FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Chris Boivin, (904) 255-6106
Cell: (904) 759-5643, cboivin@coj.net
Jeremy Yates, (904) 255-6111
Local Comic and Zine Makers Bring a Heavy Dose of Eclectic, Bizarre and Infectiously Colorful Art to the Main Library
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., May 30, 2023 - The Duval Comic and Zine Fest returns to the Main Library on Saturday, June 10 from 1 - 5 p.m. Meet dozens of local creators of independent and self-published zines, mini-comics, small press, alternative press, underground art, and "DIY" media, right in the heart of downtown Jacksonville. Located on the first floor of the Main Library, next to the Zine Collection, the event also includes a Lit Chat Interview, a Forward Thinking panel discussion about the history and future of zines and two zine-making programs for teens (in the Teen Room).
Stay tuned after the Lit Chat for an exciting announcement about Jax Book Fest 2023 and our three headlining authors!
WHAT: Duval Comic and Zine Fest
WHERE: Main Library (first floor)
WHEN: Saturday, June 10, 2023, from 1-5 p.m.
HOW: Visit jaxpubliclibrary.org/dcazfest to register for the author interview and panel discussion
WHO: Free and open to all!
For zine and comic fans, there will be around 40 local vendors with plenty of merchandise to sell. Local creators are encouraged to bring their zines for trading or for donating to the Library. The Main Library boasts the largest public Zine Collection in the Southeast.
There are two "drop-in" activities happening throughout the event. The Main Library's weekly "Saturday Morning Cartooning" transforms for DCAZ Fest into a collaborative, improvised "Jam Comic" session where cartoonists will take turns drawing a single panel of a comic. Or, drop in and make your own risograph print with artist, printmaker and University of North Florida professor, Dr. Andrew Kozlowski. Create a vibrant cover for your next zine or an awesome 11x17" poster you can use to promote your work! Magazines, drawing utensils and other zine-making materials will be available.
Local podcaster Badr Milligan will interview graphic novelist Leela Corman at 1:30 p.m. A book signing will follow the Lit Chat Interview with a limited number of books available for purchase on-site from San Marco Books and More (or you can bring your own copy to be signed). At 3:30 p.m., local writer, zinester, journalist and broadcaster Shelton Hull will lead a panel discussion with three other comic and zine makers about self-made media and DIY culture. The four will discuss how digital tools and social media have changed how creators produce and distribute their work as well as how to curate a community of readers. Both programs take place on the first floor of the Main Library, right in the center of the action!
Chair seating will be guaranteed to those who register for the Lit Chat and Forward Thinking programs. Standing room will also be available. Corman will sign books after the program and copies will be available for sale on-site from Gotham City Limit.
About our Lit Chat Author
Leela Corman is a painter, educator, illustrator and graphic novel creator. She creates entirely hand-painted comics and graphic novels in watercolor, gouache and acrylics and works primarily with Polish-Jewish history and life, in both her fiction and nonfiction comics, as well as women’s history, 20th-century New York history, trauma, loss and (occasionally) music. Corman’s short-form comics have appeared in The Believer Magazine, Tablet Magazine, Nautilus and The Nib. She has worked as an illustrator for 20 years, creating editorial illustrations for The New York Times, NYPress, BUST Magazine, books on subjects ranging from urban gardening to fashion history, album art for The Mountain Goats, and tour poster art for Neko Case, Thalia Zedek Band and Live Skull. Corman is also a founding instructor at Sequential Artists Workshop, a freestanding school for comics and graphic novels based in Gainesville, Florida. Past books include the graphic novel Unterzakhn (Schocken-Pantheon, 2012) which was nominated for the LA Times Book Award and the Eisner Award and the short comics collection We All Wish for Deadly Force (Retrofit/Big Plant, 2016). Find more of her work here.
About our Lit Chat Interviewer
Badr Milliganis a project manager by day and an audio creator by night. Since 2012, he has used a mic to help others share their stories. He hosts the award-winning show, The Short Box Podcast, and recently created the Nexxt Spin podcast for fellow vinyl lovers. Inspired by the expanding podcast medium and community around him, he assembled the first Jax Podcaster’s United! meet-up in 2018, a now regular event with a fast-growing collective of podcasters and audio enthusiasts dedicated to helping one another through collaboration and community. Badr is also an FSCJ alumnus and veteran of the Florida Air National Guard, using both experiences to run his own small business, The Short Box Entertainment Company.
