Before 2019, the Difference Engine team had no inkling that virtual book launches would become so popular. Fast forward to 2020, with three successful online book launches and events later, we are here to spill the tea on how you can host your own successful virtual event too.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way many companies do their businesses, and the book industry is not spared. Singapore began its circuit breaker measures on 7 April 2020, which meant that our team had to rack our brains to launch the first title in our line up, The Makers Club: Game On! 

Written by Reimena Yee and illustrated by Tintin Pantoja, The Makers Club: Game On! is the first book in a new graphic novel series that aims to inspire kids to explore STEAM topics and maker culture. 

We decided to launch a series of free digital talks and workshops that ran from June till September 2020 – with the support of the Digital Presentation Grant from the National Arts Council – to generate interest not only in the book, but also maker culture and comics as a medium. The creators of the graphic novel, Reimena Yee and Tintin Pantoja, led the talks and workshops alongside other creators and experts.

It was the first time any of us had organised a virtual event and we were apprehensive at first. But after a few sessions, we started to get the hang of it. We’ve decided to share our experience with you and we hope you’ll be able to pick up some useful tips from our experience to create your own virtual book event! 

The digital launch of The Makers Club: Game On!

1. Decide on and adapt to the tech you need

There are many different video conferencing platforms these days, but we decided to go with Zoom due to its increasing popularity and audience’s familiarity with the platform, along with Facebook Live. Since we were new to Zoom, the team spent a few sessions testing out the features, even holding fun internal presentations like “18th Century Beachwear” and inviting fellow colleagues from our sister company to sit in. 

Besides getting familiar with the tech, we also needed to create a smooth, welcoming experience for all participants. This included anticipating necessary house rules, as well as digital settings. Some questions we needed to answer included: 

1. Should participants be muted when they first enter?
2. Should we allow everyone to chat with each other privately?
3. How do we ensure the event is secure and keep unwelcome “Zoom bombers” out? 
4. How do we encourage people to turn on their videos so that the atmosphere is more welcoming? 

The screen-sharing options on Zoom allowed Darel to share his drawing process in real time. 

2. Promote the event 

Once that was done, we set up the Zoom invite and Facebook event page, promoted it on social media, and reached out to guests who would be interested. A reminder email was also scheduled to be sent one day before the event. Our creatives also participated in the promotions either by sharing the event on their social media or doing up collaterals! 

3. Plan the talk and workshop content  

One of the most fun parts of planning the virtual events was working together with the creators and coming up with the talk content and activities to engage participants. This could be in the form of reading, activity, and Q&A session. In one of our events, “Let’s Frame it Another Way!”, illustrator Tintin Pantoja decided to show a live demo of how to translate a comics script into visuals! You can view the recording of the live event at this link. 

Other materials to prepare might include creating slideshows and any worksheets or additional materials, if any, which can be downloaded and printed before the event. For example, we created a few blank comics templates that participants can download and use to create their own stories here. 

Illustrator and animator Vann Law planned a fun activity for participants to create their own zines. 

4. Set up the virtual space 

Before the event, we had a rehearsal session to ensure that speakers were familiar with the technology, such as sharing their slides, and playing media online. It’s important to iron out any kinks prior to the event to reduce hiccups that could make the audience drop out, to reinforce a professional image, and to encourage a pleasant experience so that participants will return to your next event! The DE team also split up tasks such as moderating, troubleshooting, timekeeping, and more, that were communicated through a separate WhatsApp group chat. 

Friendly tip: Remind anyone sharing their screens to quit any chat applications that might have notifications popping up that the audience will see! 

To ensure that instructions and live demonstrations are clear, one suggestion is to use two different devices (if possible!) to present – one can be used to stream the live drawing, while the other device can be used for presenting the slides or capturing the speaker. During “Comics for Climate Change”, ecologist Debby Ng and illustrator Darel Ng conducted their session by sharing slides and conducting a live demonstration with an external tablet. You can view the recording of the session here. 

It’s vital to set up the physical space beforehand too, so that the speakers are in a quiet environment and can be heard! Speakers should also be mindful of what is in the background in their screen – we like to suggest a clean background, or if you are so inclined, to show off your bookshelves! Another great option is using a virtual background. However, if creatives are demonstrating anything on screen, remember that you might need to turn off the virtual background, to prevent interference, or even worse, completely obscuring their demonstrations. Illustrator and animator Vann Law did just that as she taught participants how to create and fold a zine out of a sheet of paper at her zine-making workshop here. 

