The complete 2023 Latinx Comic Arts Festival program booklet is now available below! Huge thanks to J.M. Hunter, Amber Padilla, and Dr. Theresa Rojas for their work on the booklet and to Manuel Martinez for his original art.
The complete 2023 Latinx Comic Arts Festival program booklet is now available below! Huge thanks to J.M. Hunter, Amber Padilla, and Dr. Theresa Rojas for their work on the booklet and to Manuel Martinez for his original art.
With 26 clubs joining us, we are at capacity for the Lowrider Exhibit portion of our event. Saturday promises to be fantastic day for all ages and we have a surprise announcement coming soon. See you next month!
We are pleased to reveal this year's gorgeous poster for the 2023 Latinx Comic Arts Festival!* We are honored and humbled by the talented people who are part of our ongoing celebration of Latinx comic arts. Join us FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, March 17-18 on the campus of Modesto Junior College from 11am - 6pm both days. The event is FREE, family-friendly, and open to the public.
Earlier this year, Eisner Award-nominated publisher Fanbase Press launched its first foray into Graphic Medicine with Ripple Effects, a five-issue comic book series which explores life as a superhero with an invisible illness, specifically type 1 diabetes. The series was inspired by creator/writer/colorist Jordan Hart's lived experience with an invisible and incurable blood-clotting disease called thrombophilia. As November is National Diabetes Month, Hart and the team at Fanbase Press wish to join physicians, educators, advocates, patients, and their loved ones in raising awareness for diabetes and other invisible illnesses. Throughout the month (and to coincide with the release of the Ripple Effects printed edition on November 15), Fanbase Press will be sharing interviews with individuals impacted by diabetes and educators who share stories about diabetes in their classroom to advance empathy and understanding. In addition, Jordan Hart will be signing copies of Ripple Effects at Hi De Ho Comics in Santa Monica on Saturday, November 19, with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit the American Diabetes Association.
This month, Fanbase Press will feature the following events and content to honor National Diabetes Month:
Organizations like the American Diabetes Association and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) advance the understanding, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of conditions related to diabetes. There are opportunities to get involved directly and/or to donate to their efforts, and we encourage you to learn more about their incredible efforts.
Ripple Effects is created, written, and colored by Jordan Hart (Terminarch, Doppelgänger, Emergence), illustrated by Bruno Chiroleu (El Borde, Mara and Samu), flatted by Shane Kadlecik, lettered by Oceano Ransford (Eisner Award-nominated Rikki, The Sequels, Haphaven), and featuring cover art by Justin C. Harder (CLAUS Studios).
SYNOPSIS:
In
a world that is no stranger to superheroes, George Gibson is
invulnerable to physical harm but fights every day to stay alive.
Suffering from an acute case of type 1 diabetes, his invincibility is
offset by a defective pancreas that must be monitored and treated daily.
This incurable disease makes George's body both his greatest strength
and his eternal weakness.
What sets this series apart is a positive, person-first representation about life with an invisible illness . . . which just so happens to also include superhuman abilities. But, Ripple Effects
isn't just a story about a character with an incurable disease. It’s
also a thrilling and relevant superhero tale that touches on the
difficulty of finding a work/life balance, the class struggles and
economic inequality experienced by many in our nation, and the desire to
help others during trying times.
"When I was first diagnosed with thrombophilia, I struggled with deep feelings of isolation," notes Ripple Effects creator Jordan Hart. "But talking with other chronically ill people gave me the support I needed to realize I wasn’t alone. I created Ripple Effects to remind anyone living with an invisible illness — and their loved ones — that there’s a whole community that’s here for you."
For Ripple Effects,
in an effort to help readers better empathize with and understand the
difficulties of navigating invisible illnesses, every issue of the
series features an "Unseen Ripples" essay series written by individuals with invisible disabilities who relate Ripple Effects' events to their own lived experience, ranging in topic from paranoid schizophrenia to thrombophilia.
The "Unseen Ripples" essay series includes a powerhouse lineup of contributors who were generous in sharing not only their time, but their very personal journeys with invisible disabilities and illnesses, including multiple sclerosis, type 2 diabetes, paranoid schizophrenia, Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and thrombophilia:
Issues #1-5 of the comic book series have been released digitally through Hoopla Digital. In addition, the series will be collected into a printed trade paperback (currently available for pre-order) and release on Tuesday, November 15. The collected digital edition will be available through Hoopla, Comics Plus, and Kindle on Wednesday, November 16.
For more information on Ripple Effects, please visit www.RippleEffectsComic.com or www.fanbasepress.com. Ripple Effects may also be found on Facebook and Twitter, @RippleFXComic.
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Today we highlight the final two panels of the 2022 Latinx Comic Arts Festival!
“Critical Stills: World Building” asks what does it take to build a compelling story world? How do we generate and organize viable ideas? How might we navigate collaborating with other creators? These panelists discuss story origins and productive/unproductive ways to build compelling narratives.
Featuring Jason "J. Gonzo" Gonzalez, Amber Padilla, and Henry Barajas
Moderated by: Don Nguyen
For the final panel of the 2022 Latinx Comic Arts Festival, “Comics Chisme Hour with Comadres y Comics and DocTeeRoh,” our Founding Festival Director, Dr. Theresa Rojas (aka DocTeeRoh) gets into the “good stuff” with Kristen Parraz, Sara Bazan, and Jennifer Lopez, the creators and hosts of the Comadres y Comics podcast!
Created over a pitcher of beer, Comadres y Comics is dedicated to highlighting Latinx creators and content, with a focus on the presence of women in the industry as creators, characters, and fans. Not to be missed!
Today we continue highlighting panels from the 2022 Latinx Comic Arts Festival!
“SOMOS: Stories of Illness, Trauma, and Healing” is a special “graphic medicine” panel. Graphic medicine is the intersection of comics and stories rooted in medicine and health-related issues. Comics offer a vehicle for conveying difficult stories surrounding taboo topics such as physical and mental illness, loss, and recovery. Join us for a discussion of how the comics form works as a uniquely healing medium. Recommended for mature audiences.
Featuring Amber Padilla, Alex Schumacher, and Barbra Dillon.
Moderated by: Dr. Theresa Rojas
“Kid Lit: Comics and Literature for Children and Young Adults” brings together some of our children’s and young adult literature authors and artists for this panel focused on (but not limited to!) work for the younger generations.
Featuring Paul Meyer, Amber Padilla, and Carlos Saldaña
Moderated by: Barbara Dillon of Fanbase Press