Our own festival Director, Dr. Theresa Rojas gave an interview with Insight about the significance of the Latinx Arts Festival, including a brief history of how it all began.
"The medium of comic books has often been a place where artists imagine what the distant future could look like. And that tradition continues at this year’s Latinx Comic Arts Festival in Modesto as they explore a theme of Latino-futurism."
Listen to the entire interview by clicking here or on the image below!
Today we highlight an interview with Kristen Parraz and Eddie deAngelini, the owners of the comics shop Santa Monica Comics Company and friends of the Latinx Comic Arts Festival. Kristen is one of the hosts of Comadres y Comics and Eddie is the creator of Collectors. Together they own Santa Monica Comics Company and exhibit with us every year.
See the full video below!
Connect with Kristen and Eddie at LCAF on April 3 and 4,
2026, and through their contact information below.
Kristen@smcomicsco.com
Eddie@smcomicsco.com
IG: @comadresycomics, @smcomicsco, @eddiedeangelini
www.smcomicsco.com
www.comadresycomics.com
www.collectorscomic.com
Thank you to Kristen and Eddie for their outspoken support of the Festival.
One of our favorite things about the Latinx Comic Arts Festival is the Lowrider Exhibition on Saturday from 11am - 3:30pm. This year we will feature an early cruise at 10:30am. The lowrider celebratory cruise-in is an event unto itself: Artful, dramatic, beautiful.
Join us in lot 208 outside of Mary Stuart Rogers before LCAF opens at 11.
Enjoy this exclusive poster with new illustrations by 2026 Poster Artist, Javier Cruz Winnik. Thank you to all participating car clubs and solo riders. We'll see you at the Festival!
We are pleased to share this year's mega poster by New York City cartoonist and educator, Javier Cruz Winnik. Winnik’s art boldly illustrates a vision of Latinx Futurism, inviting viewers to imagine a world where community strength, pride, and futuristic innovation transform the landscape of tomorrow.
Latinx Futurism (or Latinofuturism) is an artistic and cultural movement that boldly reimagines Latinx life through science fiction, speculative storytelling, and visionary art. Inspired by Indigenous roots and ancient traditions that continue to influence Latinx communities, it weaves past, present, future into a powerful story of resilience, creativity, and technological innovation. In comics, illustration, film, and other visual forms, it centers Latinx communities as imaginative, brilliant architects of the future.
This year’s Latinx Comic Arts Festival poster captures that spirit. Through bold design, cultural symbolism, and speculative imagination, it celebrates our creativity, our histories, and the futures we are actively shaping.
Enjoy, share the poster, and join us for the 2026 Festival April 3-4, 11am – 6pm in the Mary Stuart Rogers building on the Modesto Junior College West Campus.
The 2026 LCAF Volunteer Interest Form is LIVE! Join us for this year's Festival as a volunteer. Click on "INTEREST FORMS" in the tabs above. Also enjoy another sneak peak at one our new poster characters for this year's event! This form will close March 20.
.jpg)
Interested in becoming a food vendor for the 2026 Latinx Comic Arts Festival? Click on "INTEREST FORM" in the tab above for information on our review process.
.png)
The Latinx Comic Arts Festival returns April 3-4 (Friday and Saturday)! Save the date and get ready for our most EPIC event yet. Our Grand Poster Reveal is coming soon! Enjoy this sneak preview designed by our top secret 2026 poster artist....
This is a curated show with a waiting list. Interested comic arts exhibitors may click on the INTEREST FORM tab above.
Thank you to our community of exhibitors, drivers and riders, volunteers, photographers, broadcasters, dancers, sponsors, and planning teams, it was our best and most well attended event ever. We are so grateful for every single person who touched this event and for our Modesto Junior College students and families. We welcomed so many babies this year!
Thank you Yvonne De La Cruz Sanchez for creating the incredible cosplay outfit for her daughter who became our iconic Latina Folklórico Sailor Moon. She brought our poster to life!
