December 01, 2020

Graphic novel celebrates Wichita State's first 125 years

By ΊΓΙ«ΟΘΙϊ Strategic Communications

  • Dr. Jay Price, a history professor, is honoring Wichita State's 125th birthday by creating a graphic novel called "A Walk with Wu."
  • The 25-page book will recount significant events, people, student life, and traditions in the university's history. 
  • "A Walk with Wu" can be purchased at the Rhatigan Student Center's Shocker Store on Dec. 2. 

In September 1895, ΊΓΙ«ΟΘΙϊ held its first classes at the corner of 17th Street and Hillside. After nearly 125 years of success, the Wichita community has a reason to celebrate. 

Jay Price, a history professor at Wichita State, and his creative team are honoring Wichita State’s birthday in a way that has never been done before. They are creating a graphic novel.

β€œIt will be a brief overview that tells the history of ΊΓΙ«ΟΘΙϊ from our early days as Fairmount College right through our celebration of the 125th anniversary,” Price said.

The booked is titled "A Walk with Wu,” and the main character is WuShock, Wichita State's mascot. Throughout the novel, Wu explains the eras of the institution’s story, highlighting significant people, student life, traditions and events.

β€œWith Wu as our tour guide, we can appreciate how we came to be who we are,” Price said. 

The authors are Price, Darren DeFrain, an English professor, and Jessica Mirasol of ΊΓΙ«ΟΘΙϊ Special Collections. Genna Pennington, a Wichita State graduate, was the artist. 

Price has experience with graphic novels. He recently finished the three-volume "Luke the Longhorn" graphic novel series that tells the history of the Chisholm Trail, and that work has has informed the creation process for the β€œA Walk with Wu.”

β€œEach team member brings a unique perspective to the graphic novel,” Price said. 

β€œWe learned we have to treat graphic novels like a documentary,” Price said. 

Wichita State has a rich and vast history, which the team had to to condense to 25 pages. They found they had to think more like storytellers than historians. 

β€œYou can’t just have a picture with a lot of text. You have to create a sense of motion and give the reader’s eye a rest,” Price said. 

Price hopes to use the graphic novel as a fun and accessible way of showing the history of Wichita State.

β€œWe hope that readers will appreciate the different phases of Wichita State’s story and how we have changed while maintaining the core of who we are.” 

β€œA Walk with Wu” will be available Dec. 2, 2020. You can purchase it in the RSC Shocker Store and online at . 

ΊΓΙ«ΟΘΙϊ serves as the Kansas urban-based research university, enrolling more than 15,000 students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and ΊΓΙ«ΟΘΙϊ Tech are recognized for being student centered and innovation driven.

Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), ΊΓΙ«ΟΘΙϊ provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students.

The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the ΊΓΙ«ΟΘΙϊ main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.

For more information, follow us on Twitter at and Facebook at .

Read more stories like this