Being Black and into comic books can come with a set of problems most outsiders aren’t aware of. At some conventions, Black cosplayers – fans who go to sometimes extravagant lengths to dress up as their favorite heroes and villains – are sometimes berated about the race of the characters they’re dressed up as. Black fans are also ridiculed for “acting white” just for having this interest.
The Black Comic Book Festival at the Schomburg Center provides a safe haven for Black nerds – or "blerds" for short. And for the first time since the onset of the pandemic, it was back in person this month. More than just a place to pick up some reading material, for many attendees it’s a way to establish and extend friendships and community that endure beyond a weekend convention.
The festival plays a vital role in the lives of its attendees, like one who calls himself Black Robb. He’s attended the convention for years, and was excited to see for himself how the community has continued to grow.
''I seen comics of people who look like me,” he said. “And, speaking from a personal perspective of being a comic book kid growing up in the Bronx, this is super cool, because it's like, this is an event for us. It's like my Mecca.”
A cosplayer dressed as Monkey D. Luffy, from the manga, "One Piece."
Fans aren’t the only ones finding community at the Black Comic Book Festival. Authors, cartoonists and exhibitors turn up to sell comics, coloring books and other merchandise, but from the very start, the event has been about more than just sales.
“The only reason why I'm here is so I can see the people I haven't seen – like, all the other Black cartoonists that I haven't seen,” said Joel Christian Gill, a cartoonist and historian who creates comics centered around aspects of Black history. He says that when he attends this event, it's one of the few times he doesn’t feel like an outsider in the industry.
”I keep telling people over and over that coming to a Black-focused event means you no longer have to be a ‘Black cartoonist,’” Gill said.
That sentiment comes up again and again. Shauna J. Grant, the Bronx-born cartoonist behind the graphic novel “Mimi and the Cutie Catastrophe,” has attended the festival since 2017. She says she’s made plenty of professional and personal connections.
“As a Black artist, it's just such a recharge to connect with people in my community that are also into comics, art and writing,” Grant said. She especially enjoys seeing kids’ eyes light up as they see themselves reflected in both characters and creators.
“I want them to know, you can make art and comics, too,” she said. “It's not just for white people.”
Festival organizer Kadiatou Tubman, manager of education programs and outreach at the Schomburg Center, says such kids were front and center in the minds of the event’s founders – particularly the idea of helping them see themselves in what they’re reading. “The founders really thought that was an opportunity to expose young people to literacy through comics,” she said, “because it becomes like a gateway to reading other types of texts, and just really enjoying reading in general.”
Tubman takes pride in how the festival has helped to redefine the industry for Black comic creators and fans. “It's been incredibly powerful to see not only increased access to this world – these amazing artists, these writers, these creatives – but also how being nerdy and black has become really cool,” she said. “It's become even more normalized, because we've always existed.”
Part of her goal when curating the festival was to be as inclusive as possible, in order to show the expansive spectrum of Blackness.
“We have writers who are neurodivergent,” she said. “We have writers who are writing about trans characters. We have writers who are writing about women characters and young people. We have creators who identify as nonbinary and trans. I think that's even more exciting: to expand how representation matters, but expand it more to include deeper representations within our communities.”
The Black Comic Book Festival happens only once a year, but attendees hoping to build community are also looking elsewhere. Alia Farrell, a content creator who’s been inspired by the festival to publish her work online, has recently gotten into cosplay. She says social media is a good place to make connections.
“If you look up tags, like, ‘Black cosplayers’ on Instagram was a really big tag,” Farrell said. “You can find people who are into the same stuff as you do, and you can find people who live in your area, and then maybe meet up with them.”
Some festival attendees say they’ve made friends over the years, and planned gatherings that have nothing to do with comic books or cosplay. But Grant urges people looking for connections not to be afraid of being their full self when they do attend comics-related events.
“Definitely just start going to all sorts of anime and comic conventions,” Grant said. “Make friends with other artists on social media: cartoon people, comic people. We’re really friendly.”
As for the next time you might encounter this community in New York City, Black Robb recommends Brooklyn Comic Con 2023, which is slated for June.
Correction: In an earlier version of this story, Black Robb's name was spelled incorrectly.
