Graphic novels, which some of us called comic books when we were kids, have been all the rage for years, now. They even are the basis for any number of TV shows and motion pictures.

The Rotarian, our monthly magazine, has joined the use of this particular school of art for its November 2016 issue. It highlights Arch Klumph and the Rotary Foundation which is in its centennial anniversary year. Klumph, as you may know, created the Foundation during his RI presidency in 1916.

The striking artwork in the 12-page graphic novel-within-a-magazine is by Josh Elder, who has been with the iconic DC Comics company for more than a decade. He also is the founder of Reading With Pictures, a nonprofit that promotes the use of comics in education.

When asked to undertake the project. Elder says, he already knew a bit about Rotary’s work. “The biggest surprise,” he says, “was learning just how much good Rotary has done in the world, the sheer breadth and depth of Rotary’s philanthropic reach. Whether it was playing a role in forming the United Nations or providing seed money for Easter Seals, if it was a net gain for humanity over the last 100 or so years, Rotary was there.”

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