Action ACTIVISTS

by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey

Presented by the New York City Department of Education's Civics For All Comics Group,
2020 - present

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Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey collaborated directly with The New York City Department of Education to create the Action Activists comic series for their middle school social studies core curriculum, using the creative duo's acclaimed "real facts, fake jokes" approach to non-fiction comic book storytelling.

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Action Activists #1 teaches readers what civics is, how it works (and how it doesn't!) and how students can become civically engaged through activism, protest and even running for political office.

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Action Activists #2 tells the story of 4 significant moments in the activist history of New York City.

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Action Activists #3 is about several famous immigrant activists throughout US History.

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Action Activists #4 is a look at what history might have been like without civic action.

How To Be An Action Activist #1 is a special introduction to civic action for early readers, centering on the Squirrel & Pigeon characters featured throughout the series.

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How To Be An Action Activist #2 demonstrates how even young children can participate in civic action in their communities.

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Action Activists was the launch title of the New York City Department of Education's original comics publishing initiative. 100,000 printed copies of each issue have been distributed for free to New York City students as part of their Social Studies core curriculum, and digital downloads are available as a free teaching resource (or to read just for fun - they're pretty funny).