By Diamond L. Ward
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Black artists are doing what they can to share culture in a fun way through comics.
Towson University hosted its third Black Comic Book Mini-Fest sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and the African American Studies Department. The festival was held last Saturday on the second floor of the College of Liberal Arts building. It was free to attend and had many workshops and two panels throughout the course of the event.
“I keep having this Comic Book Fest because I want people to explore culture and to promote creativity in young people,” said Donn Worgs, a Towson professor and the organizer of the event. “I went to a comic book conference in Philadelphia. While I was there, I went to different workshops and wanted to bring the same thing here to the Towson area. The ideas in the images are fascinating and I wanted to share them.”
There were 15 tables set up around the hall that featured various authors of black comic books. An estimated 100 people attended the festival, some people wearing costumes in cosplay.
The comics on display showed an array of characters, including Booster, Hardware and Naturalista. Some of the writers also displayed pictures that they drew to scale as well.
The festival featured a panel discussion that discussed black culture and comics. Five people were on the panel, all of whom were writers and artists from various black comic books.
“People are complaining about ‘us’ [African Americans] not being in comics, but they did nothing about it,” said William Jones, a panelist and organizer of the Afrofuturism Network on Facebook. “So, this gave me passion to do something to change that. We need to stop letting the ‘other’ people [white people] come in and take our credit for all the hard work we been doing.But also, don’t not give credit where credit is due. Don’t be afraid to go to people who know a bit more about a topic than you do.”
“I got into black comics because it puts ‘us’ front in center,” said Maurice Waters, the discussion panel facilitator and president of Blacksci-Fi. “I have a degree in communications and love comics, so I do this to bridge the gap between my degree and my love for comics.”
The panelists explained how they combine personal passions with their love of writing comics.
“I want to combine the interest of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and comics,” said panel member Naseed Gifted, creator of P.B. Soldier Comics and vice principal at a STEM academy. “I get my students to learn by letting them create comics based about what they are learning.”
“I want to find a way to get our products into schools,” said David Miller, founder of Dare to Be King, a community outreach program that educates students about culture through comics. “There is a serious disconnect with school districts and culture.”
Miller said he creates educational black comic books for schools and currently serves 54 school districts across the country and hoping to gain more districts soon.
Panel members said most mainstream comics are based on white characters and perspectives. They said they hoped to highlight black culture in their work.
“I wish I could see more outreach opportunities for schools and districts when educators come to events like this,” said Keturah Monroe, an educator in Baltimore City Public Schools who participant at the fair.
Shawn Alleyne of Pyroglyphics, a comic and artistry business he owns, and Waters wish that people would come out and support the black comics and businesses in general.
“It’s funny how people doubt what others can do,” said Tyran Eades, a person tabling comic books he created and hero helmets at the event. “My friend is legally blind, but he creates these comics with me and even designed these helmets.”
The two helmets that were on display were on sale for $40 each. They were hand crafted using Paper Mache.
“We’re [Black comic book movement] at an all-time high because more people are finding out about black comics,” Waters said during the panel discussion.
Black comic books are being bought more now than they ever have been.
“We shouldn’t just be dressing up to go to a movie,” Alleyne said. “We should be ‘dressing’ up every day and wear our clothes with pride. Don’t be ashamed to put yourself into your work.”