5. Have fun and enjoy the session! 

Virtual events may be a whole different ball game from in-person events, but they offer the opportunity to interact with the audience in a different way. Free online tools such as Wheel of Names can provide some fun and the interactive tools on Zoom can provide the opportunity for more people to ask questions! 

You can also get creative with activities or games you want to introduce to your audience, such as co-drawing platforms, or cooperative sharing apps like a virtual whiteboard such as Miro. 

Websites like Wheel of Names can add a fun touch to your event. 

What are some ways you can think of that can excite audiences in a virtual event? We look forward to hearing your thoughts on our social media platforms! 

The Makers Club: Game On! features a group of fun and diverse characters who embark on creative journeys to experiment, code, and develop a maker mindset. 

The graphic novel is available in print and ebook formats. 

Missed out on the super-fun during our Amazing Ash & Superhero Ah Ma book launch event? Needed to save the day from some pressing ah-ma-gency?

Don’t worry – in this recap, we will revisit the session’s most ash-citing moments. We will even show you how to inspire children to come up with their own superhero identities as well!

For those who are not familiar with Amazing Ash & Superhero Ah Ma, it is an intergenerational family-friendly superhero graphic novel that follows Ash and her grandmother as they navigate superpowers and dementia. 

Follow this ensemble of strong, self-starting women – of all ages! – as they use teamwork to reconcile everyday problems with their newfound superhero identities. Filled with a mix of action-packed and emotionally-charged moments, this heartwarming story encourages children to explore the challenges of growing up and ageing in an empathic yet fun manner. 

Click here to buy the book and find out more! (For the ambivalent, why not click on this ash-tonishing excerpt before you decide?)

For those who want to experience the book launch in its entirety, a video recording is available on our Facebook page. Otherwise, keep on reading to see the workshop’s highlights – up, up, and away we go!

Guest speaker Ivan Loh from Lien Foundation inaugurated the launch with an insightful talk on what dementia is, and how children can play a part in helping family members who suffer from it.

In his speech, Ivan touches on how the rising incidence of dementia is an issue of pressing concern not just in Singapore, but in many other developed nations with rapidly aging populations as well. Because of this aforementioned trend, it is imperative that younger generations, especially children, are exposed to the concept of ageing and its difficulties. In turn, this awareness can help remove existing stigma associated with age-related degenerative conditions, and can reduce the disconnect between younger and older generations.

There are many ways in which children can play a role in the lives of family members who are experiencing dementia. By involving them in the lives of their seniors, not only will children gain first-hand experience on how dementia affects their loved ones, these interactions have also shown to be helpful in impeding the acceleration of the illness.

To summarise the key points of the talk:

• Encourage children to spend more time socialising with their grandparents – even if they are suffering from dementia. The key point here is to reaffirm that their family members are still the same people who love them!
• Be patient when interacting with seniors who have dementia, even if it means repeating oneself or talking slower and louder. Conversations help keep these seniors included and engaged with the rest of the family, and provide a respite from boredom and isolation.
• Non-traditional mediums, such as graphic novels, are great for learning about ageing and dementia. The accompanying illustrations make the topics more accessible and interesting, and can motivate children to learn more about the subject beyond the given material.

After getting an introduction to one of the core concepts of Amazing Ash & Superhero Ah Ma, creators Melanie Lee and Arif Rafhan shared some behind-the-scenes tidbits from when they were working on the book:

Melanie opened by mentioning how strong female leads like Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle and the no-nonsense landlady from Kung Fu Hustle inspired her to create an eldery female superhero character.

Putting the idea onto paper wasn’t an easy process – it ended up taking Melanie and Arif nearly two years to finish Amazing Ash & Superhero Ah Ma!

To highlight that Ash and Ah Ma are homegrown, self-funded superheroes – you don’t need to be a genius billionaire to become a successful superhero! – from Southeast Asia, Arif incorporated these influences into Ash’s and Ah Ma’s designs. 

From button-on capes to rubber gloves and footwear, we hope that Ash and Ah Ma’s ingenuity in improvising their superhero outfits will inspire children to be equally creative in their projects!

After the participants were introduced to how easy it is to make up a superhero persona and a corresponding costume, Melanie and Arif proceeded to the main activity of the event: Superhero Workshop!

To help the participants conceptualise what kind of superheroes they want to be, we created the following set of worksheets to get them thinking about not just fictional superheroes, but also real-life heroes they look up to. Do they want to have the strength and confidence of Wonder Woman? Or would they prefer to have the (seemingly!) otherworldly organisation skills of their parents instead? The sky’s the limit! 

