Comica’s London Comics Festival: Talking Diversity And Representation In UK Comics With ‘Tomorrow’s Voices Today’
by Richard Bruton
More from Paul Gravett‘s Comica London Comics Festival at Soho’s Century Club with UK Comics Laureate Bobby Joseph talking to Colleen Douglas, Shazleen Khan, Shanti Rai, and Shangomola Edunjobi for Tomorrow’s Voices Today – Diversity & Representation in UK Comics.
Tomorrow’s Voices Today – Diversity & Representation in UK Comics takes place on 27 April 2024 at 6:30 pm.
Hosted by Bobby Joseph, writer, publisher and the first UK Comics Laureate of colour, Tomorrow’s Voices Today brings us four up-and-coming creators from the Black and Asian community who will be discussing their work and the challenges that people of diversity face in the industry.
This event is part of COMICA London Comics Festival 2024, organised in association with VIP Brands.
Colleen Douglas is a comics writer and/or editor for Ahoy, Amigo, Caliber, Dark Horse, Rosarium, Second Sight and others. She is Collection Editor on the history-making SHOOK! Vol. 2, a horror anthology by Black Women, and writer of the graphic novel Silk Cotton.
Shangomola Edunjobi won the Embassy of Japan, London’s Manga Jiman Competition in 2017 and the Silver Award in Japan’s International Manga Awards in 2018. He was Curator of Tone for The British Museum’s ‘Manga’ exhibition in 2019 and head illustrator for the Science Museum’s Technicians Gallery in 2023.
Interview with Edunjobi from 2020 at Broken Frontier
Shazleen Khan has been self-publishing comics since 2011, including their award-winning webcomic Buuza!!. Khan has also illustrated the graphic novel Saving Sunshine written by Saadia Faruqi (2023, First Second) and the forthcoming My First Monster written by Cecil Castellucci.
Shanti Rai’s debut graphic novel was the acclaimed Sennen from Avery Hill Publishing. She is a Bengali/British illustrator and graphic novelist from London, creating comics and fantasy worlds since 1994.
