The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, New York is celebrating the 4th Annual Black Comic Book Festival on January 16th, and I couldn’t be more excited! The full day event is packed to the brim with workshops, panel discussions, exhibits, film-screenings, and more; it’s nearly impossible to have a chunk of time with nothing to do or see.

The founders of Black Comic Book Day, Deirdre Hollman, Director of the Schomburg Education and Junior Scholars program, Dr. Jonathan Gayles (“White Scripts and Black Supermen”), Jerry Craft (Mama’s Boyz) and John Ira Jennings (Black Kirby, Unveiling Visions) created the festival in the hopes that it would not only inspire other artists to explore the rich and dynamic world of black superheroes, but that it would open up a whole new world of role models for kids who don’t often see themselves represented in comics, science fiction and speculative literature.

If you’re looking for inspiring books with female protagonists to give to African-American girls and teens, here are a few you should check out. All of these titles are available both in print and most are also in digital and feature Black female main characters.

originally posted at The Mary Sue

Regine Sawyer and the Women in Comics Collective are Changing the Game…One Panel at a Time

A few months ago, I was listening to a podcast and heard Regine Sawyer share that she owned a comic book company that employed all female artists … mainly of color.

That got my attention.

Then, she went on to say that she also started an organization dedicated to giving a voice to women who work in the comic book industry and helping them better brand themselves and promote their projects.

I stopped what I was doing and turned up the volume.

The organization turned out to be the Women in Comics NYC Collective International, which Sawyer started in May of 2012 when she was asked to host a Women in Comics Panel at Bronx Heroes Comic Con by the organizer and founder, Ray Felix. According to Sawyer, the panel was so impactful and resonated so well with the audience members, that word spread and other shows and community organizations requested her to bring similar panel discussions to their events.

(originally posted on tumblr)

In this post I am going to go into the basics and purpose behind pre-ordering a comic book from a comic book store or online retailer. For the purposes of this discussion, I am referring to comics that are listed with Diamond Comics Distributors, who regularly supplies comic book shops with their inventory. (For more info on how all that craziness works click here.)

I was inspired by a tweet I saw by David Walker (writer Cyborg (DC), Shaft (Dynamite), Power Man and Iron Fist (Marvel)) about how most people don’t realize the importance of comics and how much the industry has changed. And he’s right. The whole concept of pre-ordering is foreign to most people under 30 because in this day and age we don’t have to wait for ANYTHING. Everything is instant. I should know.

I live in New York. The Impatient Capital of Earth.

We have WiFi in the subway, drive-through Starbucks and even McDonalds delivers. (Yes they do. In midtown. I’ve done it). And almost everything is returnable or exchangeable (Yes. Even Starbucks and McDonald’s). Everything that is…except for comics. But I’m getting ahead of myself, let me first explain the difference between ordering a comic book that is currently in circulation vs pre-ordering one that is not out yet.

(originally posted on tumblr)

I first heard about Okemus, the post-apocalyptic story of a time-traveling, shape-shifting superhero by Taylor Sterling and his company Red Arcis Entertainment about 6 months ago. I was reading about SDCC and was intrigued by Sterling’s story. Although Sterling had never been to Comic-Con before, he managed to sell out ALL 300 COPIES of his 38 page comic in four days.

Now having gotten a chance to review the comic myself, I can see why.

(originally posted on tumblr)

I met David F. Walker in the press area of New York Comic Con on Friday, Oct 9, 2015 at the Javitz Center this year and he was nice enough to grant me an impromptu interview for a few minutes. (Honestly? I could have talked to him for an hour.) He’s REALLY friendly, crazy talented, hilariously funny, a serious music buff and genuinely wants to engage with his fans. Black folks in particular. Here’s the scoop:

I’m starting a new series here on theblerdgurl where I interview people who inspire me or I feel are change agents in some way. I’ve been not-so-silently stalking by Shawn Pryor since I first heard him on a blackcomicschat podcast a few months ago. At the time he was one of the few voices I felt were actually speaking the truth about People of Color (POC) in the media and comics. Since Shawn has extensive experience on the business end of the comic book game, I wanted him to share his thoughts and ideas about growing a successful indie comic. Shawn talks about crowdfunding, marketing, being a POC in the business and why there are no such things as magical unicorns. He even tells us who some of his favorite underrated artists are right now. So grab a pen kids, you’re gonna wanna take notes.

(originally posted on tumblr)

If you’ve been following me on twitter for any length of time this year, then you know I’ve been a huge fan of Roye Okupe and his E.X.O. project since it was in its kickstarter phase.

This book has been highly anticipated and Okupe has been interviewed from everyone from Mashable to CNN to the BBC about his creation of an African superhero.

Finally, EXO has arrived in full color print and I must say, I am impressed. For starters, it’s HEAVY. No seriously, This book was printed on heavyweight paper. (I own other TPBs that don’t weigh this much!) Second, instead of delivering a 22 page comic with a bunch of extra art, like so many kickstarters “gifts” do, he gave away the first chapter for FREE. He then proceeded to print THE FIRST SIX CHAPTERS AT ONCE for a whopping 136 pages in total. (And yeah, there’s extra art too).

So basically, E.X.O. The Legend of Wale Williams Part One, is ostensibly an OGN (Original Graphic Novel) that never went to trade. Here’s the breakdown.