Durham County Library
Southwest Regional Branch)
11 a.m.-3:45 p.m., free, www.durhamcomicsfest.org
If your budget or tolerance of crowds makes you wary of NC Comicon or Raleigh Supercon, the Durham County Library’s free, relatively intimate annual comics festival is a less intimidating venture into the waters of fandom. The main event is at the library on Saturday, where alternative comic creators will offer family-friendly insights into their craft. Guests include Molly Ostertag, creator of the webcomic Strong Female Protagonist (about a female superhero braving the challenges of college); and Liz Prince, whose comics range from Steven Universe tie-ins to autobiographical works such as Tomboy, an exploration of her struggles with gender identity growing up. Activities include exquisite-corpse-style comic creation with Ostertag and a cartooning self-portrait tutorial with Prince. The festival is surrounded by a variety off offsite events throughout the coming week, including an adult-oriented Comics Trivia Night at Fullsteam Brewery (June 21), a drink-and-draw at Cocoa Cinnamon (June 22), and a networking night for local creators at Atomic Empire (June 27). Comics for everyone! Ain’t life grand?
