We had a great convo over for Queen City Black Comix Day, part 2, last weekend! Thanks to Victor, Ricky, and Juice for hanging out with us! 
If you missed the panel, you can watch on YouTube: https://t.co/U9QI7iUBsm
Ricky Pleasant of Breakaway Comics will discuss his comic book Princess Ziya and the Golden Orchid during our Queen City Black Comix Day virtual comics creators panel at 2:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, July 31, on the Midwest BSFA YouTube channel!
Midwest BSFA: How did you come up with this concept and why?
Pleasant: During the height of the pandemic, my wife and I were babysitting our niece and nephew, and the activities they really enjoy doing with us is drawing and storytelling. They were coming up with all of these super imaginative characters and backstories, that’s when the concept came to me: tell half of the story and let the kids finish it how they want. So I came up with my own characters and asked them what they thought would happen to them. I hope that the comics from Breakaway Comics not only encourage kids to read more, but spark their imagination and think about how they want the story to end. It’s a great way for families to come together and get their creative juices flowing!
We were lucky to snag “the hardest working man in comics,” Victor Dandridge, for part two of our Queen City Black Comix Day virtual comics creators panel at 2:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, July 31, on the Midwest BSFA YouTube channel! We’ll be choppin’ it up with him and Juice Lee so join us if you can! Below, Victor tells us about his start in comics, what he’s currently working on and the legacy he hopes will endure for years to come.
Midwest BSFA: How did you get into comics?
Dandridge: This is one of my FAVORITE stories: I HATED reading as a child. You couldn’t pay me to read a book. But I was a big fan of pop culture, so all of that changed the day they announced on the news that Superman was going to die! How do you kill Superman? WHO could even do it?? Immediately, my mind was abuzz with all the intrigue such an announcement was supposed to bring. I had no choice but to admit that I wanted to read that. Luckily, my mother overheard me, and the very next day, she started my comic collection with a stack of random books she picked up. I’ve been a fan ever since.
Aziza the Graphic Novelist joins the Queen City Black Comix Day comics creators panel on Saturday, June 26, at 2:30 p.m. EST on Facebook Live! She’ll discuss some upcoming projects as well as her first comic, The Kaaiman’s Cry, which we interviewed her about last summer.
Midwest BSFA: How did you get into comics writing?
Aziza: In general, I feel like visual media tends to be more engaging. Originally, I started researching how to create my own video game. However, the more I studied the more I realized that the barriers to entry were way too high and would’ve involved me learning skills that I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed learning. On the other hand, I’ve always loved writing. And once I started studying on how comics were made, I realized that most of the skills that are required to self publish a comic are skills that I enjoy, want to improve, or do well. So I decided on comics as the medium to tell my stories.
Continue reading “Queen City Black Comix Day Participant: Zakiyya Ashe”
Cincinnati cosplayer Matt “Sebastian” Hexx will attend Queen City Black Comix Day on Aug. 11!
Continue reading “Queen City Black Comix Day Participant: Chad Taylor”
Cydnee Burch, a digital artist from North Oakley, will be attending Queen City Black Comix Day on August 11! Continue reading “Queen City Black Comix Day Participant: Cydnee Burch”
Jay B. Kalagayan, creator and writer of MeSseD comics (@messedcomics), will attend Queen City Black Comix Day on Aug. 11! Continue reading “Queen City Black Comix Day Participant: Jay B. Kalagayan”