After everyone had decided on their superhero personas, the Arif took over to explain how to make and decorate a personalised superhero mask.

Participants could then choose from one of the two methods to obtain a mask template:

1. (For those with a printer) Via our premade template

2. Or by following Arif’s freehand method.

A flurry of paper, colouring materials, and supervised scissors-use later, we were now a group of superheroes!  

Here are some examples that our superheroes-in-training created during the workshop:

If you want to participate in our superhero workshop at your own time, don’t forget to tag us with a photo of yourself – in your mask! – using the hashtag #AmazingAshandSuperheroAhMa on Facebook and Instagram, or email us at readcomics@differenceengine.sg. The world could always use more heroes! 

To get more insight on the life of superheroes, follow the adventures of Ash and Ah Ma by getting a (print or ebook) copy of the book today! 

We hope everyone had fun – we sure did! – and we look forward to seeing everyone again at our future events. Stay super!

To find out more about Amazing Ash & Superhero Ah Ma, head here!

Educators, researchers and comic artists have been advocating the use of comics to teach for a good while now. But why exactly is this the case? More than just fun and laughter, comics do have a place in classrooms and other learning environments. Here are the reasons.

Comics are appealing and easy to remember

Comics is a medium that combines words and visuals in a way that optimises the strengths of each. Words can be sparingly used to communicate the key points, while the visuals can deliver a lot of context at a glance. Together, they hold more appeal than plain text, are easier to recall and to store in long-term memory.

No wonder comics are often used for explainers, from flight safety instructions to public behaviour advice, from science comics for children to inspirational stories about maker culture. Artists often choose to add visual cuteness and humour or explain the concepts through fiction. Both are good ways to add a fun spin without compromising on clarity. Comics of this type make for great supplementary reading for students outside schools.

Secret Coders, Science Comics: The Brain, Cells at Work! all entertain while they educate.

Comics encourage interpretative thinking

The language of comics is so unique that reading them engages the brain in the same way that an advanced language would! Nuances can be expressed simply by contrasting what characters say with the expressions they wear which may hint at an opposite meaning. Much like in real life, readers can only pick up on these by observing closely. 

Each comics culture also develops its own additional visual cues too. Japanese manga readers understand instinctively that a character with sweat drops, furrowed brows and with cross-shaped popping veins are irritated and dismayed. The same way that European bande dessinée readers understand that a character with sweat drops and floating bowler hat on top is panicked and confused.

Comics attune readers to the many ways words and visuals can be combined and interpreted differently. As readers put together clues to understand the narrative, it gives their brain a good workout by triggering complex brain processes.

Aquicorn Cove, Tintin: Explorers on the Moon, The Makers Club: Game On!  each come from a different comics culture and explore distinct themes of environmentalism, space travel and maker culture.

Comics stimulate emotions and empathy

Comics as a medium has come a long way from newspaper funnies and has grown into a sophisticated mode of storytelling. Plenty of comics today deal with real world situations, whether through a fictional story or a personal account framed as a memoir. When human figures are simplified as line drawings, readers are more likely to identify with the people in comic books and develop empathy. This is doubly effective when the issues are framed by narrative. Powerful images form strong impressions on students and help them remember and retain the information better.

Comics also have a great capacity to make dark and difficult subjects easier to digest yet leave it open to the readers to decide how deeply to engage with it. Some may choose to read a comic book just for the plot in two hours flat, focusing on the emotional arc of the story and getting only a brief exposure to the themes and issues. Others may have their curiosity piqued and scour the same book for more contextual information. They will gain further understanding of the time, place, culture that the stories or personal accounts are set in.

Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Novel, They Called Us Enemy, Illegal are graphic novels that deal with themes of discrimination, war, refugee and migration, all told from the eyes of children.

Comics encourage readers to make meaning for themselves

Ultimately, comics is such a versatile medium that involves their readers intensely in the process of meaning-making. We live in the Internet Age where we are constantly bombarded with images and unfiltered messages. Visual and media literacy is an increasingly important skill, even for children at a young age.

In April 2020, an American non-profit organisation of comics creators called Comic Book Legal Defense Fund set up a League of Graphic Novel Educators. It brings together people around the world who stand by the power of graphic storytelling, furthering the message that students can benefit from reading comics — and educators can benefit too from using them to teach.

Check out the vibrant covers of The Nameless City, Compass South, Amulet: The Cloud Searchers. What kinds of adventures will readers experience?

Psst! Remember to check out all the books mentioned in this post! DE recommends them to children aged 7-15. For specific recommendations on how to use comics in classrooms, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund website offers lists and resources.