The 1st Annual Brooklyn Comics & Graphics Festival

PSFK recently attended the First Annual Brooklyn Comics & Graphics Festival, a day long event exploring the present and future of the comic medium.

While numerous comic book artists and publishers from all over the world showcased their work in the basement of Our Lady Consolation Church, several panel discussions, moderated by comics critic Bill Kartalopolous, took place down the street at Secret Project Robot. While some panels focused on stylistic aspects of drawing, cartooning, and narrative development, there was a significant amount of discussion on the larger cultural and theoretical backdrop on which the craft of comics lay.

The shows modest size was balanced out by a guest list featuring heavyweight names including Charles Burns, Gary Panter, Jililan Tamaki, Ben Katchor, Gabrielle Bell, R. O. Blechman, Anya Davidson, Kim Deitch, Carlos Gonzales, Michael Kupperman, Ron Rege Jr., Peter Saul, Dash Shaw, R. Sikoryak, Adrian Tomine, and Lauren Weinstein. Some were there for book signings, while others were panel speakers. Leading publishers like Drawn & Quarterly (Montreal), Le Dernier Cri (France), Corraini (Italy), Nieves of Zurich (Switzerland) were also among the vendors showcasing their work.

We were happy to see gifted artists adapting to the changing times. While many were continuing to engage with printing and bookmaking methods, other groups, such as House of Twelve Comics, announced they will be publishing their comic book artists on Comixology.com’s Comics app for the iPhone. This platform will enable them to give their readers flexibility to enjoy their comics on the go and keep the comics purchased in mint condition.

Soundscreen Design and Famous Class, two design companies, also caught our attention. These entrepreneurial companies derive their inspiration from music. Famous Class is actually a full-blown record label which services its artists by making their t-shirts and printing mini-comic books to hold their CDs in addition to doing the conventional production work, while Soundscreen Design takes a more radical approach to products by designing children’s books, apparel, artist music journals (which extend the idea of . They “aim to advance the concept of music merchandise through meticulous design coupled with a fan’s appreciation and obsession with the thing”.

If anything, the festival demonstrated that the comics scene is alive, adapting, and thriving with inspiring ideas.