Nelson Mandela

Lewis Helfand was born on 27th April 1978 in Philadelphia and grew up in nearby Narberth, Pennsylvania. Although interested in cartoons and animation from a young age, by the time he was twelve Lewis's focus had turned to writing. After completing high school, he remained in the Philadelphia area with the intention of pursuing a degree in English. Four years later, with a political science degree and a passion for comic books, Lewis began working for local publishers by proofreading books and newspaper articles. By the age of twenty four, Lewis had been editing phonebooks for a year and a half and felt no closer to his lifelong goal of writing comic books. One day he decided to quit his job. Lewis then spent the next two months working day and night to write and draw his first comic book, Wasted Minute, the story of a world without crime where superheroes are forced to work regular jobs. To cover the cost of self-publishing, he began working odd jobs in offices and restaurants and started exhibiting at local comic-book conventions. With the first issue well received, he was soon collaborating with other artists and released four more issues over the next few years. At the same time, Lewis continues to work outside the field of comic books as a freelance writer and reporter for a number of national print and online publications. He has covered everything from sports and travel to politics and culture for magazines such as Renaissance, American Health and Fitness, and Computer Bits. A Gold Medalist in Visual Arts from Rabindra Bharti University, Kolkata, India, Sankha draws his inspiration from a variety of sources. From cave art to Pixar Studios, from Sukumar Ray to Satyajit Ray, Sankhao, as he is affectionately called, claims that most of his influences come from things he cannot name! He maintains an avid interest in photography, film, installation, illustration and all other visual art mediums to create vivid and wholesome artworks to stimulate young minds. His

"I "highly recommend" Campfire's comics. They do what they are intended to do and do it in a way that excites kids about classic literature."-- Chris Wilson, The Graphic Classroom (a resource for teachers and librarians)