(click “gallery” to view all comic pages)

Gallery • 8 Photos

Avery Yang

Written by Sophia Lam

Story written by: Sophia Lam (9)

“Close your eyes, little one

Metal screeches, blazing headlights

Pain recedes as the tom wakes alight

Watching his coddling mother, vexed

An unfamiliar kitten settles into his bed

Colorless claws twinkle,

Cries shriek from the window

He slits the fabric, 

The body of the infant

Close your eyes, little one”

Note from illustrator, Avery Yang, Staff Writer

“I really liked this submission, the story it illuminated. Often times when one thinks of horror, they’d imagine zombies, vampires or clowns, but this captures the aspect of tragedy wrought from a self-inflicted fright in an unfortunately possible yet unimaginable scene. This kind of story is awful to imagine not just because the scenario is horrible but because of how probable the scenario can actually occur; it’s something that really caught my eye against the other contestants. Aside from the uniqueness of this story, the clever language gave it my attention: how the tom wakes alight to the previous headlights, how the kitten settles to bed as his claws twinkle (like stars in a lullaby), and how the driver is described to open the door by how he slits the fabric blanket which separated the kitten from sleep and death. Though this story has gotten second place, it is undeniable that this is one heck of a piece.”