Jurgen Comics Contest 2025-2026
Throughout April, VCU Libraries will be exhibiting details from submissions to this year’s Jurgen Comics Contest on the Cabell Screen.
Students from across VCU chose a specific historical incident of art suppression or censorship and created the cover for a comic book telling the story of the event.
Details from artists’ entries, and comments on their experience are below.
Johnny Eusoof – “Tom Lehrer Discovers Australia (and vice versa)” – Grand Prize winner
Johnny Eusoof is a Communication Arts major. “In researching Tom Lehrer’s Australian controversy, I listened to the live album recorded in Adelaide and read about his life .… Drawing comics is a way to bend reality and in the case of this comic book cover, greatly dramatize it. Tom Lehrer bangs away at his concert piano as a pack of officers rush toward him. I wanted to communicate through exaggerated poses and facial expressions, making it visually apparent who the villains are in this story. I’m always studying the work of the greats like [Jack] Kirby and trying to emulate what makes his art so good.”
Devin Smith – “Under Literature’s Light” – Research Award
Devin Smith studies Communication Arts and is interested in “illustration that conveys meaningful themes in a dynamic and surreal way. I wanted this cover to be as thorough as possible. I found inspiration in the stories and incorporated those themes … especially with the iconography.” “Under Literature’s Light” is a surreal retelling of the Supreme Court case Island Trees School v. Pico.
Keegan Mason – “Skin” – Storytelling Award
Keegan Mason is a cinema student whose free time is often spent doodling or working on comics. “Skin” focuses on the time when Virginia censored or banned all films created by Black director/producer Oscar Micheaux’s Lincoln Motion Picture Company. “I had the idea to show [that racism was a systemic issue] in the piece by including a crowd of KKK members (the most famous face of oppression/systemic racism) but amongst the crowd were the silhouettes of well known comic book icons.”
Zora Weir-Gertzog – “A Classroom Game of Cat and Maus” – Artistry Award
Zora Weir-Gertzog is a Biology and Communication Arts major concentrating in scientific illustration. “I spend most of my time in the comparative vertebrate anatomy lab and figure drawing studios! In creating this piece, I challenged myself to work in a style inspired by Art Spiegelman, employing halftones and heavy hatching while preserving some of my own painterly qualities … I wanted to throw the viewer directly into the scene, as if they were at risk of censorship too.”
Sophie Nave– “Heavy Metal Defenders” – Honorable Mention
Sophie Nave is majoring in Painting and Printmaking with a minor in Art History. “I wanted this cover to feel like the reader was transported to the year 1985 when the Parents Music Resource Center hearings took place. I wanted to maintain the likenesses of Frank Zappa, Dee Snider, and John Denver while also celebrating the cool aesthetic of heavy metal and rock. I’ve known about this event previously thanks to my Dad, who raised me on the music of Frank Zappa, among others. … This event spoke to me because I listen to music and create art every day.”
Nikki DiSalvo – “The Hays Code” – Honorable Mention
Nikki DiSalvo is pursuing a degree in Communication Arts and is interested in story-telling visual art: comics, storyboarding, character design, and concept design. “Visually, [I] was definitely inspired by certain aesthetics such as from the book ‘1984’ and also the concept of the film ‘They Live.’ Conceptually, I was drawn to the notion of not being able to see yourself in the entertainment you consume (as that is something that has always personally affected me), thus the Hays Code and its effects was the perfect catalyst for portraying this.”
Jana Simmons – “Pachuco” – Honorable Mention
Jana Simmons is an Interior Design major. “I chose to focus on the Zoot Suit riots because I really wanted to pick a topic that highlighted issues that our country is facing right now, and anti-immigrant sentiment has been on the rise. Zoot Suits were ultimately a way for young Mexican, Black, and Filipino Americans to express themselves. I think the hardest part was balancing creating a cover that was cinematic and moody without coming across as hopeless or depressing.”
Maddie Bui – “Witch Hunt”
Maddie Bui is a Communication Arts major. “Witch Hunt” refers to Roald Dahl’s book, The Witches, which faced a number of censorship challenges and bans in the 1980s and 1990s, and has recently come under scrutiny for its anti-semetic portrayal of Jewish stereotypes. “It was difficult to juggle the complex history behind my source inspiration material. There were the obvious, recorded attempts to ban the book that were fueled by traditional religious fears of witches; however, there was also a more nuanced dialogue with the modern day about the depiction of Jewish people in media and how those negative stereotypes have permeated the modern subconscious. I really wanted to treat this piece and the story I wanted to tell with the sensitivity and care that I think it deserved, but more than that I didn’t want to shy away from highlighting those more uncomfortable and hard hitting subjects with my work just because it is uncomfortable, because I think it’s important and worth talking about.”
Anya Harris – “You Shouldn’t Be Watching This”
Anya Harris is a Communication Arts major. “You Shouldn’t Be Watching This” began with the artist reading about The Hays Code, and drawing inspiration from 1940s movie posters and comic book covers. “My art aims to help me make sense of all the complexities of life. By creating, I’m learning to value process over perfection. My work is about exploring my own curiosities. [The] biggest hurdle I faced while making the cover was figuring out how to show the important elements of the story through a single illustration.I struggled with the placement of the 1940s film camera the character was holding and how to make it appear threatening. So in the end, I made her hold the camera sort of like a rifle.”
