The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

CARTOON characters in the newest online comic “The Adventures of Tammy and Larry, have two things in common with the average Bahamian college student - during their first year they see college through rainbow coloured glasses and have to deal with the stresses of registration.

Before the real work starts - homework assignments, group projects, twenty page research papers - some first year college students see college as a bed of roses. They are excited because it marks their entrance into adulthood; they can do what they want to do when they want to do it. If they choose not to go to class they do not have to worry about being chastised by a teacher or being penalised.

For other students, the start of the school year means long registration queues and the fight to secure classes before all of the space become unavailable.

In a new comic series, College of the Bahamas student Emerald Sands documents the day to day life of a student: stories that are inspired by her own experience, and that of her friends.

“The Adventures of Tammy and Larry was started over the summer. I had nothing to do and I was bored. I found an old comic strip of COB’s newspaper that I did a few years ago. I turned that into an online series,” said Emerald.

“The series is basically about what college life is like. I have friends who go through the same thing here and abroad. The reason why I highlighted the registration process is because almost every student that goes to COB has probably had that experience during registration, with long lines and having to wait hours before being able to register. That is usually a common complaint amongst students,” she told Tribune Arts.

In “The Adventures of Tammy and Larry”, audiences are shown a different side to the academic experience. Tammy see’s the world in rainbow coloured glasses and has preconceived notions about college students. She assumes two female students are having an intellectual conversation about politics and global happenings, when in fact, the focal point of the conversation is “shoes, lace front weaves, airbrush nails, and a night out at the club”.

Emerald said she purposely highlighted this aspect of college life because college is not always what it is perceived to be.

“For those who have never been to college or those thinking about entering college, The Adventures of Tammy and Larry can be a reference point. It shows basically what entering college is like. This is what campus life is like, but this is only from my experience and the experience of my friends,” she said.

Emerald has been creating comics from childhood. Her passion for art has always driven her to express her craft.

“Another comic I did in the past was Lady Bahamas. She was chosen by the spirit of the Bahamas to defend the country against evil forces. I also did a Christian comic called Salvation,” Emerald said.

In the Christian comic Satan has broken his contract with God and unleashed demons over the country. God sends an angel to search for a teenage girl who has been chosen to keep the evil forces at bay. Emerald said, “Salvation” was her way of showing appreciation to God for her blessings.

“I made a promise to God to make a comic just for him. This is my way of giving my hands to him,” she said.

In the works in Emerald’s comic studio, is a comic to address social and cultural issues Bahamians face on a daily basis. All of Emerald’s comics can be viewed on the Epic Forealz Facebook page.