#AntarcticLog is a series of comics by Karen Romano Young. You can find the originals here.

Kid Stuff? 

On Halloween I was doing a little research on Vanessa Nakate, the Ugandan climate change activist, and learned that she has become a spokesperson for Unicef.  Halloween… Unicef… climate and hunger? I switched gears quickly to create this trick-or-treat comic with a nod to my own early activist past. 

On Halloween, kids of every age everywhere embrace the night frights that live at the edges of our imaginations. And through trying to keep our kids safe, older people begin finding out more — and doing more to help. 

Years ago, I considered my grandson Elliott (who missed trick-or-treat this year because of the flu) and what would change in the next ten years inside and outside him, regarding climate change. 

This last comic looks back at one issue that worried me as a kid — and empowered me, too.  In a time of war, discrimination, need, and neglect, then and now, kids grow up confronting their fears, and finding a voice. 

–Karen Romano Young is a writer, artist, deep-sea diver, and polar explorer. Follow her on Twitter & Instagram.