Aya Zeijari – “When Big Brother Stopped Watching”
Aya Zeijari is an Art Foundation student hoping to study painting and printmaking. This cover deals with the creation of Big Brother magazine by Steve Rocco (1992) and the history of skateboarding. “The history of skateboarding has censorship all throughout it, and the creation of major iconic skateboarding moments was built out of escaping censorship.”
Dani Murphy – “The Lavender Brigade”
Dani Murphy is a Communication Arts major with a concentration in VFX. “Figurative and fantasy scenes are my favorite subjects to paint, and I love to work hidden story elements into the details of my pieces. After I had settled on making my cover about the [National Organization of Women] Second Congress protest, I knew that I wanted to deviate from a literal depiction of what the demonstration looked like. I felt portraying the GLF [Gay Liberation Front] women as heroic knights mirrored the bravery it took to be an early-era queer activist, while also reflecting the light-spirited approach they took in their advocacy.”
Gabriella Peranski (Gabski) – “The Burning of the Library of Alexandria”
Gabriella Peranski is an Art Foundation student interested in painting and printmaking, philosophy and psychology. “I found the Library of Alexandria to be an ideal symbol of the eradication of diverse knowledge. Since my chosen event doesn’t feature any main figures, I decided to add some of my own characters instead to represent the potential causes or conflicts of such censorship. If I were to guess what may have influenced such inspiration, I would guess that the songs “Zombie” by the Cranberries, “Downer” by Nirvana, and “Rise Above” by Black Flag may have contributed to my focus on innocent suffering in the face of authority’s power struggles.”
Jamie Ryan – “Lady Gayga”
Jamie Ryan is a Communication Arts major with a minor in Creating Writing. “I was inspired when listening to Gaga’s song, “Born This Way,” and was reflecting on how she clearly stated queer identities years before gay marriage was legal in America. It made me think of how other places reacted to the album, and on her impact with discussing gay rights so early and unapologetically. It was a fun challenge for me to find a way to put the gay flag in my piece without it being garish/cliche.”
Jonathan Fernandez – “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian”
Jonathan Fernandez has recently transferred to VCU. “[T]rying to work on something finished while also juggling my classes has made me realize I’m capable of more work than I thought. I loved revisiting a book that really sparked my interest in reading, it was bittersweet nostalgia.”
Kaylee Davis – “Redacted”Kaylee Davis is an Art Foundation student with an interest in animation and science. “With my cover I wanted to focus on a rebellion against art censorship, as that’s ultimately the censorship of people. So, I displayed individuals who’d be impacted by this censorship rebelling through existing as they are.”
Luis Espinosa – “Bury Your Gays”Luis Espinosa is a Communication Arts major. This work focuses on a censored passage in Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. “My favorite part was getting to work with gay people (awesome) and also get into themes related to the nature of art itself. I liked seeing those 2 ideas come together most, because I could see Wilde’s work directly reflected in it.”
Rocky Albright – “Cut With the Kitchen Knife”
Rocky Albright is majoring in sculpture. “I was inspired by a famous work of Dada collage, Hannah Höch’s ‘Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada Through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch in Germany.’ I wanted to take inspiration from a work by an artist that was censored and use that as a model of talking about other more recent examples of censorship that have happened since. I wanted to show history repeating itself both through the form and narrative of the piece.”
Sophia Norton – “Introducing the Blood Sisters”
Sophia Norton is a Communication Arts major with a passion for creative writing, comics and graphic novels. “The San Diego Blood Sisters were formed by the Women’s Democratic Caucus during the AIDS epidemic. This historic event inspired me because it is so often overlooked and forgotten what lesbians did for queer men during the AIDS epidemic and how they stepped up for queer men during the blood bans and the epidemic.”
Taifa Onushshor – “The Song of Liberation”
Taifa Onushshor is a Communication Arts major. “The Song of Liberation” celebrates the Bengali Language Movement of 1952. “I love to pull from the aesthetics of my heritage and make artwork that is colourful, joyful, and unapologetically Bengali. I wanted to highlight the indomitable spirit of Bengalis alongside the love for the Bangla language and culture that spurred an independent movement. I think highlighting the joy and fire of other communities around the world not only brings us together as a community here in the United States, but also inspires us and reminds us of our own resolve in moments of darkness.”
Wesley Lee – “Banksy”
Wesley Lee is a Communication Arts student with a minor in Animation. “My comic cover is inspired by ‘Royal Courts of Justice’ by Banksy. The mural was found on September 8th, 2025, on the exterior wall of the Queen’s Building of the Royal Courts of Justice on Carey Street, London. The work was removed almost immediately the next day…I initially made five different sketches for ideas of my cover .… I took a lot of inspiration from classic war era comic covers and used modern ideas to bring out what I think was appealing about the classic style. My brother… introduced me to comics when I was very young and [he] helped and inspired me throughout this entire process.”
Minuet Curry – “Jurgen” “Sir Cen” “Student Editor”
Minuet Curry is the 2025-2026 Student Editor for the Jurgen Comics Contest. A Kinetic Imaging student with an interest in animation, Curry designed the contest publication that celebrates the winners. “2026 was our fifth year and every entry was amazing! I hope we can continue to inspire the exploration of art censorship’s history for many years to come.”
Categories Comic Arts, Communication Arts, Student Work, Students