Contact: Anne-Marie Despain, Director of Library Services
San Mateo County Libraries
(650) 312-5258
SAN MATEO, CA—San Mateo County Libraries are hosting their second annual Comic Arts Fest, a multiweek celebration of the comic arts as a visual and literary arts form. The Comic Arts Fest draws a wide range of artists including emerging local artists, as well as groundbreaking indie favorites like the Hernandez Brothers whose Love and Rockets series is now in its 36th year and New York Times bestseller Kazu Kibuishi, author of the Amulet series. The Comic Arts Fest includes dozens of free activities including readings, panels and dozens of hands-on workshops with artists from the Cartoon Arts Museum, opens a new window and beyond.
San Mateo County Libraries provide programs that promote learning and creativity for all age groups and backgrounds. The Comic Arts Fest events shine a light on diverse views of the world, art and literature while also promoting creativity and hands-on learning. Debbie Huey, local graphic artist and Millbrae Library Community Technology Specialist, is inspired to co-organize this event every year because, “Comic arts are a beautiful art form and a way for people of all ages and backgrounds to tell their stories. There are stories that are being told in comics that aren’t being told in any other way and we’re excited to share them with our library patrons.”
Comic Arts Fest Spotlight:
Bay Area Webcomic Artists Panel
Saturday, February 18, 11:00 AM, Millbrae Library, 1 Library Avenue, Millbrae Library, 1 Library Avenue, Millbrae
Join Ellis Kim, creator of the fantastic time travel webcomic Time Fiddler, Spencer Bingham, maker of the fantasy webcomic Homebound, and Maia Kobabe, celebrated for her comic adaptation of the medieval ballad poem Tom O'Bedlam. Ellis is an Alameda-based illustrator who loves well crafted interactive narratives, believable characters, and clarity in visual conveyance. Spencer is a long-time resident of the Bay Area who studied character animation at the Academy of Art University. Homebound was originally slated as a stop-motion short before it evolved into a webcomic. Maia's Tom o’Bedlam was accepted into the Society of Illustrator's Comic and Cartoon Art annual and nominated for an Ignatz Award in 2016.
A Copresentation with Latino Comics Expo: Cult Indie Cartoonists Gilbert, Jaime, and Mario Hernandez
Saturday, February 18, 1:00 PM, Millbrae Library, 1 Library Avenue, Millbrae
Known as Los Bros Hernandez, Gilbert, Jaime, and Mario Hernandez are the three American cartoonist brothers famous for creating Love and Rockets. Love and Rockets was one of the first in the alternative comics movement of the 1980s and is one of the best and longest-running underground comic books of all time. Moving from a fictional Mexican village of Palomar and a wide-cast of friends in Los Angeles, Love and Rockets is known for its realistic portrayal of the passing of time with characters that age, evolve, and develop from teenagers to adults.
Thi Bui, Author of The Best We Could Do, an Illustrated Memoir
Tuesday, February 21, 7:00 PM, Burlingame Library, opens a new window, 480 Primrose Road, Burlingame
Born in Vietnam three months before the end of the Vietnam War, Thi Bui came to the U.S. as one of the refugees of the seventies. In what Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen calls “a book to break your heart and heal it,” Thi Bui’s The Best We Could Do is a journey of understanding, and provides inspiration to all of those who search for a better future while longing for a simpler past.
Jen Wang, Author of Koko Be Good
Saturday, February 25, 12:00 PM, Foster City Library. 1000 East Hillsdale Boulevard, Foster City
A cartoonist and illustrator currently based in Los Angeles. She is a co-founder and organizer for Comic Arts LA, a Los Angeles based comics festival. Jen has worked with a wide range of publishers, from Penguin Random House, Vertigo (DC Comics), BOOM! Studios, to Tor.com. Jen’s graphic novels are Koko Be Good and In Real Life, based off of Cory Doctorow’s For the Win.
New York Times Bestseller Kazu Kibuishi
Saturday, February 25, 2:00 PM, Foster City Library. 1000 East Hillsdale Boulevard, Foster City
Author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Amulet graphic novel series, the webcomic Copper, and the action-packed series Daisy Kutter. Kazu is also the founder and editor of the Flight Anthologies. Amulet is a layered fantasy adventure with a legion of characters, an epic fantasy and science fiction quest, and gorgeously elaborate and detailed worlds. A book selling and signing opportunity will follow Kazu’s author talk.
The Comic Arts Fest is sponsored by San Mateo County Libraries with additional support from the Friends of the Library organizations for Portola Valley, San Carlos and Woodside.
