Start at Home No.96 - Layne Dhu-Dickie

Layne Dhu-Dickie was born in 2004 in South Hedland, Western Australia, and is from the Banyjima people. He loved reading his dad’s old Phantom and Spiderman comics, which inspired him to create his own characters. At just 15, he became the youngest artist in Tarnanthi 2019 with his comic Captain Hedland. His stories show the challenges young people face in his community and imagine a superhero who helps fix problems. Layne says he’s always loved drawing and creating stories because it’s fun.

Captain Hedland is a superhero created by Layne Dhu-Dickie to help kids make good choices. In the first comic, Captain Hedland fights Crave, a villain who tries to get kids to use drugs and alcohol. In the second, he reminds students to stay in school, and in the third, he stands up to bullies. Layne sets his stories in Port Hedland so his community can see themselves in the comics. He also makes his own clothing line, Heavy Foot Designs, using his artwork. For Tarnanthi 2025, Layne worked with other artists to start turning his stories into animations.

Question:

• If you could create your own superhero to help solve an issue in your community, what would they do? What superpowers would they have?

• Layne hand-draws entire comic books, including the characters, words, and action scenes
• Layne loves making art that helps kids see themselves and their community in stories.

• Think of as many sound words (onomatopoeia) as you can — like BANG, POP, ZAP!
• Choose your favourite sound word.
• On your first card, write the word neatly on the right side.
• Colour it using 2–3 bright colours.
• On the next card, draw the same word again, but change it a little — make it bigger, smaller, tilted, or in a slightly different spot.
• Keep going! Draw and colour the word on more cards, changing it a tiny bit each time.
• Try to make at least 20 cards.
• Tape the cards together on the left side to make a flip book.
• Flip through the cards quickly and watch your word come to life!

• Small cards or thick paper (all the same size, about 15-20 cards)
• Pencils for writing and sketching
• Eraser
• Markers, crayons, or coloured pencils (bright colours work best)
• Tape (to bind the cards together on the left side)
• Scissors (to trim cards to the same size)

Film Your Flip Book

Take photos of each card and make a stop-motion video on a tablet or phone to share your animation digitally.