Document Type
Honors Project
First Advisor
Ron Alabanza
Degree Award Date
Fall 2025
Keywords
Worldbuilding, Fantasy, Fiction, Superhero
Disciplines
Art and Design | Arts and Humanities | Creative Writing | Fiction | Graphic Design | Illustration
Abstract
Starstrike is an original superhero character I created in the summer of 2023 for a comic book cover used in a VCU portfolio. In Bridgewater’s Graphic Design class, I updated that comic book cover and developed the foundations of Starstrike’s story for the honors upgrade. I wanted to utilize the skills I learned in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and Indesign in a creative and personal project. I decided to expand on this work for my honors project last semester and create a showcase of my writing, illustration, and design skills. The art was created using the free digital drawing program, Krita, and the comic layout and text were added with Adobe Photoshop. I also created a logo for Starstrike that I used for my comic cover, paper, and presentation. My final deliverable was a printed and digital version of the comic. To keep the page count of the book short, I explained the origin of Starstrike’s powers and the introduction of her main adversary. However, not everything is revealed, leaving the reader with a desire to read more.
The bulk of my research came from Peter Coogan’s book, Superhero: The Secret Origin of a Genre, which details the history and conventions of the superhero genre. I used this research to develop my character’s motivations and the basis of my story. I also included research into astronomy and Egyptian mythology, which influenced Starstrike’s cosmic powers and the villain’s motivations. My research was compiled into a paper also including a report of my project development and a reflection of the entire process.
Recommended Citation
Whitaker, Kiya, "Starstrike: The First Chapter" (2025). Honors Projects. 850.
https://digitalcommons.bridgewater.edu/honors_projects/850
The First Chapter to Starstrike's story. Written and illustrated by Kiya Whitaker.
