Photo By 94th Airlift Wing | Airman Luke Marrone, 731st Munitions Squadron conventional maintenance technician,...... read more read more
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AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy – Lost in thought, he walked through the grocery store trying to decide what to have for dinner. Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder and told him they laughed at the comic strip they saw on the local Facebook page. He was surprised that someone recognized him for his work.
Airman Luke Marrone, 731st Munitions Squadron conventional maintenance technician, portrays the ups and downs of everyday life in the Air Force through his comic strips.
The Darby Delights, the weekly comic strips Marrone creates, are centered around inside jokes from his workplace and the Air Force.
Originally from Simsbury, Connecticut, Marrone found his love for comics through his older brother who had a large collection. Throughout high school, he started drawing various types of comic strips and decided to pursue the career field after graduation.
Growing up Marrone mainly drew superhero comics, but it wasn’t until after high school where the superhero, wrestling and mythology comics were published in anthologies. Marrone spent the next few years honing his artistic abilities, and eventually explored other career avenues.
“My older brother is in the Navy and he suggested that I join the military,” said Marrone. “He recommended the Air Force. I went to basic military training (BMT) January 2020.”
Even in BMT Marrone made little comics for individuals that were having a rough time.
“There’s so much value in making somebody smile,” said Marrone. “I make comic strips to make people laugh and smile.”
After BMT and shortly after arriving to Camp Darby, Italy, Marrone started making comics on post-it notes before each morning brief, capturing the attention of his leadership.
“At a certain point there was this entire cabinet that was covered in all these post-it notes I had drawn,” said Marrone. “One day [2nd Lt. Ryan Swan-Ford, 731st MUNS flight commander], walked in and immediately found me to ask if I could do something like that for the whole squadron. He said we would put it up on the unit’s Facebook page.”
Each week since November 2020, Marrone writes one three-square panel comic for the Darby Delights, in which he bases the main character off of himself.
“I’ve got a stock character I always draw loosely based on myself,” said Marrone. “What’s nice about the style I use is that all the characters look vaguely similar because they’re all shaped like squares with legs and arms basically. I just have to add a bit of identifiable features to make them resemble people.”
If Marrone wants to use any characters in the comics that aren’t based on him, he makes sure to get their permission beforehand.
Taking only 20 minutes per comic strip, Marrone sketches a rough draft on paper and then makes the finishing touches on his tablet. The comics are reviewed by Swan-Ford before they are posted to the Facebook page.
Marrone’s dream is to bring laughter and joy to a larger audience by making a comic strip book that would reach the entire Air Force.
“This whole experience has really made me rediscover my passion for making comics,” said Marrone. “If there’s any way to get it out to people, that’s absolutely an avenue I would love to pursue.”
Swan-Ford explains how important it is that the Darby Delights unites the shop in laughter, especially during the mundaneness that everyday life sometimes brings.
“The comics highlight the fun [or funny] parts of peoples’ days at work,” said Swan-Ford. “The schedule can become kind of repetitive and the days tend to blend together, especially during these current COVID-19 times. The Darby Delights help remind people of the fun moments throughout their days.”
Marrone is living out his childhood dream through writing comics for the Air Force. All of his hard work paid off and he is able to see a tangible difference made in the lives of those around him.
“I think they are critical in building cohesiveness within the unit,” said Swan-Ford. “The chaos of the duty day can cause sections to isolate themselves and causes people to forget about their sections. These comics create a place for sections to peek into other sections and share a laugh.”
| Date Taken: | 03.30.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.30.2021 02:54 |
| Story ID: | 392551 |
| Location: | AVIANO AIR BASE, IT |
| Web Views: | 521 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Darby Delights: 731 Munitions Airman brings joy to the workplace, by SrA Brooke Keisler, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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