The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture hosted the 5th Annual Black Comic Book Festival Jan 14-15. The two-day, Harlem-based festival was co-founded by Deirdre Hollman (Director of Education and Exhibitions), Jerry Craft (Mama’s Boyz and The Offenders), John Jennings (Black Kirby/UC Riverside), and Jonathan Gayles (Georgia State University). The Schomburg Center’s Annual Black Comic Book Festival consisted of film screenings, cosplay, and exhibit tables with celebrated black comic creators from across the country.
Panel discussions included “Curating Comics: Creating Exhibitions in Galleries and in Digital Spaces,” “Black Heroes Matter,” “Fierce Femininity and Fandom,” “Comics and Hip-Hop,” and “Comics are Lit: Graphic Novel Adaptations of Literature.” Ja’nell Ajani, Jonathan Gray, Jonathan Gayles, David Walker and Deirdre Hollman served as moderators.
There were tributes to Jackie Ormes, creator of the first Black Syndicated Comic “Torchy Brown in Dixie to Harlem” and “Patty-Jo ‘n’ Ginger” and Dawud Anyabwile, co-creator of Brotherman: Dictator of Discipline.
(Photo: Google Images)
The festival, which had over 5,000 people in attendance, connected comic readers, creators, bloggers, nerds, independent publishers, and collectors of all ages.
Find out more at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Check out the Schomburg’s Spring/Winter Calendar Brochure.
This post was written by Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D., founder & editor of The Burton Wire. Follow her on Twitter @Ntellectual.
Follow The Burton Wire on Instagram or Twitter @TheBurtonWire.