A very special thank you to Tyrone "Malow" Diaz for the incredible footage and recap film below. We are forever grateful for the time, effort, and amor that went into this historical piece.
.png)
The complete 2024 Latinx Comic Arts Festival program booklet is now available below!
Attention LCAF Community and Attendees:
This is a reminder that the Modesto Junior College campus, where the event is being held, does not allow alcohol on the premises.
This means that there is no alcohol allowed in our buildings or parking lots. Please help us keep this a safe, ongoing community event.
We look forward to welcoming everyone Friday and Saturday, March 22-23rd, to celebrate our 5th year!
~The Latinx Comic Arts Festival
As difficult as it was to imagine topping last year's Festival icon, we've done it again! Here, we present a variant of this year's poster with our icon Folklorico Sailor Moon created by Amber Padilla (@CandyMistakes). Amber is both our poster artist and designer.
Notice the detail on the dress and braids. Amber also customized the background. You'll this and more throughout the Festival program booklet. Full size posters and lowrider variant will be available for sale at the event.
The Latinx Comic Arts Festival is proud to share that Fanbase Press' Graphic Medicine series, Ripple Effects, has received a 2023 Harvey Award nomination in the Digital Book of the Year category, with contributions for LCAF Founding Director Dr. Theresa Rojas.
Ripple Effects is 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.
The series was 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). In addition, the collected trade paperback features a foreword by Matthew Noe (Librarian, Harvard Medical School).
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.
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. Essay contributors include:
Earlier this year, Ripple Effects was nominated for a 2023 Eisner Award (Best Digital Comic) and the 2023 Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards. The series was included in the American Library Association’s (Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table) 2022 Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading List and was named the winner for the 25th annual Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards in the Graphic Novels & Comics category.
The series was collected into a printed trade paperback which is available through Fanbase Press and Amazon. The collected digital edition is also available through Hoopla, Comics Plus, and Kindle.
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.
VOTING FOR THE HARVEY AWARDS
The 2023 Harvey Awards will be presented on Friday, August 13, 2023, during New York Comic Con. A full list of the 2023 nominees may be found here.
The Harvey Awards welcome professionals from across the comic book industry to vote on this year’s awards. This means all professional creators – writers, artists, colors, letterers, designers and editors are eligible to vote. In addition to professional creators, publishing professionals (sales, marketing, etc.), comic book retailers and librarians are also eligible to vote.
If you fit any of the above criteria or work in the comic book industry, click here to apply to become a voter.
###
ABOUT FANBASE PRESS
As
an Eisner Award-nominated comic book publisher and geek culture
website, Fanbase Press produces new and distinctive works, as well as
daily reviews, interviews, and podcasts, that span the pop culture
spectrum and give voice to the themes, ideals, and people that make
geekdom so exceptional.
Fanbase Press’ previous titles, including
the 2018 Eisner Award-nominated Quince, the 2022 International Latino
Book Award-winning Nuclear Power, the 2020 Foreword INDIES Award-winning
Quince: The Definitive Bilingual Edition, and the 2023 Eisner
Award-nominated Ripple Effects, are available online at
www.fanbasepress.com and on Amazon, as well as digitally through Hoopla
Digital, ComicsPlus, and Kindle.
ABOUT THE LATINX COMIC ARTS FESTIVAL
The Latinx Comic Arts Festival is the California Central Valley's only celebration of Latino comic arts creators and friends. We showcase some of the most talented people in the country, featuring Latinx cartoonists, writers, artists, animators, storyboard artists, comic arts educators, and more! LCAF takes place on the campus of Modesto Junior College in Modesto, California, and is an ALL-AGES, FREE, FAMILY FRIENDLY event that is open to the public. LCAF features two days of exhibitors, 10 panels and workshops, a virtual art gallery, and a lowrider exhibition on Saturday.
In support of the mission of an HSI, LCAF "expands the educational opportunities for Latinos and other underrepresented populations"* by directly addressing the need to develop more programming for our growing Latinx student body (now over 54%) and the larger Modesto Junior College and Central Valley communities.
