Saturday, January 16, 2016, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Program Locations: Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture Fully accessible to wheelchairs. For all ages
The Schomburg Center’s 4th Annual Black Comic Book Festival celebrates the rich tradition of black comix in a full day event featuring panel discussions, film screenings, hands-on workshops and exhibit tables with premiere black comic artists from across the country. Join us and check out the mind-blowing afrofutrism art and design exhibition Unveiling Visions: The Alchemy of the Black Imagination curated by John Jennings and Reynaldo Anderson.
Free Admission. Fun for all ages! Register through Eventbrite.
Organizers
The Schomburg Center’s Black Comic Book Festival is presented by Deirdre Hollman (Schomburg Education & Junior Scholars Program) in collaboration with Jerry Craft (Mama’s Boyz) and John Jennings (SUNY Buffalo/Black Kirby).
Exhibitors
Exhibitors by invitation only. Please contact [email protected] for more information.
Full Schedule
10:00AM – 7:00PM: All Day
COMIX CREATORS EXHIBITION TABLES
Schomburg Lobby and Main Exhibition Hall
10:00AM – 10:15AM
Welcome to the Schomburg’s 4th Annual Comic Book Festival
Langston Hughes Auditorium
Co-founders Deirdre Hollman, Schomburg Director of Education and Exhibitions; Jerry Craft, Mama’s Boyz; and John Jennings, Black Kirby/SUNY Buffalo
10:15AM – 11:15AM
Film Screening: White Scripts and Black Supermen: Black Masculinities in Comic Books.
Produced, Directed and Written by Dr. Jonathan Gayles, Georgia State University.
Langston Hughes Auditorium
11:00AM – NOON
Alex Simmons KIDS COMICS Workshop
American Negro Theatre (ANT)
12:00PM – 1:15PM
IMAGES IN ACTION: Creating Socially Conscious Comics
Langston Hughes Auditorium
Moderated by John Jennings
Illustrated images have an amazing amount of power. The comics medium taps into some of the primal notions around representation, symbolism, and visual communication. Join us as we explore how our panelists have harnessed that power in their scholarship, activism, and protest using comics as their medium of discourse.
Bill Campbell (Rosarium Publishing/APB)
Christa Cassano (APB)
Julie Smith ( (H)afrocentric )
Julian Voloj ( Ghetto Brother )
1:15PM – 2:30PM
AFROFUTURISM 2.0: THE RISE OF ASTRO-BLACKNESS
Presentation and Book Talk by Dr. Reynaldo Anderson, Co-Curator of Unveiling Visions
American Negro Theatre (ANT)
From the Afrofuturism 2.0 book description:
The ideas and practices related to afrofuturism have existed for most of the 20th century, especially in the north American African diaspora community. After Mark Dery coined the word “afrofuturism” in 1993, Alondra Nelson as a member of an online forum, along with other participants, began to explore the initial terrain and intellectual underpinnings of the concept noting that “AfroFuturism has emerged as a term of convenience to describe analysis, criticism and cultural production that addresses the intersections between race and technology.” Afrofuturism 2.0: The Rise of Astroblackness represents a transition from previous ideas related to afrofuturism that were formed in the late 20th century around issues of the digital divide, music and literature. Afrofuturism 2.0 expands and broadens the discussion around the concept to include religion, architecture, communications, visual art, philosophy and reflects its current growth as an emerging global Pan African creative phenomenon.
2:45PM – 4:00PM
BLERDS AND BLEEKS SPEAK: Celebrating, Archiving and Reporting on Black Fan Culture
Langston Hughes Auditorium
Moderated by Maurice Waters
Over the past few years, there has a sharp rise in black fan culture on all fronts. The production, the fandom, and the journalism. This panel will celebrate and explore this phenomena through the ever watchful eyes of some of the top reporters of and experts on fan culture from an Afrocentric perspective.
Ashlee Blackwell (Grvyrd Shift Sisters)
Desmond Burton (Afro Nerds)
Karama Horne (the Blerd Gurl)
Joe Illidge (CBR’s THE MISSION)
3:00PM – 5:00PM
BLACK PANTHER Animated Film Screening
American Negro Theatre (ANT)
4:00PM – 5:00PM
TRIBUTE TO GUY SIMS: The Man Who Put the Brother in Brotherman.
Langston Hughes Auditorium
Moderated by Professor Bill Foster
In 1990 When the first Brother Man comics were introduced, it signaled the beginning a paradigm shift. The Sims family helped to create a revolutionary force that inspired many of the Black comics creators working today. Guy Sims is the pioneering writer and co-creator of Brother Man. This in-depth interview will give the BCBF and its audience a chance to honor this great man and his family’s contributions on the eve of the return of this amazing character to the public sphere.
5:00PM – 6:15PM
PROS ON THE PROS AND CONS: Traditional Publishing vs. Self Publishing.
Langston Hughes Auditorium
Moderated by Jerry Craft
Technology and social media have changed the publishing industry drastically.
In this ever-shifting multimedia-rich environment, what are some of the pitfalls, joys, challenges, and successes of publishing in the 21st century? This panel of amazing
creators will share their personal journeys and wisdom on how to get your stories out to the public.
Paris Cullins (artist/publisher)
Jamal Igle (artist/writer/publisher)
Guy Sims (author/publisher)
David Walker (writer/publisher)
EXHIBITORS
The following comix creators will be exhibiting at the in the Schomburg Lobby and Main Exhibition Hall (in alphabetical order):
Eric Battle (freelance illustrator); Andre Batts (Urban Style Comics); Karl Bollers (Creator of Watson and Holmes series); Michae Brantley (Meantees.com); Antuan Broussard (Battlemasterz); Akinseye Brown (Sokoya Productions); William Campbell (Rosarium Publishing); Jerry Craft (Mamas Boyz); Paris Cullins (Blue Devil/ Hyperkind); Andre LeRoy Davis (artist); Ray Felix (Bronx Heroes); Tim Fielder (Dieselfunk Studios/ Tim Fielder-Simmons and Co.); Corey Fields (Nukleus Comics); William Foster (comic book collector and researcher); Robert Garrett (Xmoor Studios); Maya Grant-Richardson (Sheeba Maya artist); Norwood S. Harris (illustrator); John Jennings (Black Kirby/ Black Comix); Mshindo Kuumba (Deviant Art); Stephane Metayer (creator of Tephlon Funk); Keith Miller (RatRonin Studios); Jamar Nicholas (cartoonist); Tony Puryear (Concrete Park); Regine Sawyer (Lockett Down Productions); Guy Sims (Brotherman Studios); Juliana Smith ( (H)afrocentric: The Comic ); Whit Taylor (Ghost); Jerome Walford (Forward Comix); Eric Wilkerson (illustrator)
#blackcomicbookfestnyc
Can’t make it to the event? Watch it on livestream.
