Comic artist Cagen Luse had been going to comic conventions for years and often felt isolated as one of the few people of color attending. So, he decided to color outside the lines. Along with illustrator Barrington Edwards, he created the Boston Comics in Color Festival, an event this weekend focused on stories by and about people of color.
“I think diverse storytelling is good for everyone. I think that the more voices that we hear out there fosters more understanding,” Luse said. “I really felt like we needed a space where we can all come together and, you know, just be ourselves and tell our stories.”
The third iteration of the festival kicks off this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Roxbury.
It will feature events such as a cosplay contest, a panel looking at the past five years since the "Black Panther" movie was released and special guests like Alitha Martinez, who has worked for comic powerhouses Marvel, DC Comics and Archie Comics.
Tak Toyoshima, the Boston-based comic artist behind “Secret Asian Man,” has been attending Boston Comics in Color events since its early days of meetups at the Boston Public Library. He’s excited about the caliber of special guests the festival is attracting — such as Marvel and DC Comics artist and writer Larry Stroman.
“To have a focus on stories about different cultures and have a crowd that, kind of, is looking for specific stories like that, I think it's a good add on to the convention landscape,” Toyoshima said.
Boston Comics in Color started out as small gatherings of artists at the Boston Public Library, hosting workshops and artist talks. By 2020 Luse and Edwards had planned the first full-fledged festival, but it was canceled due to COVID-19. In 2021 they hosted a hybrid event, and last year their 2020 ambitions came to fruition — they had their first, fully in-person festival.
The demand was clear to Luse and Edwards, who considered it a success, with approximately 800 people attending. This year, Luse said about 750 people are registered to attend, and he expects the number of attendees to be even higher than last year, as people can buy tickets onsite.
Luse said the festival is also a great opportunity for young artists to learn how to get into the industry.
“You can really just come and speak to the artists,” he said. “I think that's really the most valuable thing, is you can just walk up to a table, look at someone's work and speak to them. And young people can come and ask questions and get them answered by people who are actually doing the work.”
That includes Nile Hennick, an 11-year-old comic artist who has been creating the “Bad Cop vs. Good Cop” series with his father, Calvin, since he was seven years old. Nile draws the art, while his dad writes the words.
Nile went to the first ever Boston Comics in Color Festival in 2021 as an attendee, but brought along printed copies of his books to hand out — and returned in 2022 as a vendor.
“We sold a lot and met a lot of new people and met a lot of old people,” Nile said. “It was really fun, it was one of the best comic experiences that I've ever had.”
He said it’s fun to sell his comics — people can’t resist buying his work when his dad says, “My 11-year old does all the art, want to check it out?”
“This is just like a thing that I started doing when I was, like, seven for fun. It's really cool to see people caring about it, endorsing it," Nile said.
Osmar Ramos-Caballero, founder of self-publishing company Gala Comics in Holyoke, said he is excited to make connections in the comic book industry. Born in Cuba and raised in Spain, he focuses on producing Latino and Afro-Latino comics in Spanish. This year will be his first time as a vendor at the festival.
“[My comics are] for everyone to enjoy,” he said. “It doesn't have to be just for Spanish speakers. It can be for anyone that would love to buy a comic book in Spanish and try to learn Spanish in a fun way.”
Luse hopes people come away from the festival inspired to make their own comics.
“I think that seeing people of color creating and telling those stories, I want to inspire people to tell their own stories,” he said.
“I think everybody can make comics. Comics are such a great medium because they're universal and there's no gatekeeping," Luse continued. "There's no expensive equipment that you have to have. There's no special training. You just have to have an idea and a pen and paper and you can make a comic.”
