New comic book from Atlanta native tells Hurricane Helene survivors’ stories

Credit: Courtesy photo

Credit: Courtesy photo

Aydin shares his experience in “Islands in the Sky: A People’s History of Hurricane Helene” (Good Trouble Productions, $24.99), an anthology of nonfiction stories by survivors of the storm told in comic book form.

The book is a publication of the Appalachia Comics Project, a nonprofit Aydin cofounded to share stories for, by and about Appalachia. Its founding was prompted in part by the proliferation of false information he saw circulating online following Helene.

“After the storm, when we first got back online, I started seeing social media content that was filled with misinformation that almost seemed to be deliberately distorting reality of what happened. It made me think about storytelling in a broad way,” said Aydin.

He was also inspired by an academic thesis called “Hillbilly Talkback” by Elon Justice. It pointed out that many stories about Appalachia are often told by outsiders, and it advocated for professional storytellers to partner with first-time storytellers to help generate more stories about Appalachia told by those who dwell there.

So, Aydin got an article in the Smoky Mountain News calling for first-person stories from readers who survived the storm. Within 24 hours, he received dozens of submissions. Eleven were selected, and their writers were paired with professional cowriters and illustrators who created graphic stories that reflect a variety of experiences rendered in a diversity of visual styles.

Credit: Good Trouble Productions

Credit: Good Trouble Productions

There’s a story about a couple’s dramatic rescue from a house almost completely underwater, one about the rescue of a pair of pigs, and one about a couple refusing to let Mother Nature thwart their wedding plans.

Aydin, who moved to Western North Carolina after Lewis’ death in 2020 to take over a small farm he inherited from his mother, wrote the book’s titular story. Illustrated by Valentine De Landro, it captures Aydin, alone at home with his dog, riding out the storm and then slowly comprehending the breadth of the devastation.

“I wanted to show that moment when you realize you’re on your own,” he said. “When you dial through the radio and you get nothing, and then the only voice you hear is a small radio broadcast from a church perched on the top of a mountain helping people try to find their loved ones who are missing. That was the moment I realized this was something so different from what I believed it was going to be going into it.”

“Islands in the Sky” isn’t just about loss, though. It’s also about neighbors ― some of whom had barely spoken to one another before the storm ― pulling together to help one another. There are even moments of humor and joy.

“It was an incredibly painful experience in some ways and also it was an experience in which I was surprised by the good-natured manner in which people set down any sort of political label or identity and helped whoever needed help,” said Aydin. “That was, to me, the most beautiful part about this tragedy.”

“Islands in the Sky: A People’s History of Hurricane Helene” is available at appalachiacomics.org and where comic books are sold beginning Aug. 5. Colorist Laura Martin will sign copies Aug. 9 at Infinite Realities Comics, Games and More in Tucker. For details, go to infiniterealitiescomics.com.

Suzanne Van Atten is a columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She may be reached at Suzanne.VanAtten@ajc.com.