Underwritten by the David C. Copley Foundation, Feeding San Diego and the Comic-Con teamed up, and with nearly 300 submissions from San Diego County students, two Hunger Action Hero Contest winners were selected for their drawings and descriptions of their “Hunger Heroes.”
Though there was supposed to be only one winner, cosplayer and costume designer Allan Lavigne offered to create two costumes, allowing both the grand prize winner, Hunger Halter by Aiden Prior, 14, from Encinitas, and runner up, Demeter by Sirenna Ascencio, Olympian High School, 17, from Chula Vista. Winners received badges to the convention and were included on the Comic-Cone Museum panel on July 21. Lavigne brought their heroes to life with a 3-D treatment. Two actors who resemble the heroes depicted in the drawings will be wearing the costumes.
As part of the competition, each entrant had to include the origin of their hero.
Ascencio’s hero character Demeter is Julie Anders, whose day job is working as a news reporter. The character is based on Greek mythology. Demeter is the goddess of harvest and agriculture. Demeter can accelerate the growth of crops and rejuvenate them if they are diseased. In her day job, Julie reported on increasing famine and hunger, and she wanted to help. Demeter was appointed by the 7 Provisions, a council of heroes related to the well-being of humankind. The council appointed her and provided her with a motorcycle that travels at the speed of light, allowing her to travel around the globe to help those facing hunger.
Ascencio is entering Southwestern College this fall studying animation.
“It is a dream to work for companies such as Pixar, Disney, or television programs,” she said.
She said during her senior year, they were encouraged to create projects that brought awareness to certain situations, and one of her teachers showed her this contest.
“With my luck in drawing I figured I could use my skills to shed light on hunger and representation,” she said.
“When it came to creating Demeter, I wanted a multi-cultural hero that many young ones would feel inspired by. You do not see that type of representation today. I came up with an Afro-Asian woman who was inspired to create a change for people facing hunger.”
Ascencio said first she came up with the hero’s personality, a job for her. She said she chose a news reporter because she would always be informed of where the worst hunger problems were and be able to go and help.
“I created Julie Anders as an average woman, and when it came to design, I included many very bright colors, especially orange because it is an iconic color for Feeding San Diego,” she said. “When it comes to superheroes, when you want to attract kids, you use a lot of very bright colors. I included some design aspects such as a crescent on her chest as it represents hope. There is hope for those who are facing hunger.”
Ascencio said she is excited to see her character come to life at Comic-Con, and this will be her first time ever going to Comic-Con.
“It makes feel proud and happy that I am able to represent my school, friends and family, and also to bring awareness to an issue that needs to be brought up, which I was able to do with my talent of drawing,” she said.
Feeding San Diego Senior Communications Manager Carissa Casares said the contest comes down to inspiring the next generation of advocates.
“The problem of hunger only got worse with the pandemic, and now with inflation, and gas prices, there are many in need,” she said. “We are seeing people who need this assistance. So, until there is a true solve to end hunger, we need more volunteers, more donors, and we need people to be involved with our cause. We really thought this was a way to destigmatize the problem of hunger and remind people that everyone needs a little help sometimes. That is what superheroes are for.”
