The CrimComics Origin Story (Krista’s Version)
Every comic book hero has an origin story, and fans always want to know where things began. I feel the same way about CrimComics. The project has become a major part of my journey as a scholar and creator, so it feels like the right time to share how it all started. I’m telling my side of the story here and I invite Mike to share his version in a future post.
Growing Up with Comics I Pretended Not to Like
I grew up in a small town in Kansas. It was the county seat and felt like the “big city” in a rural county (we had a Wal-Mart!), even though the population hovered around ten thousand. We had one bookstore called The Book Station. I went there every week to check out magazines like Bop, because I wanted the latest photos of teen heartthrobs (e.g., Rob Lowe, Robby Rosa from Menudo, John Stamos—believe me, I’m cringing now right now) and anything related to Michael Jackson (I had “pin-ups” of him plastered all over my bedroom wall).
There was also a spinning rack of comic books. I looked at the covers but never opened them. I convinced myself they were too juvenile. However, I remember a copy of Creepshow tucked in the back of the store. The illustrations terrified me in the best way possible, especially the ending of “Father’s Day” and the scene from “The Crate” where Fluffy covers a woman’s face with those jaws. Even then, I wouldn’t let myself buy it. I was fascinated but refused to admit it.
Saturday morning cartoons were a different story. I’m sure many of my fellow GenXers share my nostalgia for that time from our childhoods. My favorite was The Superfriends. I disliked the early episodes with Wendy and Marvin and only tolerated the Wonder Twins (“Form Of—Water and some weird animal!”). I lived for Challenge of the Superfriends. Every hero had a matching villain in the Legion of Doom. By age five I was a DC Comics kid and I never looked back.
My First Steps into a Comic Shop
I didn’t walk into an actual comic book store until my mid-twenties. I had avoided them because the spaces felt intimidating. The comic world seemed male dominated and hard to enter. I worried I would have no idea where to start.
I finally went in, and I went straight for what I knew. I picked up JLA and loved reading stories with characters I was familiar with. I also started reading Wonder Woman. However, there were many weeks I’d visit the store and issues from those series weren’t released yet, so I often left empty handed. One day I finally asked the guy behind the counter for recommendations. That changed everything. He suggested Kabuki by David Mack and Sandman by Neil Gaiman.
That moment blew my world open. I realized that comic books could offer storytelling with real depth and artistry. Mack, Gaiman, and later Alan Moore (Watchmen, V for Vendetta, From Hell, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) showed me what the medium could do. I was hooked.
Meeting Mike and Finding a Creative Partner
Years later, during my master’s program at Northeastern University, a group of us went out one night to a little underground bar near campus. I sat across from a classmate I didn’t know well. He mentioned that he had always wanted to create a comic book. I told him I had written stories and said maybe we could collaborate. That started my friendship and creative partnership with Mike Batista.
He wanted to write a vampire story with a main character named Daisy. I worked with him on that and on several other crime and horror concepts. One day in particular stays with me. I was house sitting for Nicole Rafter, our professor and a very well-knowns scholar, and Mike came over. We sat on the floor of her back porch for hours outlining scripts and story ideas. We spent weekends in comic shops and went to movies together. We spoke the same creative language and worked in sync. Even after I left Boston, we stayed close.
The Moment Criminology and Comics Collided
During my doctoral work at the University of Cincinnati, I taught undergraduate criminology courses. The students did not share my enthusiasm for theory. I loved it, especially after reading Lilly, Cullen, and Ball in one of my classes with Dr. Frank Cullen. That book grounded theory in its social and historical context and made everything click for me.
My students didn’t feel the same spark. Theory often felt abstract to them. I wanted a better way to show how these ideas work in the real world. I wished there were movies that explained theory clearly. Then one day I had a different thought: what about comics?
I called Mike and said, “I have an idea. What about criminology comic books?” His response was immediate. “I think this is what we are supposed to do.”
That conversation became the beginning of CrimComics.
From Idea to Publication
We developed the concept and worked steadily until, in 2014, we signed a contract with Oxford University Press. Since then, we’ve written and produced twelve issues of CrimComics, with the thirteenth on the way (I know, I know—I just need to write it!). The project grew from a simple idea into a full creative and academic collaboration that continues to shape my teaching and my work.
CrimComics gave me a way to merge my background in criminology with my need to engage in creative endeavors. It taught me that accessible storytelling can open doors for students and for anyone curious about crime and justice. It also showed me how powerful this medium can be when we use it to communicate ideas that matter.
Stay tuned
CrimComics started as a teaching idea, and that remains the heart of this project. My next post will look at how comics can support students who struggle with theory and how visual storytelling helps build real understanding.
If you use CrimComics in the classroom, teach criminology, or want fresh tools for explaining complex ideas, this is the space to follow.
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📘 CrimComics for the Classroom
Explore the series and see how these issues bring criminological concepts to life for students.
🎥 Teaching With Comics
A video is coming soon that walks through how I introduce CrimComics in my courses and how instructors can adapt the material.
💬 Your turn
If you use comics, film, or other visual media in your teaching, share what has worked for you. I’d like to hear how you approach tough topics and what kinds of tools help your students connect with the material. Please let me know in the comments. 👇
