Embarking on the hero's journey is a perilous and exhausting task, but writing about one isn't!

On two weekends in August, students in Echo Park explored who the heroes and monsters in their lives are, then created new ones to save and endanger the day. Jackson brought us the tale of an altruistic, anthropomorphized carrot on a mission: Carrot Man uses his Carrot Gun to shoot carrots to the hungry and homeless. We thrilled to Anneke's adventures of Cat Woman (not the similarly-named Catwoman, copyright DC Comics), who struggles to save stray and feral cats from the nefarious T.H.E. V.E.T. Greece put her mark on the classic story of a girl and her robot in "Taranta-bot." Here's an excerpt.

Taranta-bot is made by a little girl. He can sneak into very small spaces. If he doesn't fit he can open his body into smaller robots. If they have a program to hack into FBI files or print money he can hack into it. He's small, thin, and very quick.

The girl uses an old phone as a remote control. She is smart. She can make things like the robot. The girl is very lonely and kind. She's mysterious. She has no expression on her face whether she is sad or excited. She lives with her brother. Her brother does not have a job. She is very inventive and when her brother showed her the junkyard she took scraps of metal and made Taranta-bot. She just wanted a friend to play with.

She heard on the news that someone was trying to hack into files. She was walking by a black building and saw a white light in the window. She told Taranta-bot to see what was there. When he got to the white light he started shaking furiously. Then his body opened and out came two more machines--that's how the little machines were made.

Vince gave us an an anti-hero when he wrote a fictional autobiography of his villain, Sharky. Sharky battles against Shark Man, the half-human, half-shark hero who saves fish and people from being eaten by real sharks.

Hi, I am Sharky. I am the enemy of Shark Man. I have sharper teeth than Shark Man. I am just newborn.

I am 1 year old so I am going to fight Shark Man. Shark Man is half human and half shark. I am just a regular shark. I am going to fight Shark Man because he ate my mom, dad, sisters, friends, ancestors, and my enemies. I am happy he ate my enemies because they bother me a lot. But I am sad because he ate everyone I like. When I am 2 years old I will have to go fight Shark Man. He is 3 years old because he was born before me.

I am 2 years old now. If I don’t survive Shark Man while I battle him I will die. I will have to go find Shark Man, but how will I change into human and shark like Shark Man? I will go ask someone bigger and stronger than me to bite me that way I could go into the city. Hmm, where will I find someone bigger and stronger than me? Ah ha! I got it! I will go find the strongest shark in the ocean. I might know where he lives. I will check the sewer, he likes to go there.

—Yay! I found you Strongest Shark!
—What you want Sharky?
—Can you bite me that way I could turn half human and shark like Shark Man?
—Uh, okay. Lets go to shore first.
—Okay
—Okay, here come my sharp teeth to bite you.
—Ouch! That kinda hurt but I am ok. Uhhhhhhhhh ohhhhhhhhh I am feeling weird. Maybe I am turning half human. Whoa! I am human now! Yay! Thanks, Strongest Shark!
—You’re welcome.

Now I will check if he’s at the kung fu place.

—HAHAHAHAHA! Shark Man, I have found you.
—What you want, Sharky?
—I want to battle you, that way you could stop eating other sharks.
—Okay.
—If I win that means you have to stop eating sharks. If you win you can eat sharks all your life. Is it a deal?
—Its a deal.
—Okay, I have 20 grenades. These grenades can stick to your body.
—Okay, lets fight.
—I threw a grenade on your head!
—Uhhhhhhhhh ohhhhhhhhhh! I am defeated! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! BOOM!
—Yay! I have defeated Shark Man. Now he is dead. He can’t go in the ocean. Now I have defeated him I can relax in peace.YAY!

Here's a list of all the heroes and monsters that sprang fully formed from our student's heads:

Super Secret Spy Sam vs. the aliens created by Liz
Brandon Man and Police Man vs. Throw-Up Man by Brandon
Cat Woman vs. T.H.E. V.E.T. by Anneke
Alex Potter and Isreal vs. The Three Headed Monster That Eats Everything by Alex
Taranta-Bot vs. Black Matter by Greece
Shark Man vs. Sharky by Vince
Carrot Man vs. The Fluffy Fox by Jackson

Ultra mega super thanks to this workshop's leaders, Arrowyn Lloyd and Laura Veeder, and all the volunteers who help our students tread the treacherous path of adventure!