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BLACK COMIC BOOK DAY
On Saturday, February 12, 2011 bookstores in Chicago, Atlanta and Detroit hosted the First Annual Black Comic Book Day to celebrate and make more widely available the work of African-American comic book writers and artists. In Chicago, four racks permanently dedicated to African-American comics have been placed at venues around the city, including one in the DuSable Museum. New York held its Black Comic Book Day on February 19, at the Hue-Man Bookstore and Café in Harlem.
While these inaugural events were being held during Black History month, the display racks are permanent, dedicated additions to the stock offered by the hosting bookstores.
Black Comic Book Day is the brainchild of artists/writers Turtel Onli, father of “The Black Age” comic art movement, and Jerry Craft, creator of the award-winning Mama’s Boyz comic strip, distributed by King Features Syndicate since 1995. The idea developed as the duo brainstormed ideas to promote their work along with that of the many other talented artists and writers in the African-American community.
Onli and Craft believe that these events will have many benefits, such as encouraging reading and providing heroes for young readers to emulate from the African-American community.
“The only reason I, and most of my friends, read regularly was because of comic books,” Craft said. “I still remember the excitement of running to the corner store and seeing the new issue of Spider-Man waiting for me. Reading comics helped build our vocabularies. Playing games pretending to be the Silver Surfer or the Incredible Hulk stimulated our imaginations,” Craft said. Unfortunately with technical advancements in video games and movies, that no longer seems to be the case for kids. Craft laments that kids don’t have to imagine themselves as superheroes when all they have to do is pop a game into their X-Box 360 and become a superhero. As a result, many kids aren’t fully developing their imaginations or reading skills.
“We’re creating the opportunity for our kids to get into comics despite advancements in games and movies,” said Onli. “We’re giving them annual conventions such as Philadelphia’s East Coast Black Age of Comic Convention (ECBACC), New York’s Kids Comic Con, OnyxCon (Atlanta), and my Black Age Comic Convention in Chicago. I wish they would demand more. Readers should go into their local stores and say, ‘I want a different product!’ The more books we can sell, the more people we can hire to produce our products. It’s as much about economics as it is about morality and literacy as it is about being artistic. It’s all connected!”
“One of the other critical goals of these events,” said Craft “is to get us, as artists, to realize that we are not competitors, we’re in this together. The bigger we make our audience, the more we let the world know that we’re here, the better we all do! Our goal is to restock these racks every month so we always offer something new.”
Black Comic Book Day will be celebrated at the following locations:On February 19th, 2011 in NY more than 90 fans joined syndicated cartoonists Jerry Craft (Mama’s Boyz), Ray Billingsley (Curtis) and comic book writers and artists N Steven Harris (The Fringe and Ajala: A Series of Adventures), Alex Simmons (The Cartoon Life of Chuck Clayton), comic historian Professor Bill Foster and more as they unveiedl their rack at the Hue-Man Bookstore and Café in Harlem, 2319 Frederick Douglass Blvd, between 124th and 125th Streets. The rack also featured work by Andre Batts, David Walker, Keith Miller; Ray Billingsley, Omar Bilal, Joe Robinson Currie and Glen Brewer. For more info on the NYC event, email jerrycraft@aol.com
DOWNLOAD A FLYER OF THE PDF FOR THE NYC EVENT
February 12th, 2011 (Chicago) Damian Duffy and John Jennings, authors of the art book Black Comix: African American Independent Comics Art & Culture, signed and spoke at Afri-Ware Books, 266 W. Lake St., Oak Park, IL 60302, from 6-8pm. For more information on this event, go to http://blackcomixbook.com and http://afriware.net
February 12th (Chicago) Turtel Onli appeared at the DuSable Museum Gift Shop at 57th and Cottage Grove Ave, from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. He signed copies of "NOG NUI," a full-color cosmic comic book, "Team BLANGA" graphic novel/tradebook, and presented the Black Age of Comics rack for collectors and educators. He discussed collecting Black Age Comic Books and Graphic Novels. Free Admission. Info: 773-726-1610 For more info check out www.blackageofcomics
February 12th (Philadelphia) ECBACC, Inc. and Barnes & Noble Bookstores teamed up to combat illiteracy and increase creativity! On Saturday, February 12th and Sunday, February 13th, 2011, ECBACC, Inc. he brought his S.T.A.R.S. program to Center City. S.T.A.R.S, an interactive youth program that uses comic book storytelling to promote literacy, was offered free-of-charge to the public from 12pm to 3pm at the Barnes & Noble Bookstore located in Rittenhouse Square at 1805 Walnut St. / Philadelphia, PA 19103.
