Last of two parts
First part is available at thevoice.us/registration-will-open-july-27-for-aurora-public-librarys-comics-focus
There will be four talented panelists at the Aurora Public Library’s CAPE Con (City of Aurora Pop Culture and Entertainment Convention), a virtual all-ages event dedicated entirely to comics, fandoms, and graphic novels August 10-15. Swag bag giveaways are available now for pick-up Monday, Aug. 10. (www.aurorapubliclibrary.org/capecon).
The four panelists will include Jiba Molei Anderson, Lila Quintero Weaver, Laura Reyes, and Jarrett Lerner. Friday, Aug. 14 will be the only n-person event of the convention. There will be Family Cosplay Parade at Santori Library, 101 S. River Street, downtown Aurora n the Parker Garden! Registration is required for a spot in the parade, a short march around the building, dressed in the best cosplay. Lineup will be at 3 p.m..
Jiba Molei Anderson is the owner of Griot Enterprises and creator of The Horsemen graphic novel series and maintains The Afrosoul Chronicles, a blog dedicated to the discussion of race, politics and the business of popular culture. Anderson is currently a part-time lecturer at Chicago State University, teaching courses in animation, multimedia and video game design and speaks across the country promoting comic books and graphic novels as tools for education in the exploration of race, culture and identity.
Panelist Lila Quintero Weaver is a native of Argentina and a long-time resident of Alabama. She is the writer and illustrator of a graphic memoir, Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White and later served as co-translator of its Spanish edition, Cuarto oscuro: Recuerdos en blanco y negro. As a graphic novelist and documentarian of the immigrant experience in the American South, Lila has lectured at college campuses across the United States, including Marshall University, Vanderbilt University, and New College of Florida. She has exhibited selections of original art from Darkroom at Whitman College, the University of Richmond, Levine Museum of the New South, The Ohio State University’s Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum, and The Rosa Parks Museum. In 2018, she published My Year in the Middle, her first children’s novel.
Jarrett Lerner is he author of EngiNerds and its sequel, Revenge of the EngiNerds, which was explained in part one.
Finally, panelist Laura Reyes is a Mexican American illustrator living in Aurora. Her artwork focuses on storytelling, illustrations, and comics. She is inspired by everyday life, nature, her friends, and her family. She is a part of Artbar collective and has done work for the city government of Aurora. She is working as an artist and writer on a comic, entitled Book of Witches, a story about three witches becoming friends and solving a mystery together. When she’s not drawing, she enjoys a warm cup of coffee, video games, and wishing she had a cat.
The link to this webinar can be found on the Aurora Public Library events page of the website, or you can tune in to Facebook Live to watch and listen to this important conversation!
There will be activities each of the six days which dedicated fans of comics and graphcs will want to find participation in the virtual event.
When we were forced to make transition to a virtual format in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were worried that it would detract from the energy of our event, but I think we have been able to tap into some immense talents that would be otherwise unavailable. We now have the opportunity to bring authors and illustrators from across the country to share their work and experiences with our community in Aurora.