Durham Comics Fest

The Durham County Library’s annual Comics Fest has become an annual spotlight for the diversity of comics—not just in subject matter and audience, but in how comics are made. This year’s highlights on Saturday, which is the main event at the Shannon Road library, include appearances by Paul Karasik and Mark Newgarden, authors of the acclaimed dissection of comics storytelling How to Read Nancy. Using a simple three-panel newspaper comic strip, the book analyzes its visual elements, offering a master class in the fundamentals of art, design, and comedy. Another special guest is Jen Wang, writer and artist of the award-winning YA graphic novel The Prince and the Dressmaker. The event includes a local artists’ alley, a comics swap, and, on Sunday, a screeningof the documentary Latinx Superheroes in Mainstream Comics, with a video chat with the film’s director, Frederick Luis Aldama.