September 29, 2026
East Central Community College students had the opportunity to learn from award-winning graphic novelist, artist, author, and educator John Jennings during a campus visit on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
Jennings, a Mississippi native whose work has earned national recognition in comics, graphic novels, publishing and higher education, spent the day engaging with ECCC students in several settings across the Decatur campus.
He began his visit by speaking with students in the college’s Business Office Technology and Marketing programs, sharing experiences from his career and discussing creativity, communication, branding, and the professional world.
Jennings later addressed a larger audience during a formal presentation in Vickers Auditorium. Following the presentation, students, employees and guests were invited to the Success Center for a meet-and-greet and autograph session with Jennings.
A native of Flora, Jennings has built a career that spans art, design, scholarship, publishing and popular culture. He is a professor of media and cultural studies at the University of California, Riverside, and is a New York Times bestselling graphic novelist and award-winning comics creator.
Among his best-known works is the graphic novel adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s Kindred, illustrated by Jennings and adapted by longtime collaborator Damian Duffy. The book became a No. 1 New York Times bestseller and received the Eisner Award for Best Adaptation from Another Medium. Jennings has also worked on graphic adaptations of Butler’s Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents. Parable of the Sower earned the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story or Comic.
His work has also extended into the Marvel universe through projects including Silver Surfer: Ghost Light, and he has appeared in the Disney+ documentaries Marvel’s 616 and Marvel’s Behind the Mask. Jennings is also the founder and curator of Megascope, an Abrams ComicArts imprint focused on graphic novels that highlight the experiences of people of color.
Jennings’ Mississippi roots remain an important part of his creative work. His current exhibition, John Jennings: Build Your World, is on display at the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience in Meridian through March 27, 2027. The immersive exhibition explores his work in Afrofuturism, Southern folklore, comics, and science fiction and features projects including Silver Surfer: Ghost Light, Kenny Dreadful and the Hainted Hoodie, Blue Hand Mojo: Hard Times Road, and Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation.
Jennings’ visit gave East Central students a chance to see how creativity and storytelling can extend across industries, from marketing and design to education, publishing, and entertainment, while learning directly from a Mississippi artist whose work has reached audiences around the world.
