Black Com!x Day founder Keithan Jones prepares for the seventh annual celebration of Black comic book creators at the WorldBeat Cultural Center. This year's event features two insightful panels, a debut comic, and a focus on supporting local Black businesses.
Keithan Jones , the founder of Black Com!x Day, is gearing up for the seventh installment of the event, Heroes Rise VII, which will take place this weekend at the WorldBeat Cultural Center. Jones, an independent comic book creator, initially hesitated when asked to help organize a Black History Month event centered around comics. Juggling the demands of his artistic career and the long hours required to sustain himself as an artist left him with limited free time.
'I was about to say no,' Jones recalled. 'And then I thought, you know what? I don't know of too many platforms or opportunities for Black creatives to have their stuff be out there and be accessible. And so I just took it as an opportunity to remedy that.' And remedy it he did. Black Com!x Day has since blossomed into a thriving platform, providing a space for both local and out-of-town Black creators to showcase their work and connect with fellow artists. Attendees have the chance to engage with creators, purchase artwork, discover new independent comics, and participate in daily panel discussions.This year's event features two compelling panels. On Saturday, The Empowered Panel returns with the theme 'The Business of Indie Comics,' moderated by Aaron Nabus. The panel will delve into the intricacies of creating a comic, from conceptualization and scriptwriting to page layout and delegation of tasks to the art team, including penciling, inking, and coloring. 'They're basically going to discuss the process of making a comic — from the concept to writing the script to laying out the pages — and how you delegate chores to the art team, like the penciling, the inking and the coloring,' Jones explained. 'So that's a procedural panel and audience members who are interested in publishing their own comics, I think it'll be a great panel for them to attend and get some pointers.' Sunday's panel, 'Tell 'Em Kick Rocks: How to Rise Above Negative Energy and Achieve Your Goals,' focuses on overcoming obstacles. Jones will moderate this insightful discussion, joined by Joshua Brown, Cheryl Morrow, Jason Reeves, and Jocelyn Short. 'I think that's going to be a very uplifting, interesting, introspective panel,' Jones said. 'because we're going to actually give testimony to our own personal trials and tribulations of how we basically navigate through people who either don't believe in what you're doing or how life will throw you obstacles and how we basically navigate it through all of that and we'll be the folks who actually lived through it.'Jones is adding another exciting element to this year's Black Com!x Day: the debut of his brand new comic, 'American Grit.' Inspired by the current social climate and a desire to preserve the fundamental values that make America great, 'American Grit' centers around a former U.S. government operative who once operated under the code name Integrity, but is known as Grit. Jones's comic adopts the classic, bombastic style reminiscent of old Marvel and DC Comics, featuring explosive action and quirky humor. 'Since we are a collection of Black artists, there's no doubt going to be work that reflects our current times and offers a commentary on the things we go through,' Jones stated. 'So I have a new short story that I plan to premiere on the 15th of Black Com!x Day called 'American Grit.' And basically, it's a character who used to work for the United States government, in the vein of Captain America. His code name was Integrity, but they call him Grit for short. It's stylized after the old Marvel and DC Comics, where it's very bombastic and just kind of quirky and explosive action. It was inspired by how there's a lot of tension in the air in America and we're losing some of our fundamentals that make this country great. And so he is a former government operative that wants to ensure that Old Glory still flies and there's meaning behind it and it stands for something and to fight those forces that are trying to mutilate its meaning.' Jones is unwavering in his commitment to keeping Black Com!x Day free, believing that attendees should spend their money supporting the talented Black artists showcasing their work.
Comics Black Com!X Day Heroes Rise VII Keithan Jones Comic Books Black Creators Worldbeat Cultural Center American Grit Panel Discussions Indie Comics Support Local Businesses
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