MICE convention

This weekend I attended Lesley University's annual MICE  ( Massachusetts Independence Comics Expo)convention. It's a comic con show for independent self published comic book and graphic novel artists. Many of the books were fantasies, personal stories and ideas that were a bit removed from the mainstream superhero genre. The artists were diverse in gender and race . There was a panel discussion about political art and the impact comics can have on influencing thoughts and ideas. Led by Che Salazar it was an interesting discussion that definitely impacted my thoughts on the illustrated work I'm currently doing. Colin Tedford of Trees And Hills Comics ( Nature and conservation themes), Rebeca Migdal of World War 3 Illustrated ( political book with a variety of artists) , Tak Toyoshima of Secret Asian Man ( explores myths and stereotypes about being Asian in America) and Anna Mudd from the Harvard Center of Middle Eastern Studies who works with artists from outside the U.S. and presents display their graphic novel works as a form a breaking down barriers and cultural misunderstandings.

The debate included a discussion on factual reporting versus personal stories about events that happen in various news places around the world. The graphic novel format was agreed by everyone that it continues to be a great way to continue storytelling about things. I was also intrigued by the original works displayed that showed the step by step process many artists go through in making graphic novels.  The genre of superhero mainstream comics ( Marvel and D.C.) has been suffering from sales decline in recent year yet the individual creators continue as strong as ever in using cartoons as a form of storytelling.