Part of the mission of Modesto Junior College is to transform lives through programs and services. The Latinx Comic Arts Festival presents a dynamic, innovative, and thoughtful event that benefits our entire MJC community and establishes the Festival as the premier Central Valley comic arts event focused on Latino creators. While LCAF will afford our students, faculty, and staff the opportunity to meet a variety of talented creators, it’s also a way to get people—entire families—on campus. For many, it will be an initial introduction to our campus.The Latinx Comic Arts Festival is proud to share that Fanbase Press' Graphic Medicine series, Ripple Effects, has received a 2023 Eisner Award nomination in the Best Digital Comic category, with contributions for LCAF Founding Director Dr. Theresa Rojas.
Ripple Effects is 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.
The series was 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). In addition, the collected trade paperback features a foreword by Matthew Noe (Librarian, Harvard Medical School).
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.
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. Essay contributors include:
Earlier this year, Ripple Effects was included in the American Library Association's (Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table) 2022 Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading List and was named as a finalist for the 25th annual Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards in the Graphic Novels & Comics category.
The series was collected into a printed trade paperback which is available through Fanbase Press and Amazon. The collected digital edition is also available through Hoopla, Comics Plus, and Kindle.
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.
VOTING FOR THE EISNER AWARDS
The 2023 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards will be presented on Friday, July 21, 2023, at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel during San Diego Comic-Con. A full list of the 2023 nominees may be found here. All SDCC attendees with a Friday and/or 4-day badge are able to attend the Eisner Awards.
Voting for the Eisner Awards is being held online using a two-step process. The first step is for prospective voters to apply here. After filling out the form, eligible voters will be invited to go to the ballot and cast their votes. Those who previously registered will automatically be invited to fill out the new ballot. All professionals in the comic book industry are eligible to vote. The deadline for voting is June 9. New voters must have registered by June 2 in order to be invited to the ballot.
###
ABOUT FANBASE PRESS
As an Eisner Award-nominated comic book publisher and geek culture website, Fanbase Press produces new and distinctive works, as well as daily reviews, interviews, and podcasts, that span the pop culture spectrum and give voice to the themes, ideals, and people that make geekdom so exceptional.
Fanbase Press’ previous titles, including the 2018 Eisner Award-nominated Quince, the 2022 International Latino Book Award-winning Nuclear Power, the 2020 Foreword INDIES Award-winning Quince: The Definitive Bilingual Edition, and the 2023 Eisner Award-nominated Ripple Effects, are available online at www.fanbasepress.com and on Amazon, as well as digitally through Hoopla Digital, ComicsPlus, and Kindle.
ABOUT THE LATINX COMIC ARTS FESTIVAL
The Latinx Comic Arts Festival is the California Central Valley's only celebration of Latino comic arts creators and friends. We showcase some of the most talented people in the country, featuring Latinx cartoonists, writers, artists, animators, storyboard artists, comic arts educators, and more! LCAF takes place on the campus of Modesto Junior College in Modesto, California, and is an ALL-AGES, FREE, FAMILY FRIENDLY event that is open to the public. LCAF features two days of exhibitors, 10 panels and workshops, a virtual art gallery, and a lowrider exhibition on Saturday.
In support of the mission of an HSI, LCAF "expands the educational opportunities for Latinos and other underrepresented populations"* by directly addressing the need to develop more programming for our growing Latinx student body (now over 54%) and the larger Modesto Junior College and Central Valley communities.
Part of the mission of Modesto Junior College is to
transform lives through programs and services. The Latinx Comic Arts
Festival presents a dynamic, innovative, and thoughtful event that
benefits our entire MJC community and establishes the Festival as the
premier Central Valley comic arts event focused on Latino creators.
While LCAF will afford our students, faculty, and staff the opportunity
to meet a variety of talented creators, it’s also a way to get
people—entire families—on campus. For many, it will be an initial
introduction to our campus.
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.
###
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!