February 23rd (Los Angeles) Reggie Hudlin appeared at Golden Apple Comics to launch reggiesworld.com.
Wednesday, Feb 23 from 6:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m. Launch party, comic creators and more...
Below are some of the artists and comics that appeared at events around the country:
Artwork by N Steven Harris and Mshindo I. Kuumba | N Steven Harris
Artist and co-creator of DC's Aztek: The Ultimate Man, penciller of numerous Marvel and DC titles such as Deadpool Annual '98, Batman and THE FRINGE; and artist of AJALA: A SERIES OF ADVENTURES, about a 13 year old Harlem teen who happens to be a secret agent in training for a Harlem based secret society. Mr. Harris also teaches in various schools through arts organizations.
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Alex Simmons
Creator of the acclaimed BLACKJACK: BLOOD AND HONOR graphic novel, and winner of the 2010 Glyph Best Writer Award for his work on The CARTOON LIFE OF CHUCK CLAYTON for Archie Comics;
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Ray Billingsley
Ray Billingsley is an acclaimed award-winning African-American cartoonist with an impressive 41-year (and counting) career. Over the years, he has done a variety of projects, involving advertising, storyboards, greeting cards, magazine layouts and covers, tee designs, novelty design, graphic posters and a full comic book for the Path system. Ray was also a regular contributor to Ebony magazine from 1978 to 2007. He literally grew up in the industry and began regularly selling cartoon art at age 12. He attended Music and Art High School at a time when cartooning for Blacks was unheard of, and attended the School of Visual Arts on a full four-year scholarship. Upon graduating, he went to work at Disney, training to be an animator. A few months later, at the age of 22, he landed his first syndicated comic strip, "Lookin' Fine." Ray also worked for humor magazines, like the now defunct classic The National Lampoon and Crazy Magazine. His second strip, CURTIS, was an instant hit and widely received and is publicly credited for opening the doors for many others. It consistently places high on popularity rating charts and is published in 250+ newspapers worldwide and has an estimated daily readership of 34 million. There are two books, "A BOY NAEMED CURTIS" and "LIVING ON SPONGECAKE," the first in a series of volumes.
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Andre Batts |
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Jerry Craft
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Brian Mark Williams The Harlem Shadow - Birth of the Cool |
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Rob Taylor CHICAGO, The windy City. A city being rebuilt to represent itself as a shining beacon for the rest of the world to follow has been taken over by mad street gangs, hi-tech mobsters and super powered villains wanting to make a name for themselves. Billionaire Thomas Knight of "Knight Technologies" is shot in the back when a gang war breaks out in the downtown area and is crippled in its wake. Shaun Knight (his son) uses his marine training-with a little help from an Asian corporate thief named Michael Yu. With an underground state of the art base of operations-together they stand to fight against the war on crime. |
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Keith Miller Keith is a middle school English Language Arts teacher within the New York City Department of Education and a former civil law attorney with The Legal Aid Society. Keith is the co-founder of RatRonin Studios and co-creator of Tri-boro Tales. Like every aspiring commercial writer he has written a few screenplays, one of which, Love’s No Fool, placed in the quarterfinalist of Fade In magazine's Screenwriter’s award. |
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Omar Bilal Webmaster, Museum of Black Superheroes Founded in 1997, the Museum of Black Superheroes is an online archive and discussion site focusing on ethnic images in comics. The site features a mix of well-known characters from the mainstream as well as lesser-known characters that may or may not be published. Bilal resides in Bowie, Maryland and is also a full-time graphic designer and artist.
