Heroes in the comic book genre obtain their super-human powers through a variety of extreme circumstances.
It could be the bite of a spider. It could be being born to parents from another planet. It could be from a dose of chemicals.
At Screven County High School, however, heroes are molded mentally through academic students, physically through health and fitness, and creatively through the arts.
Two years a school packed with 800-plus student heroes was portrayed in the 2007-2008 yearbook with a strong comic book motif that not only showcased the caped crusaders to the community, but also captured the eye of national judges.
SCHS art educator Jason Walker and his yearbook staff earned the Jostens “National Yearbook” design competition for the school’s “Panorama” yearbook titled “The Rise of Heroes.” It was Walker’s first year as the yearbook advisor.
The competition conducted by the Jostens company that publishes yearbooks for school across the United States had more than 8,500 high school entries. The Jostens “LookBook” contest selected SCHS’s literary rendition of the school year based on a stringent set of design criteria that included creativity, cover design, maximum inclusion of all students, page layout and design, journalistic skill, and many other categories.
Walker said he typically thinks up three Panorama theme choices for his staff and the art teacher never stops considering possibilities.
“I am constantly thinking of the next theme,” said Walker, whose yearbook staff this year is working on “Yearbook X,” a “Project X” spy novel version.
But a comic book theme was fitting for Walker.
“I had a background in comics so this yearbook was one I was born to make,” said Walker with a smile. The art educator, also the SCHS boys tennis coach, worked for the Statesboro Herald newspaper for three years before joining the high school teaching staff.
“The yearbook has looked great the past two years,” said SCHS principal Brett Warren. “Mr. Walker is very creative and he gets the students to come up with great ideas.
“A couple of years ago we started a graphic arts class that supplements their work with doing the yearbook,” Warren said. “It has worked out great and the students gain great experience. The entire yearbook is actually done on-line.”
The yearbook staff used a circle in a repeating style like comic books and also published vivid “sound effects” wording like “wham,” “crunch” and “boom.”
The first four pages of the yearbook had a comic strip that was written and drawn by Walker. The artwork introduced the concept of “heroes” and the super Screven County symbol of an electrified, zapped looking red “S” that busted out of a circle with black trim.
The book had the traditional senior superlative section, photographs of 12th, 11th, 10th and ninth graders along with faculty and staff, and pictures of clubs and athletic teams.
But each page was done with pizzazz.  
The 176-page Panorama also consisted of bold visual elements with a primary colors scheme because comic books traditionally go with that style of format, Walker said.
“When we were doing that yearbook, the kids were into the TV shows ‘Smallville’ and ‘Heroes,’ Walker said. “We wrote to inspire and motivate the kids not to be a burden on society. The year 2007 was chaotic with the war and high gas prices so we wanted to motivate them.”
In a special supplement titled “Mercury,” the yearbook staff promoted the student body and its upcoming annual publication.
“According to my dictionary, a hero is a person admired for bravery, great deeds or noble qualities. Notice, it didn’t say anything about being able to fly or bench press an F-150,” wrote Walker.
“‘The Rise of Heroes’ is more than a theme,” wrote Adrian Graham, last year’s yearbook editor. “It is an ultimatum. Make a difference or get out of the way. This campaign is a wake-up call to all SCHS students to better themselves, the high school and the world.”
Not only did the yearbook staff produce an award-winning book, the members also made posters with students like Courtney Collins where the poster was intentionally cropped at the top of students’ heads so that all of the students would feel as though they too were super heroes.
With the SCHS Panorama staff’s honor, Walker was asked by Jostens to teach new advisors of yearbook staffs the picture-tweaking program Photoshop the last two summers at Hilton Head.
And the SCHS yearbook staff is hard at work on the current “spy” publication that can follow up the success of the “hero-themed” version.
The 2009-2010 yearbook will continue to cost $60 through first nine weeks of the school year and then goes up to $65. The price of the book will be bumped up $10 more than the original amount to $70 later in the year. The first nine weeks ends on Oct. 2.
If someone wants to buy a yearbook for a student as a Christmas gift, the staff will have stocking stuffers to inform the teenager that the book of memories will be coming later.
The yearbook staff needs SCHS senior advertisements in by Nov. 1.
The yearbook staff is able to produce a positive and informative review of the high school year by having the 18 to 25-member group function as a team.
The students who are selected for the yearbook staff, Walker said, must have a good discipline record and good grades.
“This is more of a privilege class,” said Walker of the staff who has four deadlines during the school year with Jostens
Walker said the students handle multiple assignments including covering athletic contests and extracurricular clubs, selling yearbook advertisements and creating the layout of their own advertisements.
“We try to run it like a business,” Walker said.
Thanking the school system and the community for their support of the book over the years, Walker said people will have a chance to attend an entertaining skit-oriented dinner theater fundraiser to help generate the money needed to produce a publication that has thousands of photographs.
The staff also plans to sell wrapping paper to raise additional funds.