Time for more drawings of the brothas of the 2014 comic and zine circuit. I chatted with this guy at the East Bay Alternative Book and Zine Fest. He didn’t buy anything, but we had a nice talk about the comic book he would like to see me draw next. He was not at all shy about sharing some suggested directions for my upcoming works.
To him I say, “Homie, if I ever do a comic with Frederick Douglass as a time-traveling, light saber-wielding civil rights activist, you will be the first to know!”
Before I continue with more drawings of brothers from the 2014 comic and zine conventions, I need to include this bearded fellow I encountered on a late night Safeway run. We were both looking for items in the same section of the frozen entrees aisle. He and his friend were looking for some sort of tater tot item. I was looking for El Monterey breakfast burritos and a couple other items on a list of foods for an upcoming guest. This guy was tall enough that I was able to grab my items out of the case while he was holding the door open, without even having to duck. He was like a tall, young, Black string bean with a beard. I was like a short-ish, middle-aged, pudgy, Black sweet potato, with mostly white hair; and on this particular, we were both buying highly processed food from a Bay Area grocery megastore.
I like grocery shopping after work. I like being part of a group of people all of whom have the same goal, to pick something up for dinner that won’t make our day too much longer than it already has been. I enjoy looking at everyone’s outfits and trying to figure out what they do for a living. This guy had me stumped. I think his hat and his jacket were part of a uniform; the way they matched was just too perfect. On the other hand, why would the uniform require a matching hat and jacket, but no matching shirt. He was wearing a generic type of rugby shirt that appeared to have no relationship whatsoever to the rest of his outfit. I was so tempted to go up to him, explain my project, and ask about what he was wearing. I’ve done it before, after all. But on the evening I encountered this guy, I was just too tired to engage with a stranger. It had been an exhausting day of meetings, and I simply didn’t have the energy to break out of my end-of-day bubble and talk to a stranger.
This handsomely-bearded gentleman stopped at my booth at Bent-Con, an LGBTQ comics convention that used to take place in Burbank, California. He asked lots of questions about my work and about the role of Black people in comics and comic culture, in general. He even bought a couple post cards, though I think he did it because he felt sorry for me. During the time when he was browsing the exhibition hall, the crowd was pretty thin, and his visit really helped pass the time. I don’t always depend on the kindness of strangers, but when it happens, it always feels pretty good.
Why can’t the brothers at the comic book and zine conventions get a little media love? We’ve got the NFL Network, the NBA Network, the Summer Olympics, Baseball Season, the evening news, and reality television shows. But where’s the Black dungeon masters network? If we have the Summer Olympics, then why not the Black cosplayers Olympics? Baseball season? How about comic book convention season? And if you think reality shows like Cops and Love and Hip Hop are entertaining, then you’ll love the drama that unfolds among the hardcore fans who camp out all night at Comic-Con, just to get into Big Bang Theory panel.
Until programming like this becomes a little more commonplace, I hope these portraits from the 2014 comic convention season will help fill the gap.
