On Saturday, hundreds flocked to Kids’ Comic Con at Bronx Community College for a day filled with stories, costumes, games and fun. The event has been held at the college annually since 2007, with the exception of only two years.
Alex Simmons, a writer and lifelong comic fan who founded the event, said Kids’ Comic Con was founded because he noticed more and more gore and explicit content at conventions he attended over the years. Furthermore, Simmons said his original idea to have even a separate section for kids was met with pushback.
“It wasn’t about entertaining kids,” he said. “It was about comics and collectors.”
He was eventually able to establish a kids’ corner at Comic Con but really wanted a bigger space for them. He first got the go-ahead at Black Comic Con in Philly, and the demand for such an event was clear with over 500 attendees, Simmons said. “It was gangbusters success beyond anything I thought possible.”
He has repeated programming for kids creating and celebrating comics at other U.S. conventions and around the world, including in Senegal in 2010, plus Ireland, Russia and India.
This year in the Bronx, the theme of the day was Agents of H.O.P.E. (Heroes’ Objectives for Peace and Equity (H.O.P.E.), which Simmons said is more important than ever in today’s world.
“It’s really about the push for hope, hope for improving the future,” he said.
Many kids, as well as adults, seem affected by “despondency and overwhelm” with “a sense of ‘what do we have to look forward to?’” said Simmons. He said the convention’s theme underscores the importance of equity, positive change and belief in oneself for young people who are anxious about the world today.
When kids create even a simple three-part comic strip, as Simmons teaches in school workshops in New Jersey, they engage with critical questions about morality, science and innovation, he said.
They also apply the elements of literature—especially building strong characters. What does the character want? Where are they from? Do they go by human pronouns or not? What language do they speak? These questions are all about “validating imagination,” as Simmons put it.
Kids’ Comic Con was full of unique vendors, many of whom were people of color who created their own stories and engaged with kids about them.
Juan Espinosa, who creates comics books, presented his series “Adventures of a System Admin” at Kids Comic Con under his company name, Bearded Man Comics.
Espinosa, who works in IT, created the cybercrime series based on his work, and it references real technology. Although he plans to keep his day job, the support from the comic community has been strong, with people eager to share books and tips, he said.
They all dream of making the next Marvel-level hit story, yet they uplift each other in doing so, said Espinosa. “Everyone’s trying to help each other go there somehow.”
Another vendor at Kids’ Comic Con came with a different angle — using comics to help incarcerated people improve their reading skills and engage positively with each other.
Terrence Coffie, a graduate of Bronx Community College and executive director of Comic Books 4 Justice, launched the effort to send comics to Rikers Island only about six months ago. Within weeks, jail staffers called to ask for more, he said.
Whether young or old, “The guys there, they were actually engaging in the comics and reading,” Coffee said.
Coffee, who is also an adjunct professor at New York University (NYU), was formerly incarcerated himself and said most people in jail or prison read at only a fourth-grade level. Comics are a way to get people reading and foster positive relationships, as many not only read the books but exchange and discuss them with others, he said.
Regardless of age or background, “Comics are linear for all of us,” said Coffie.
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
