each 40-minute class features lessons on the art of storytelling with comics as a medium, translating a script into a comic strip and illustration techniques. Attendees will also have the opportunity to sharpen their presentation skills with industry professionals, such as Patrick Goddard and other special guests.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Students will be sorted into levels based on age \u2014 Beginner students are ages 4 to 7, Intermediate students are 8 to 12 years-old and Advanced students are ages 13 and up, with no limit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Additionally, Wan leads walk-in classes at IT\u2019SUGAR at Westgate Entertainment District, with upcoming sessions on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 14 and 15. Visit focuscomic.com<\/a> for comic session dates and times.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the end of the program, Wan and her students gather at Samurai Comics Glendale for their graduation ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 22. The students will receive various gifts, including comics, quality art supplies and various items from different agencies including the U.S. Air Force, and receive recognition for their accomplishments in the program. Additionally as part of their graduation surprises, Wan and her intern, young, autistic artist Carson Schuler, will digitally color the black and white comic panels that students created in class.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Participants of all ages and experience levels can join through Nov. 19 by emailing their information to Yvonne@focuscomic.com<\/a>. Art supplies are provided for in-person students.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Comic<\/p>\n

Wan\u2019s intern Carson Schuler is a young autistic artist who works with her on various projects, including Focus Comic Loves Glendale.\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Yvonne Wan\/Submitted)<\/p>\n

The program\u2019s namesake originates from Wan\u2019s original comic book character named Focus \u2014 an autistic superhero, clad in a discoball-like pattern. One of the popular strips that Wan and her students have depicted him in is titled \u201cOverweight\u201d \u2014 a four-panel strip in which the superhero has finished having lunch with a friend. As the two get in the car to leave, the vehicle tips over on Focus\u2019 side because he had too much to eat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His power, the creator said, is to \u201cpredict crime based on probability.\u201d Wan said that he is sensitive to sound, but also powerful in his desire to help others.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI created the autistic hero because at the time, I was writing letters to organizations trying to get them to change their employment practices to further support autistic individuals and because I have someone close to me who is on the spectrum,\u201d she said. \u201cIt transforms how current and future generations perceive autism, disability in general.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Comic<\/p>\n

Students in the comic program typically illustrate comic strips depicting Wan\u2019s original character, Focus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

(Yvonne Wan\/Submitted)<\/p>\n

According to Wan, the experience is slightly different for the younger kids than it is for the older participants. The comic strip program helps the younger artist build their confidence while the older students learn how to pursue a career in art and break into the industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As Wan continues to teach autistic artists what she knows, helping to develop their skills, she said that she hopes to dismantle the stigma surrounding disabilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to promote autism awareness and acceptance through this program,\u201d she said. \u201cAutistic individuals are capable of doing amazing things and contributing to the community in amazing ways \u2014 they can be superheroes, too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

If You Go…<\/p>\n

Focus Comic Loves Glendale Graduation<\/p>\n

WHERE: Samurai Comics \u2014 Glendale, 6808 N. Dysart Road, Suite 148, Glendale<\/p>\n

WHEN: 10:30 a.m. Saturday,<\/p>\n

Nov. 22<\/p>\n

COST: Free admission<\/p>\n

INFO: focuscomic.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Yvonne Wan started her Focus Comic Loves Glendale art program with one goal in mind \u2014 to uplift…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":382685,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5131],"tags":[5229,5643,183033,1587,183032,5037,1589,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-382684","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-phoenix","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arizona","10":"tag-autistic-artists","11":"tag-az","12":"tag-focus-comic-loves-glendale","13":"tag-it","14":"tag-phoenix","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115558676490269335","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=382684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/382685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=382684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=382684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}