An eight-year-old comic creator snuck his comic on library shelves for attention - and it worked
We may have just found the next comic book superstar - an eight-year-old boy named Dillon Helbig.
Dillon, a second-grader, has received nationwide attention for an 81-page, handmade, comic book he created called The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis. (And signed as by 'Dillon his self'). You won't find this in your local comic store or even on Amazon - the one and only copy is available for checkout at his local library.
And he had to sneak it in there to begin with.
The second-grader from Boise, Idaho tells NBC's Today Show that he's been "writing books since I was five," and The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis was something he created over four days in a red journal before Christmas (or 'Crismis' as he spells it). Instead of sharing it with friends and family, the eight-year-old Helbig tried (and succeeded) in secretly shelving it in his local Ada County Library in its children's picture-book section.
While he shelved it there without permission, the facility's librarians quickly took note, and after conferring with Helbig and his parents, added it to its official catalog.
"He just wanted to get the book in the library and have some kids read it," his father, Alex Helbig, tells the Today show. "The fact that it's being covered all over the world as news is just amazing."
While Helbig's comic book is now officially in the library's catalog, it's going to be a while before you might be able to read it; as of this morning, there are 102 holds on the comic.
The library went on to create an award, the Whodini Award for Best Young Novelist, to bestow upon him for his work. (Whodini is the library's owl mascot, and yes, he's cute.)
Dillon Helbig is currently working on a new comic about a "jacket-eating closet."
Make sure you've read all our recommended best comics of 2021.
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