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Robert Garrett
Writer/ creator of AJALA: A SERIES OF ADVENTURES, about a 13 year old Harlem teen who happens to be a secret agent in training for a Harlem based secret society. His other books include INHERITORS and GALTOW.
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Damian Duffy and John Jennings Authors of the art book Black Comix: African American Independent Comics Art & Culture, will be signing and speaking at Afri-Ware Books, 266 W. Lake St., Oak Park, IL 60302, from 6-8 p.m. |
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Turtel Onli A creative artist whose career has touched upon a variety of disciplines. He has been an art therapist, educator, and illustrator. He has also distinguished himself in painting, drawing, illustration, publishing, fashion, and multimedia production. The father of the "Black Age of Comics," his credits include "Malcolm-10" and "Nog is Back."
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Professor William Foster A noted historian whoI has long studied the portrayals of race in comic books, both historically and in contemporary comics. His new book, Dreaming of a Face Like Ours, was recently published by Fine Tooth Press. “The premise of my book is to continue sharing the un-told history of Black comics. Whenever I make a presentation on the topic, I still meet people who never knew Black comics existed,” Foster said. “That's a shame.” Reginald Hudlin is the director of the hit comedies House Party, Boomerang and The Ladies Man, and the writer of Marvel Comics’ Black Panther animated series, which is now on DVD from Shout! Factory. |
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Butch Berry Butch Berry is creative consultant and writes and illustrates "the Adventures of Dangerman: Urban Superhero" for Roger Tinsley and the Dangerman Education Foundation, Inc.. Butch is a writer-cartoonist-producer, who has produced animation for the Emmy award-winning children’s TV series “The Kinderman Show,” on WMAR-TV2 Baltimore. His blog, “Butch Berry Stuff” (www.butchberry.blogspot.com) is where the Dangerman strip can be read and has received a “Best Art“award from the Black Web Awards. |
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Reggie Hudlin Reginald Hudlin is the director of the hit comedies House Party, Boomerang and The Ladies Man, and the writer of Marvel Comics’ Black Panther animated series, which is now on DVD from Shout! Factory.
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Tin Jackson Tim Jackson is a nationally syndicated political cartoonist and illustrator. Winner of the NNPA Wilbert T. Holloway Award for Best Editorial Cartoon, in 2008, 2009. Member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ-CC) and the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC). Currently researching and documenting the contribution of African American cartoonists on the Web site, “A Salute to the Pioneering Cartoonists of Color.” |
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AND CHECK OUT THESE OTHER EVENTS THAT PROMOTE COMICS IN OUR COMMUNITY Kids's Comic Con - Alex Simmons (Bronx, NY) ONYXCON - Joseph Wheeler III (Atlanta, GA) ECBACC - (East Coast Black Age of Comic Convvention) Yumy Odom (Philadelphia, PA) BLACK AGE - Turtel Onli (Chicago, IL)
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PRESS LINKS and PROPS
The Comics Reporter: http://www.comicsreporter.com/
Aki Antonia: http://bronzevilleblogchicago.blogspot.com/
The Harlem News (Download PDF): http://www.harlemnewsgroup.com/
School Library Journal: http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Joseph R Wheeler III on the Tambor Show at 89.3 FM WRFG ATLANTA!
Go to 45:25 on the time line and I'll be on the final part of the show.
http://thetambor.podomatic.com/entry/2011-02-07T16_46_31-08_00
Amen Ra Expressions https://www.amenraexpressions.com/Black_History_Mo.html
125th BID http://www.125thstreetbid.com/events/black-comic-book-day
Publisher's Weekly http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/
Zetta Elliott http://zettaelliott.wordpress.com/2011/02/18/black-comic-book-day/
Black Sci-Fi.com http://www.blacksci-fi.com/features/article/black_comic_book_day_a_nationwide_affair/
Cafe Yeye http://www.liberatedmuse.com/xn/detail/1986024%3AEvent%3A53457
The Black Age of Comics http://www.blackageofcomics.com/
Harlem World https://harlemworldblog.wordpress.com/2011/02/17/black-comic-book-day-at-hue-man-bookstore/