Comic Book Curious: End of Year in Review

Comic Book Curious (CBC) has been steadily growing this past year! Having been an online publication for a year and a half, our reach to like-minded nerds has grown along with our endeavors. “What endeavors?” you may be asking yourself (or me). Well, let me tell you what 2022 has brought to our company.

We had our first comic book jam early in the year. We had a number of participants write, draw, ink, and color their own comics. These comics were judged and reviewed by industry heavyweights Tini Howard, Clay Adams, and Bryan Kaiser Tillman. These same people also gave talks that the participants in the jam were able to attend to learn new things about the comic book industry and to learn the steps needed to get into the comic world.

The comic jam also led to CBC making a Discord channel where people are encouraged to post their art and to have genuine chats with like minded individuals. It is important to note that this place is a place of openness and generosity. At CBC we seek to cultivate a kinder world through empathy. And we love all people regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, etc. to join with us. Really the only requirement is here is being open-minded. This community has grown a lot in recent months, especially with the inclusion of biweekly art contests hosted by Max.

Every two weeks Max picks a theme ranging from the creation of a superhero to combining animals to create something new. People are encouraged to submit their ORIGINAL artwork for consideration. First through third place are awarded gift cards to their local comic shop. Fan favorite also receives a prize. Below is a painting I did to participate in the art contest.

Credit: Kristen Lormand-Yoerger

It was through one of these art competitions that Nate found a team of creators to start working on the first comic in the Legions of Eccentrics (LOE) series. Nate has been envisioning a group of unlikely heroes, like the X-Men, who solve problems faced in the world; these problems include things like pollution, trafficking, unclean drinking water, drugs, etc. The hope is as these comic book characters clean up in their world, readers will use that as inspiration to clean up in the real world, thus fostering global empathy.

This of course leads directly into the AR phone game that Nate has envisioned for his LOE characters. You must team up with players all over the world to incite real world change. Perhaps you are your team of supers dig a well for those without easy access to water? He wants to turn the actions in the game into real world actions, such as an actual well being dug. The game is not out yet, but a clickable prototype has been created and Nate has been working closely with those in the field to turn this dream into a reality.

Besides all these strides with the LOE world, the team at CBC has been hard at work networking. The team members have gone to many conventions in Venezuela, Nigeria, and the US. Tobi went to Nerdwork where she represented CBC. Erin went to New York Comic Con where she was able to connect with artists and cosplayers. Markie went to Sakura Con, Emerald city, and then Geek Girl Con. These trips to cons were a great way to introduce people to CBC and what we are trying to do – reach out to makers, artists, fans, stars, PEOPLE and to get their stories. It was a good experience for all involved.

These meetings led to some great interviews with many different cosplayers from all over the world. This year we have interviewed over 25 cosplayers. Kittie, Sasuke’s Sidechick, Svper Lunary, The Yonn Don, Venture Bros, and Sunflow3r Samurai are just a few of the cosplayers we interviewed throughout the year. We got the stories behind each of their cosplay journeys.

Some of the most popular articles we have put out this year are the cosplay articles. This is not surprising as cosplay has a large fan base across the world. Dressing up as favorite characters from TV shows, movies, and video games brings nerds together like almost nothing else. Being able to share your love for something with like-minded individuals can help bring people together.

For those who are sight-impaired or who prefer to listen to articles, we have started reading articles as part of our ongoing mission to be and to promote inclusivity. These readings have image accompaniment and can be found on the CBC YouTube channel.

This year has seen amazing growth for CBC. Our community is global and empathetic; and, really, could you ask for anything better? People from all over can join our community and then just be themselves.

We are always interested in hearing from fans, artists, cosplayers, writers, and makers. If one of your passions in nerd culture, then you are in the right place. Please feel free to look us up on social media and send us a message. If you are a cosplayer looking to grow your following, perhaps we could interview you! Down below I will post a link to our socials and to our Discord. We look forward to hearing about your year as well.

About the Author: Kristen is the director of operations and content at Comic Book Curious. She enjoys crafting and gaming. She has many children: one child, one dog, two cats, and three rats. Sharing nerd joy with her child brings her all of the joy.

Interested in becoming a member of our community? Want to know more about the Comic Book Curious team? Check out our Discord server here!

Check out our other socials here.

We hope to see you there!