IN the past decade Trinidad has witnessed a rise in the hosting of comic book conventions. But one of TT Comicon organisers Michael Abraham said the convention will stand out by throwing a spotlight on the country's local artists.
He was speaking with Newsday in a telephone interview about the inaugural event, which is being held on October 14 at the Centre of Excellence, Macoya.
He said TT Comicon will feature comic book characters, rare comic book collections, a magician, merchandise, and artwork from visual artists.
Abraham said he had been involved in local comic conventions for the past 30 years including with the Heroes Foundation. A self-taught graphic, airbrush and comic artist, he explained that he has a great love for comics and the arts.
[caption id="attachment_1039396" align="alignnone" width="768"] Local manga comic creator Anthony Merkitch with his comic DIS. -[/caption]
"We have very talented artists out here. Part of the reason for the convention is that we don’t recognise the young thriving talent in TT unless they make it outside. At TT Comicon we will showcase local talent that a lot of Trinidad and Tobago don’t know about."
Of midnight robbers and manga heroes
One local comic book artist appearing at the convention is Chris Riley, who created his first comic Midnight Robber back in 1999. He told Newsday that with his busy schedule, he is not always able to attend local conventions and TT Comicon will be his "one this year".
He said he will have all his Terror of the Midnight Robber books on sale as well as his other comic series, Mango Chiren, which follows the adventures of a group of kids, Sugar, Julie, Long, Doux Doux, Ice Cream, Curry, and Donkey Stones, as they enjoy the unique experiences of Caribbean life. He will also have original artwork on display and his portfolio of work which people can go through. Riley said he was most looking forward to reconnecting with the fans.
"That is the biggest thing when I go to these shows."
Abraham said the convention will also feature manga artist Anthony Merkitch.
“A lot of people don’t know we have this type of talent in Trinidad.”
[caption id="attachment_1039395" align="alignnone" width="768"] Comic book artist Chris Riley with his comic Terror of the Midnight Robber. -[/caption]
Merkitch told Newsday he will be featuring his manga story DIS, pronounced "diss", which is an acronym for "Doing Intense S--t."
"It's an action-adventure sci-fi story, with some comedic elements so it doesn't end up taking itself too seriously.
"The story starts off when a young woman named Xena was having quite a disagreement with some local bandits, they wanted her dead and she disagreed with that. One thing leads to another, she encounters the main character, a young boy named Jinn V Mitsuyo by pure chance and together deal with the bandits."
Merkitch said it is the first book in a series and is 120 pages long.
"(That's) a lot of quality content. If you're into classic shounen stories or alien or superpower stuff, then this will be a
