Amplifying the voices of Appalachia through comics

Empowering Appalachia through Comics

The Appalachia Comics Project aims to revitalize Southern Appalachia by amplifying local voices and fostering community growth in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

When Hurricane Helene devastated Southern Appalachia in the fall of 2024, it left both our landscape and our communities forever changed. But in the aftermath, something remarkable emerged: stories of survival, solidarity, and strength.

Islands in the Sky brings those stories to life—pairing real survivors with award-winning comics creators like Brian Michael Bendis, Gene Luen Yang, Matt Fraction, Nate Powell, June Kim, Greg Pak, Steve Orlando, Alex Segura, Thien Pham, Briana Loewinsohn, Valentine De Landro, Aster D’Amico, Josh Adams, Anthony Del Col, and more—to preserve what happened and help the region recover.

When you pledge, you’re doing more than funding a book. You’re helping us pay survivors to tell their own stories, getting this history into schools and libraries, and providing income and visibility for a region still rebuilding.

This project is part record, part resistance, and part recovery. Join us.

Radar estimated rainfall totals from September 24 through 28, 2024, during Hurricane Helene. The heaviest rainfall totals are depicted in darker shades of blue, lighter rainfall totals are in shades of green. Some areas across the Southern Appalachians, including portions of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia received more than 12 inches of rain during this period. NOAA Climate.gov graphic, adapted from data by NOAA’s National Water Prediction Service.
Source

LATEST NEWS

AUGUST 12, 2025 — West Virginia Public Broadcasting: “Comics Project Seeks To Tell Appalachia’s Story, Beginning With Hurricane Helene”

A newly launched comics project aims to pair residents of Appalachia with writers and artists to tell the region’s story. Its first project looks at what happened after Hurricane Helene struck western North Carolina.

JULY 7, 2025 — HENDERSONVILLE LIGHTNING: “Comic book history tells harrowing, inspiring and tragic stories of Helene“

The Appalachia Comics Project announced today that it has raised more than $17,000 in three weeks to fund the writing, illustration and printing of “Islands in the Sky,” a book-length comic book history of the Hurricane Helene disaster, co-created by Western North Carolina survivors and well-known comic creators.

JUNE 11, 2025 — SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS: “‘Islands in the Sky’ launch to highlight Helene survivors, amplify Appalachian voices“

Next week, award-winning graphic novelist Andrew Aydin will return to Haywood County to help kick off an ambitious new creative endeavor — one that aims not only to elevate overlooked Appalachian voices but also to preserve the stories of Hurricane Helene’s survivors in a way that’s never been done before.

Stories of Resilience

All too often, the story of Appalachia is told by voices far removed from the mountains we call home. But the Appalachia Comics Project is changing that. With the help of dozens of comics most beloved creators, we are helping Appalachians tell their own story. Pairing those that live, raise their families, and earn their livings in Appalachia — and for our first project, those that endured the Helene disaster — with professional writers and artists, we are bringing the stories of Appalachia to the world through the lived experiences of those that call Appalachia home.

If you would like to be considered to participate, please follow the link above to a short questionnaire and tell us about your story.

Empower Appalachia

Join us in rebuilding Appalachia. Connect with us for more information and support.