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.
Alternative Press Expo attendee, Fort Mason, San Francisco, California.
I’m a little backlogged on drawings, and this represents my continuing effort to catch up. I still have another drawing or two from October’s Alternative Press Expo, but I have also continued to create current drawings, most of which I’ve already posted here.
This guy caught my attention because of his facial symmetry, his amazing cheekbones, his impressively full and well-groomed beard, and his unusual height and muscularity. This Alternative Press Expo shopper was, from the looks of the items in his hands, really interested in indie super hero zines and comics. He must have had about 20 different publications in his clear plastic backpack.
The aspect of nerd culture that I love most is its contradiction, and this guy was a perfect example. He had the body of an athlete and, in fact, he did play Division III football in college; but he had the passions of a geek, the focus of a nerd, and (truth be told) the social awkwardness of a total dork.
Movies like Revenge of the Nerds, aside, nerd/geek/dork culture doesn’t have a single specific look. It’s more a feeling that’s mapped out in the subtleties of body movement, facial express, and the places where we gather. Those of us who are real, true nerds/geeks/dorks can recognize our brethren and sistren when we see them. Outsiders are distracted by things like beauty, fashion, athleticism, and physical size. True insiders know that, just as nerdiness and geekiness and dorkiness have no color, they also have no sexual orientation, no gender, no body type, and no single style or fashion aesthetic. We are everywhere, and we do everything. Nerds, geeks, and dorks cannot be placed in a box. We are bigger, broader, and more diverse than our collective stereotypes. We are everything you’d expect we are and nothing you could imagine. (But almost all of us love Star Trek, so that stereotype is kind of correct.)
An Alternative Press Expo attendee, Fort Mason, San Francisco, California.
There are many ways of wearing dreadlocks. This brother prefers the free and easy, low-maintenance way. Hi locks are each a different thickness, and they’re fuzzy at the roots; but the effect is fiercely, fabulously, and unapologetically Black.
