Da Poof from Chudney Patterson

These panels come from “A Day in the Life of Chudney,” a one-page comic by sixteen-year-old Chudney Patterson which just won grand prize in a contest for young cartoonists sponsored by author-illustrator Jeff Kinney.

As School Library Journal explains, the contest also brought a prize for Patterson’s school library in New Jersey, which has suffered major budget cuts. Apparently Patterson felt that keenly as the daughter of a librarian.

In the panels above, the character of Chudney explains her art with a superhero metaphor:

When I draw, I am DA POOF! Able to fly at the speed of light and headbutt my enemies. I am AWESOME!

I even make little comics for my friends, trying to make them laugh.

So now young American women are winning the comics contests, the national science fairs, the World Cup semis. Not to mention the usual spelling bee. Do teen-aged boys need to step up their game?