Right now we want to talk
about Black Comics Day.
It is back this weekend at
Balboa Park celebrating black
history as well as the future.
Joining us now is founder and owner
of Kid Comics Keith and Jones,
along with writer Greg A Alyssa.
Good morning to you both.
Thanks so much for both being here.
This is a really great to have
you guys on the show you excited
for this weekend's events.
Definitely, yeah, it's true.
New York City, so
that's awesome, Keith.
And let's start with you.
Tell us a little bit why you
think it's so important that
we have this Black Comics day.
How many years has it been running
and and you're glad to have it
happening here this weekend.
Yeah, thanks for having us at.
This is the 4th show.
It started back in 2018, literally
after the day Black Panther premiered,
so we just kind of took that energy
from that year for everything that was
happening in film concerning vikranth
are and other black creators at that
time and we wrote that energy into a.
Black Comic Con, so to speak.
I think it's important because
it allows folks to.
Not only hear about black creators,
but actually physically see them,
especially folks from the black
community who don't normally see see
us in this in this in this profession,
we're normally seen in mainstream
professions such as sports and music,
but this is not a need for
folks not only black folks,
but all folks from all over the
world to see black creators,
men and women creating comics and pop
culture as far as what's happening.
Today, like with the films,
for instance,
absolutely yeah, you're right.
We don't always get to see the
writers like Greg A LSA, right?
We don't always get to see who's behind this.
So yeah, Greg, talk a little
bit about your projects that
you've worked on and how excited
you are for the weekend ahead.
Well, my main suits here is
is not at the web spider,
it's based off of stories of
an onset of spider from West
Africa and Caribbean folklore.
My character is his son with
a lot of my writing.
I like to incorporate a lot of
aspects of the black diaspora,
whether it's it's figures or important icons,
people from different black spiritualities
from various black cultures,
you know, it could be from America,
Africa or the Caribbean,
South Africa, so I'd like to.
That's not the South America.
I'd like to pretty much like to.
Showcase that we have our own gods
and heroes, all our various cultures.
It's not just you know,
European myths and fairy tales
and and stuff like that.
So things that we we have some
really cool dynamic storytelling.
And it's not just about Zeus
and Heracles and all that stuff,
that's awesome and Greg.
What do you want your viewers and?
And I mean, readers of these comics,
what do you kind of hoping
they walk away with more than
just the comic read, right?
Yeah, I mean more than that.
Also some interesting knowledge.
Hopefully enough interest for them to
do their own research to find out what
else is out there and 'cause when.
I was a kid when I discovered
classical Titans and Hercules and Xena.
The first thing I want to do is
find out more about Greek mythology
and I just want to open up that.
You know their their interest in the mind.
That way we could discover this
well of knowledge and just have fun.
So kids that you can have a lot of
fun discovering different people
cultures for you,
got your own cultures with a lot
of people may not know bodies,
mythologies and spiritualities from
their their own place of origin.
And hopefully that encourages people to,
you know,
do their own research and showcase whole.
Wow, you know this is from my
my mother's place my my father's
place and we just have fun with it.
As I said before, that's awesome.
So go ahead.
Time in like Keith doing work that's
culturally based as he explained,
but it doesn't end there. Stuff I. I do.
A book called The Power Night and I'm a
child from the from the 1970s and 80s.
So I come up with stuff like Star Wars,
right? Like most kids at that time.
In that time period.
So the stuff I do is more.
Action adventure superhero science
fiction that type of stuff,
except the only real difference is
it's coming from my point of view.
So my lead characters are
black or black obviously,
and so it's a way for children too.
Escape this is Stacy escapism.
It's a way for them to see themselves as
superheroes or face action adventurers,
and so on and so forth.
So we run the gamut at black common state,
where you have science fiction.
You have coach lead based comics with
such a fantasy you have biography,
so it's it's it's up and down.
We we have something for everyone and.
Men, women, children.
It's all with.
It's all here, so it's it's it's it's.
It's quite diverse.
Yeah, I was gonna say I was gonna say
so people can learn more about your
comics and learn more about you guys,
but also there's it's a.
It's a family friendly event people,
there's things to do there, right?
Exactly, we have a thing for children
as far as games go, we're going to
have video game competition with.
I I forgot the games are going to happen. I
know there's like a kids zone. Another
thing will have virtual games,
so they'll be something for the
kids and contests. And yeah.
Happening this is happening
this weekend where Keith and
where can people learn more.
You can go to the Eventbrite website and
look up Black Comics Day 2022 and all the
information is there as far as what's
going to be happening throughout the day.
The event is free, free to enter for
all ages and all ages appropriate.
There'll be music. There'll be food.
Like I said, there will be a gaming
area for the kids, not just kids, adult
students but just adult gamers out there.
Perfect trying to discriminate
against you guys. And what else?
We obviously will have the artists
here in the artists that have their
books on hand to be patronized.
And I, personally, would be doing
actual live sketches for folks,
and then sit there, be other hardest.
And Panel 2 special panels.
It is all it will be happening Saturday and
Sunday from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM both days.
Each day will have a special
panel at 12:00 o'clock.
The first panel on Saturday is
called empowered and that panel is
about doing black owned Business
Today in modern times and we'll have
the panelists on that particular
panel will be talking about their
experiences of how they've grown.
Their business is the hurdles they.
Overcome and their successes
and their techniques,
and then on Sunday it's a special panel.
It's black women in Commons,
so we're going to have some ladies
up on stage talking about their
experience in in the publishing
world and the printing world or film.
And from their point of view,
the challenges that they that they overcome
and successes within that industry.
So like I said, it's a lot going on.
It's a lot of fun.
As our 4th show and so far up to this point,
all the feedbacks been super positive since
we started this and it's only grown since.
Awesome.
Thanks guys so much for
joining us this morning.
It's going to be an exciting event.
Looking forward to it this weekend.
Thanks for having us. Alright.
Have a great day looking for looking to
see everyone everyone invited everyone.
Welcome and. Big shout out to Maketo
dread here at Worldbeat Center
where it's going to take place.
This all happens because of her and
we love her and looking forward
to it, it's a free event alright?
Thanks again guys. We'll see you.