Caro loves comics. She’s tracked the evolution of legacy franchises from their humble, pulpy beginnings to worldwide juggernauts. She gets lost poring over new titles in bookstores and libraries where, she argues, the physical medium makes it easier to connect with an artist and their work. As leader of Commonwealth’s Comic Art Club, Caro encourages her fellow students to create and support each other in developing new works. And, of course, she draws comics herself, exploring themes like the hollow echo of AI-generated “art” (and winning Scholastic Art awards along the way). Keep reading to learn more about her artistic ethos, plus the new book in our library you need to check out, why “we should all get to be more stupid,” the exact moment she knew she had to come to Commonwealth, and how Labubu collectible plushies might be harbingers of economic collapse…

Getting to Know You

What is bringing you joy right now? 

Drawing, drawing comics, reading comics. I just love looking at art and making art. Right now, I'm pretty invested in Transformers, but I like lots of superhero stuff—legacy franchises, like Batman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I just really appreciate comics for how creative and varied they are as an art form, spanning comedy, action, politics, horror, and so on.

What is your favorite book (or a book you’ve re-read)?

I've reread The Hunger Games many, many times. It's so evocative, and every time I read it, I feel like I get a layer deeper. And there is this cool graphic novel I just found called the Banned Book Club. I saw it on the shelf at a library somewhere, and I was like, I have to read this. It's about these South Korean university students under the regime of Park Chung-hee, and they read all sorts of things that have been banned by censors—American stuff, communist stuff, even a North Korean script at one point—to protest and try to make a difference. I asked Mr. MacDonnell to add it to our library. It was a really, really cool book, and if anyone reads this, I would recommend checking it out.

What do you think is the most intriguing paradox?

Recently, I've been thinking about luxury goods: why are things that are so useless considered so valuable? This actually came up because of Labubus; they're these little collectible creatures that people are obsessed with, and everyone seems to want the rarest Labubu. It's kind of like gambling, because it’s random which Labubu you'll get, so people are wasting a lot of money. It reminds me of the Lipstick Effect; essentially, when people feel economically vulnerable or they have less money, then they’re more likely to seek out affordable luxury goods. So people buy useless trinkets when they feel like there's not much economic hope. 

What are your favorite comfort foods? 

I like fried tofu with soy sauce. So many people don't like tofu, and that's astounding to me, because with just a little bit of oil and flour, it becomes delicious.

What was/is your favorite class (at Commonwealth or elsewhere)? 

Here, my favorite class has to be English. I love dissecting poems and books, especially Shakespeare. I really enjoyed Macbeth last year.

When do you feel the most enjoyably challenged?

Oh, when I'm writing. Writing is really difficult. I've always loved doing it, but I've definitely learned that I overinflated some of my writing skills in my mind, even though there are also some skills that I'm really good at. My goal is to improve as much as possible, and formulating a sentence is such a good brain exercise. 

What never fails to make you laugh?

My friends doing stupid stuff—but not, like, stupid stuff with consequences! I just love it when anyone takes a risk and does something silly. I think we should all get to be more stupid, instead of being nervous about who might be judging.

Fall, winter, spring, or summer?

It's the best feeling, coming out of winter. Winter doesn't have enough sun for me. But when you get to spring, it's like, Oh, this is what joy feels like. 

Pen or pencil? 

I have to say pen. As an artist, I have an appreciation for pencils, but pens are so cool. I love all types of pens. I'm a little bit of a collector; I've got fountain pens, ballpoint gel, felt tip. I love experimenting and giving grades to my pens to see how well they work. I use pens so frequently that they give out a lot. As I mentioned, I like writing, and having a smooth, perfect pen encourages me to write more.

What's your favorite animal? 

I really like turtles. They're cute, they live a long time, and they're pretty smart. I also appreciate that they're not very aggressive, but they have a strong bite. 

Life as a Commonwealth Student (and Beyond)

What was your first impression of Commonwealth and how has it mapped to your experience?

I was really impressed by recess. On my visit day, I was sitting on the floor with all these other people, and no one was talking over the speaker. Of course, there will always be some people talking, but coming from my old school, it was like, Oh my gosh, there's so much respect in this room. I need to be here.

Using metrics besides grades, how do you define “success” in your classes?

I would say success is when you can apply a concept you’ve learned to a totally unrelated topic, because that means your brain has latched onto it. 

As a comic artist, what do you think about juggernauts like Marvel Studios and their impact on the medium? How are comics evolving? And how can newcomers break into the scene?

I think Marvel is fascinating. It's so cool to see these comics, which started in such a cheap fashion, evolve into something that feels grand. Like, Avengers: Endgame is one of highest grossing movies of all time [it’s #2, after Avatar]. You can see the people who grew up with the first generation of a cartoon then become the artists of the next generation. So we have this constant evolution: there will be the original light-hearted cartoon, and it'll be followed by something more serious when the next generation is like, Well, we liked that cartoon, but what if it was dark? Then the generation after that will be like, No, we actually want to explore emotions. So you can see how everything is a response to something that came before it, but people are putting their own personal spin on it. 

