Comic Book Expo United Black, Brown Artists

A panel discussion featured artists and writers J. Alonzo (left),
Vicko Alvarez, Ricardo Padilla, Terreece Clarke,
Hector Rodriguez and Bill Campbell.  

The second annual Black and Brown Comic Book Expo brought together dozens of African-American and Latino comic-book artists and fans from around the country to my hometown of Columbus, Ohio Oct. 13-16. Also known as "Sol-Con," the event was held at The Ohio State University's Hale Hall and the Columbus Metropolitan Library's Main Branch downtown.

The event included a grand expo where artists showcased their work, workshops for middle and high school students on how to create comic books, and panel discussions about diversity in the media.

Events like Sol-Con provide an opportunity for black and Latino artists to exchange ideas and collaborate, Mexican-American comic book entrepreneur Ricardo Padilla said during an Oct. 16 panel discussion.

"That's the great thing about the expos," he said. "We can do things on our own. We don't have to ask for handouts."

African-American writer Terreece Clark said art can take the form of as a bumper sticker with a catchy design and a powerful message that can provoke thought and conversation.

"I'm seeing that individuals who are not writers, but they just have a story to tell, they're reaching their friends, their family... their church members," she said. "It's that individual expression that is allowing people to have these conversations."

African-American comic book publisher Bill Campbell said his company, Rosarium Publishing, still encounters resistance to distributors agreeing to carry African-American titles.

"It's a constant struggle to convince distributors and stores that your product is actually something that people want," he said. "It's hard to fight an enemy whose best weapon is to do nothing. It's hard to get people to stop doing nothing."

Rosarium and other minority publishers have found creative ways to get past obstacles, Campbell added, such as using a network called Biblio to provide digital content to public libraries around the country.

"There's walls," he said, "but there's always breaches."

(This is an expanded version of an article that originally appeared in the Call and Post Newspaper.)

 

 

 

 

 

What Makes Chicago So Great?

Congrats to the Chicago Cubs for winning their first World Series since 1908.

 

As a native Ohioan (I grew up in capital city Columbus), I was rooting for the Cleveland Indians. It certainly would have been a big plus for the city to boast winning the World Series and the NBA championship in the same year. But I also feel simpatico for the Chicago Cubs, having spent time in the Windy City in the past couple years as Raymond Lambert and I co-wrote the book "All Jokes Aside: Comedy Is a Phunny Business."

The book tells Raymond's amazing life story, including founding the legendary Chicago comedy club All Jokes Aside. The club helped launch the careers of superstars such as Steve Harvey, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, D.L. Hughley, Carlos Mencia and Oscar winner Mo'Nique, just to name a few.

These kings and queens of comedy are only a small sample of the successful men and women in all industries who got their start in Chicago. The following sequence is an excerpt of a chapter that ultimately didn't make the final published version of the "All Jokes Aside" book.

This sequence offers a glimpse of why Chicago tends to produce shining stars, especially ambitious African-American entrepreneurs like Raymond and his college buddy and former business partner James Alexander, who co-founded All Jokes Aside. Here's an excerpt that describes Chicago's history as an incubator for African-American talent from all walks of life:

It's no surprise that the nation's first black president has roots in Chicago. The Windy City has a long and storied history as a breeding ground for black leadership, beginning with its founding by Haitian fur trader Jean Point du Sable in the 1780s.

Since Point du Sable became Chicago's first permanent resident when he built a settlement at the mouth of the Chicago River, the city has, over the centuries, churned out countless African-American inventers, innovators and entrepreneurs who have gone on to national and even global success.

Like Point du Sable, many of the African Americans who rose to fame in Chicago were transplants from other regions: Barack Obama from Hawaii. Ebony Magazine founder John H. Johnson from Arkansas City, Ark. Michael Jordan from Brooklyn, N.Y.

And news anchor-turned-talk show host/global media icon Oprah Winfrey from a small, segregated southern town called Kosciusko, Miss.

It was on Chicago's fertile soil, fortified with generations of black history and black entrepreneurial success, that another transplanted African American - Raymond Lambert of Wilmington, Del. - sought to stake his claim in the late 1980s.

To read the full story of how Raymond rose from a working-class upbringing, raised by teen parents, to become a successful investment banker and, ultimately, the founder of one of the most influential institutions in the history of comedy, pick up a copy of "All Jokes Aside." The book is available on Amazon by clicking this link.

And if you do get the book on Amazon, please be kind enough to leave a review, as it will help other readers discover this must-read chapter of African-American history.