'Chickaloonies' artists bring creativity to Palmer with free comics workshop

What you need to know:

• Chickaloonies creators Dimi Macheras and Casey Silver are bringing their Alaska Native-inspired graphic novel series to the Mat-Su with a free community comics and storytelling workshop on Jan. 20.
• Rooted in Athabascan traditions, Chickaloonies promotes creativity and cultural storytelling through original characters and adventures that reflect Macheras’ heritage and upbringing in Alaska.
• The duo’s workshops use comics and collaboration to inspire people of all ages to find their voice through storytelling, art and cultural expression. Registration is open at palmerarts.org. 

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Anyone can be a superhero with a little imagination.

Comic book creators Dimi Macheras and Casey Silver certainly think so. The co-authors of the popular Alaska Native-inspired “Chickaloonies” graphic novel series are bringing that message to the Mat-Su later this month.

“We believe everyone is a storyteller, and storytelling is a superpower,” Silver said in an interview from Seattle on Wednesday, ahead of the duo’s return to Macheras’ home state of Alaska.

Macheras and Silver will conduct a Words & Pictures Graphic Storytelling Workshop on Tuesday, Jan. 20, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the Palmer Train Depot. The free, Palmer Arts Council-sponsored event is open to all ages.

Storytelling is a fundamental part of the duo’s own origin story. They first met in a comic book store, and Macheras’ Athabascan culture emphasizes storytelling as a foundation of its belief system. That focus drove them to create the Chickaloonies series, which follows a pair of Alaska Native friends — Moji and Yelly — who set out on an adventure to become the world’s greatest storytellers.

Macheras said he learned the storytelling tradition from his late mother and grandmother, elders in the Chickaloon Tribe who passed down Ahtna Athabaskan tales to him when he was a child.

“My very first memories were stories told to me by Grandma, our traditional Ya Ne Dah Ah stories,” said the Palmer High graduate, who grew up in the Mat-Su.

Macheras’ first job as an artist was working for his grandmother, Katie Wade, who founded Chickaloon’s Ya Ne Dah Ah Dats’ehwdeldiixden (School of Ancient Legends or Stories) in 1992. Wade was the last known fluent speaker of the western dialect of the Ahtna Dene language. Under her guidance, Macheras began drawing manga-inspired comics to illustrate Alaska Native legends.

Macheras eventually moved to Seattle, where he brought much of the art he had created in Alaska. In 2006, he met Silver, who was working at the now-closed Zanadu Comics in downtown Seattle.

The partnership wasn’t instant.

“I kinda sent him away,” Silver said. “I didn’t tell him I wanted to make comics or had any ideas or anything.”

But he found the Alaskan’s work “polished” and compelling. On Macheras’ next visit to the store, they started talking more and realized they shared many of the same artistic sensibilities and cultural influences. A creative partnership was born.

“The universe speaks sometimes, and you’ve gotta listen,” Silver said.

The two formed 80% Studios (chickaloonies.com) in 2010 to self-publish their graphic novels. The name is a playful nod to a rejection they once got from an art director who said their work was “80 percent there.” They’ve published seven comic books, with titles ranging from “M for mature” to “E for everyone.”

In 2021, they began a new book based on Macheras’ cultural heritage. Weaving Ahtna Athabaskan traditions with new ideas, Chickaloonies follows “two Alaska Native kids … on a quest to become the greatest storytellers the world has ever seen!”

Macheras said Chickaloonies isn’t a retelling of Native legends. Instead, he and Silver create new tales based on Athabascan traditions. A Native elder once told him, “A dying culture has to work to preserve their stories. But a thriving culture will create new stories.”

“That was the green light to paint new Ya Ne Dah Ah legends,” he said. “That Mom and Grandma had done the work, our culture is alive, it is thriving, and that we’re not in preservation mode — that we have the freedom to be creative and to continue telling new stories. And that’s just as important as preserving the old ones.”

The book was enthusiastically received by the public, and its popularity led Macheras and Silver to create a series of energetic, hands-on workshops. Using the Chickaloonies characters and the principle of collaboration, they help both children and adults tap into their creativity.

“It’s not art class, but we teach life skills and creative expression — the idea of words and pictures together. Just like Dimi and I’s collaboration. Just like Moji and Yelly, how they collaborate together,” Silver said.

“There’s real magic in that: to be able to work together to find your potential and to be able to find your voice — not only artistically and creatively, but in life.”

The workshops — which are family-friendly and geared toward both children and adults — were an instant hit. Helping others find inspiration became almost as much fun as writing comics, Macheras said.

“You kind of break through that barrier and see someone connect with that creative part of themselves. That can be just as rewarding,” he said.

Silver agreed.

“It was the missing thing,” Silver said. “We did comics together for 10 years, and the difference in our journey was giving back.”

Palmer Arts Council Managing Director Meggie Aube-Trammell met the 80% Studios team during a two-week storytelling stint this summer at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer. She learned the duo planned to return to Alaska, and the idea of hosting a public workshop in Palmer quickly followed.

“I think people are pretty excited,” Aube-Trammell said this week.

She said the workshop is powerful because it gives local artists a chance to learn from someone who grew up in the community.

“It’s to celebrate the people who are here creating, but also those who are from here but have gone on to do cool things,” she said.

There are still spots available for the free Jan. 20 public workshop. Aube-Trammell said people are encouraged to sign up ahead of time at palmerarts.org. There’s room for about 40 students, and the event is open to all ages and abilities. It encourages family participation. The workshop is just one stop on a tour of Anchorage and the Mat-Su that will include visits to several local schools.

Macheras said getting to share his passion for storytelling and art with the next generation of Alaskans brings the story full circle.

“For me, that’s a real special thing — to be able to share something that Casey and I have created and make a difference in Alaska,” he said. “It’s just awesome.”

Matt Tunseth is a freelance writer from Southcentral Alaska. Reach him at matthew.tunseth@gmail.com.