The Word Vancouver festival is set for its 2015 edition with a huge, genre-spanning program of authors, appearing at venues around town from September 23 to 27.

The Straight asked a group of these writers to tell us about their most meaningful reading experiences. Which books shaped their imaginations early on? Which ones expanded their ideas of what the written word can do?

Here’s what Vancouver’s Julian Lawrence told us, in the form of a stellar, original four-panel comic. Lawrence is an award-winning artist and illustrator with a specialty in comic books. He’ll present his latest work, The Adventures of Drippy the Newsboy Vol. 1: Drippy’s Mama, at 4:10 p.m. on September 27, in the Writing Talks venue inside the central branch of the Vancouver Public Library.