December 6, 2022
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.

We know them for superheroes, fantasy lands, and epic battles between mythical creatures. The storytelling mediums of comic books and graphic novels are also used to artfully shed light on contemporary social issues and everyday triumphs of good over evil. Our featured panel of authors and artists will discuss their creative process and sources of inspiration, then get us started on the construction of our own comic strips.

Featured Panel

Location

Avondale Branch Library
3566 Reading Road
Cincinnati, OH 45229

Thank you to our generous sponsors

Drs. Patricia Klein and Reid Hartmann

 

 

 

 

Jay B. Kalagayan (MeSseD creator, writer and publisher) has been an annoyingly consistent entrepreneur and arts advocate in Cincinnati for more than twenty years. A Xavier University graduate from Erie, PA, Jay is founder of Know Theatre of Cincinnati and a co-founder of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. He is a writer of plays, cartoon strips, reviews, articles, marketing collateral, fundraising appeals, and geeky event calendars. His major influences are his wife Jan and daughters Meggie and Fi.

Photo by Jasmine Thompson.


Aziza the Graphic Novelist is an ambitious comic writer with a passion for fantasy and horror. New to the indie comic scene she published her first comic “The Kaaiman’s Cry” on Comixology in July 2020, her second comic “Locket of Devise” in January 2022, and her third comic “The Crosswick Snake” as part of the Cincinnati Cabinet of Curiosities Anthology in March 2022.

A champion for more diversity in fiction, Aziza is focused on writing intriguing stories that feature diverse and unique characters.


Victoria Douglas is a nonbinary cartoonist from the corn-pocked utopia of Midwest Ohio. Winner of the Cartoon Crossroads’ 2022 Emerging Talent award, and the prestigious 2021 Mustardfest Mustard Cookoff Champion. They hold a BFA from the Columbus College of Art and Design, and have been holed up in an unmarked, underground bunker making comics since 2018. They are criminally liable for books like “Biblioware: comix to update ur phone to”, “Templar Vitae”, and the award winning action cat comic, “CINNAMON” from Sumerian Comics. In addition to mad creative output, they curate and develop Halftone Hospital, a free and open repository of digital tools and resources for comic creators.