The Kids’ Comics Revolution podcast is holding its own awards, and we’re asking kids everywhere to vote for the winners!

KCR hosts Dave Roman and Jerzy Drozd have teamed up with Chris Duffy (Nickelodeon Magazine) and the Ann Arbor District Library to honor some of the best kids’ comics to come out in 2012. You can vote by picking up a ballot in the Novella Room (2nd floor, Toronto Reference Library) at the Toronto Comics Arts Festival and Kids Read Comics, or use the online ballot below. Winners will be announced June 23rd at a special ceremony at the conclusion of Kids Read Comics in Ann Arbor, Michigan! Read the rest of this entry »

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We’re thrilled to reveal the official poster art for the 2013 Kids Read Comics Celebration! Special guest Ben Hatke of Zita the Spacegirl beautifully captured the spirit of our event in his signature style.

You can download PDF fliers of this poster on our fliers page. Print them out and post them in your school, library, or comics store to let others know about the awesome event we’ve got lined up for June 22-23!

Our most heartfelt thanks to Ben for this awesome image. You’ll be able to get your own poster featuring this art at KRCC 13 and meet the artist himself!

And just for fun, here‘s a cover image you can use on your Facebook page to help spread the word!

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The Kids Read Comics Celebration becomes a 3-day event! Last year we held a special mixer for educators, librarians, and cartoonists before the Sunday festivities began, and it was such a hit we decided to make a whole day of it this year.

We’ve partnered with the University of Michigan Library and the Ann Arbor Book Festival to create a special pre-conference before KRCC weekend. Comics, Collections, and the Common Core will happen Friday from 10 am to 5 pm, featuring hands-on workshops, panels, and interactive discussions to help librarians build their collections, educators incorporate comics into their curriculums, and cartoonists work more closely with the former groups to better advocate for their medium!

The day will conclude with a special meet-and-greet at a local restaurant and a giant drawing wall!

Attendance is free, but we ask that you register to save a seat. You can find a list of programming and the registration form here!

(We’re in the midst of finalizing programming for Saturday and Sunday, so stay tuned for that, too!)

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Mark your calendars for the fifth annual Kids Read Comics Celebration, which will take place on the weekend of June 22 & 23, 2013, in Ann Arbor, Michigan!

Once again, the Ann Arbor District Library will host the event, and KRC is working closely with AADL to bring you a great roster of comics creators, workshops, and presentations for kids and teens…as well as special programs for educators and librarians who want to find out more about using comics effectively in their work.

If you’re a librarian or teacher who’s interested in KRC, please write us as kidsreadcomics@gmail.com so we can keep you posted about special activities. And if you’re an artist or writer (or both) who supports the mission of Kids Read Comics and want to find out about possibly having a spot in our artist alley, please write to our Guest Relations email address for more information.

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What do cartoonists to after a wild and wonderful weekend of drawing? They draw some more!

Kids Read Comics Celebration ’12 was a phenomenal, fantabulous event! We saw kids pouring out their creative impulses – like the five-year-old who proudly showed us the monster-filled 8-page mini-comic he wrote and drew in Matt Feazell’s mini-comics workshop! We watched kids learn about making art from nature with Lori Taylor (and her friendly snake Kenny)! We heard kids gleefully shout out drawing challenges that really put our guest artists to the test (a wolverine eating an ice cream cone while being eaten by a sandwich?!?)!

We observed parents and children alike lighting up with delight as Neil Kaplan answered questions about his life as a voice-over actor Friday night, and on Saturday and Sunday mornings read Winnie-the-Pooh in character voices for storytime. We even spied professional artists joining teens for special workshops in the computer lab to learn from their peers about digital drawing techniques.

And of course we listened in on many conversations that conveyed a shared love of comics, of reading, and of creative expression – between cartoonists eager to engage, kids eager to learn, parents eager to explore new activities, and teachers eager to discover the best of what comics have to offer their students.

We’re so grateful to the Ann Arbor District Library‘s leadership and its staff for their unbelievable support (and its air conditioning system for holding out during Saturday’s triple-digit heat); to 826michigan for the chance to bring some of our programs to their Robot Supply & Repair store; to our guests who traveled from near and far and soared through the weekend with unflagging enthusiasm; and most of all to the kids, teens and adults whose participation is what Kids Read Comics is all about!

And when all was said and done, with smiles on our faces and satisfaction in our hearts, we went off to unwind at a local pub and eatery…and the cartoonists kept on drawing! Look for more photos from the  Kids Read Comics Celebration coming soon.

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Schedule: It starts Friday evening at 7:00 with our special guest, voice actor Neil Kaplan, leading an interactive discussion and demonstration of his craft at the Ann Arbor District Library’s downtown branch. Then AADL hosts Artist Alley from 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. on Saturday and noon-6:00 p.m. on Sunday. Librarians and educators can still register for the Sunday morning mixer with cartoonists by following this link.

Programming: Our jam-packed schedule of programs features events both at the library and at 826michigan’s Robot Supply & Repair (115 E. Liberty St.). Note that the programming page is now optimized for use on mobile devices – go to tinyurl.com/KRCprograms and click on any of the hour links at the top of the page to find out what’s happening at that time. Library staff members and KRC volunteers (outside, wearing “Street Team” t-shirts) can also help you with schedule and other information. A printed program booklet will be available at the library, or you can find a downloadable (6MB) PDF of the booklet here.

Finding Us: If you’re looking for location and directions for the Ann Arbor District Library’s downtown branch, here’s a handy Google map. And if you’d like to check the layout of Artist Alley ahead of time to see where your favorite artists will be located, it’s all right here.

This is going to be a fantastic weekend filled with comics, creativity, and fun! Come join us!

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You already know that we’ll have over sixty guest artists and writers at the Kids Read Comics Celebration this weekend! And if you’re participating in the Ann Arbor District Library’s Summer Game, you know that you can earn badges and prize points when you visit those guests at their Artist Alley tables.

But surely you don’t love them only for their game codes!

The comics creators you meet would love to answer your questions about making comics, and show you the work they’ve done and tell you how they did it…giving you tips on how you can create comics as well. Want to talk more with an artist whose workshop or demonstration you attended? You’ll find them in Artist Alley. They may even have some special art activities for you to do right at their table.

So get ready to talk with Gordie Gnomo creators Dave Woodward and Chris Sopsich about inventing stories and characters, and then design a character of your own. Impress Matt Feazell by drawing your own version of The Amazing Cynicalman. Work on activity sheets provided by cartoonists Tom (The Bug Zapper) Eaton, John (Vordak) Martin, and others.

Along with creative fun and new discoveries, there might even be an extra Summer Game code in it for you!

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