But it's hard to find new indie comics or cartoons that are gaining traction, especially because the audience focus on the Internet is so diluted. For example, there's been a rise in fan art recently, and I think it’s because people make these pieces to build community with others. You can't monetize fan art, so you're just doing it for the love of the game, so to speak, and to find people who resonate with you creatively—but then the best way to do that is to rely on the preexisting IPs that everyone has already bought into. You'll see exceptions to that, but the advantage of the legacy franchises is that the audience is already invested, so there’s a built-in fan base.

I love going to book shops, libraries, and comic stores and finding whatever catches my interest. Sometimes I'll just sit there for hours and read a bunch of things to see what has potential to me. Sometimes it's online; there are lots of hosting services for web comics, where everyone is out there trying to make their own, but it can be hard to find something you like. Recently, I've been invested in a webcomic called Marionetta, which is about this girl who gets trapped in a circus full of immortals. I discovered it because I had read some physical books by the author. In my opinion, it's just better to start in physical media, because when you're online, everything is nebulous, and you can't always trust that the algorithm is going to give you what you're looking for. If you find something in real life, it feels like a much more solid connection. That's part of the reason I think zines are so cool. For example, the other day on the Green Line, I found this little zine [Clutter on the T] stuck into one of the pillars; it was this cute booklet with a bunch of collages, just printed beautifully. I looked it up, and it’s from this group of college students who put zines all around the T, and that's just the coolest thing. 

My favorite thing to do is share art with people in my life who will respond and have a connection to it. That’s hard to do digitally.

Tell us about Comic Art Club and your art practice. What inspires you as a club leader and a creator?

So I started Comic Art Club because I wanted a more formal space for people to be able to make comics and be excited about comics, instead of just hoping you trip across someone who likes the same comic as you. Mostly I'm just encouraging everyone to draw what they want, but I've been giving some presentations on different technical skills and tenets of comic art, like lettering and speech bubbles, how to arrange panels, and character design. I'm trying to provide a space for people to hype each other up and show each other what they made, but I don't expect it to be a place where substantial work gets done, because the lunch period is pretty short. Many people use lunch clubs as an outlet for something they're interested in and to find the people who might be interested in it, too. The people I was hoping to meet through Comic Art Club were people I would never have found without it. 

I also wanted more dedicated, focused time to spend on my own comic ideas. For last year's Project Week, I worked with Mehitabel Glenhaber ’15 and also talked a lot with Aidan ’27 about comics and comic art. We would dissect and critically think about these comic panels by master artists, and that opened my eyes to visual storytelling as more than something that's just cool; it can be really analytical and purposeful, and that inspired a lot of my own projects. I've been working on a watercolor comic about this fisherwoman who catches a magical fish who sings all these songs to her, and she's entranced by it, but then it sings her own song back to her, and she realizes it's just echoing the songs it's heard before. It's meant to connect to generative artificial intelligence, because it's how I feel about these machines that take things people have made on the Internet but then just essentially play them back to you. It comes back to the digital-physical thing I feel so strongly about. 

For my own comics, I use mostly traditional paper and inks, markers, and watercolors. I work with what I got, and it's working well so far. 

How do you spend your time outside of Commonwealth?

I like to go on walks. There's a park outside my house. I like going on the swing there and clearing my mind. I also love listening to music. Some would say I listen to too much and get lost in my own world, but it's something I enjoy, so I'm gonna keep doing it. And I enjoy making cookies, although I'm not that good at it yet. Of course, there’s the instant reward of once you're done making the cookies, you have a platter of cookies. 

When do you feel most connected to other students (or teachers/staff members) in our community?

I think I've found more connection, if that's what you want to call, in school events that aren't classes. For example, City of Boston walks, community-service events, D&D [Dungeons & Dragons], or Classics of World Cinema screenings: events where you can actually spend some leisure time but still have a space to talk with super-interesting Commonwealth students and teachers.

What would you tell your ninth-grade self?

I would tell her that she spent her time correctly, even when it didn't feel like it.

How has your Commonwealth experience colored the way you look at the world? How you plan for your future?

I always think about privilege, because I feel so lucky to get to go to Commonwealth, and I am amazed at the quality of what happens here. I am surrounded by such intelligent people. I always want to be considering what my life would be like if I didn't go here. Of course, I'm sure I would be fine, because I trust myself, but I never want to forget that this is not the normal experience for most people. One example is generative AI: I will meet other high schoolers, and I'm shocked at how much AI they use or they're encouraged to use, and I'm grateful that doesn't happen here, because I want to learn how to critically think. I'm just happy to be here, and I want to make good use of the privilege I have.

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