On Sunday, September 24th, the comic book convention experience comes to Peterborough when Pop Culture Canada brings its province-wide series of mini-conventions to the Evinrude Centre with the first-ever Peterborough Comic Con.
Featuring comic, video game, and DVD vendors as well as a few professional guests, and encouraging cosplay participation, it is a taste of what the bigger conventions offer, but in a smaller setting and at the affordable price of $2 at the door (or free admission with two canned goods).
While Peterborough fans are gearing up for a fun afternoon, for Toronto-based comic book creator Kevin Briones, the Peterborough Comic Con is a chance to bring his independent comic series Neon Black to the place where his love of the art form began.
Raised in Peterborough, Kevin found his love for comics through his father’s own fandom for the medium as well as by shopping for comics at Dixon’s Book Store. With his parents still residing in Peterborough, Kevin’s roots are still firmly in the Kawarthas, despite settling into a successful career as a motion graphics designer for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors.
But on the side, Kevin has been creating a reputation in the growing Canadian independent comic book industry as the writer and artist of his original series Neon Black. While Kevin has appeared as a guest at large conventions throughout Ontario, the Peterborough Comic Con will be the first time he has brought his comics to his home town.
“I’ve just always loved comics,” Kevin says. “There is something about having the visual in front of you, but you’re still using your imagination to fill in the bits between each panel. I can just get lost in comic books.”
Although he has been creating comics since he was a teenager, Kevin has established himself on the independent comic book map with Neon Black. Funding the project from his own pocket, Kevin released the first issue in the summer of 2016.
Through his appearances at various large comic conventions, Kevin quickly sold out of the first run, prompting a second and much larger printing of the book.
Debuting the second issue of Neon Black this summer, Kevin sold out of the first print within a month, with a second printing on its way.
Neon Black is a sci-fi fiction odyssey about a teenage girl named Alice Infiniti who was adopted and raised by the Earth’s mightiest super heroes.
Having grown up believing she was just an ordinary girl, she finds out she has powers after she discovers her true identity and origins.
“It’s a story about a girl who finds out that her real parents are super villains, and that her adopted parents are the superheroes that kidnapped her,” Kevin explains. “It’s a sci-fi fantasy story, and as the story progresses it explores the concepts of good and evil.
“In the beginning of the story she is struggling with the fact that she is living amongst these super heroes, but without having any super powers of her own. So she has these feelings of inadequacy. When she was among her peers growing up, she was the runt of the pack. But as the story progresses she finds out that she has powers of her own, and she can run with the best of them.”
Although the book has a unique title, Kevin points out that it is not the name of his character but merely the title of the story.
“In the comic book we never really refer to Alice as ‘Neon Black,'” Kevin says. “It’s not her moniker. It’s the name of the story and not a specific character. Originally the title of the book was going to be ‘Alice One’, which is a play on the word ‘alone’. Again, it’s about her feelings of isolation of being among these amazing individuals and not being as good as them.
“But I was looking for something a little more impactful than that, and I started thinking more and more about the concepts of good and evil, light and dark, and black and white. In order for Alice to break free of the status quo, she has to become something else. So I started thinking about that something else. I figured that her real task is to become an impossible colour like Neon Black. It’s a colour that doesn’t exist, but could be on any spectrum.”
Kevin’s earliest comic book creations began when he was a teenager with a creation called Go-Man, which not only prepared him for his eventual career as an motion graphic designer, but which he eventually spun off into his first comic book series.
“I’ve always had this character called the Go-Man which I had always drawn on the side,” Kevin says. “I’ve kind of drawn these little two or three-page comic stories that were exaggerated versions of events of my life. Whenever I went through a life event, I’d imagine the Go-Man going through a similar event. If I had a problem with a bully at school, I’d have the Go-Man fighting this demon.
“Later on in life, going into multimedia and motion graphics work, I’ve always done story boards so I can put things to video. So comics and storyboards went hand in hand.”
It is no secret that, with the success of properties such as The Walking Dead, Wonder Woman, and the countless other films based on Marvel and DC comic books, comic books are big business. However, in the comic book market today many readers are moving away from the big companies, and independent creators like Kevin are capturing an audience looking for something new.
“This isn’t just in the comic book world, but when you look at movies and television as well, it seems to be full reboots and reimaginings and sequels,” Kevin says. “I think the general audience is almost starving for new ideas. So where the indie comic scene comes into play is that it gives the audience something new. I wouldn’t be surprised if movie studios are looking at the independent comics as well to stay on the pulse of what people want.”
Although Kevin has a four-issue story arc prepared for Neon Black, fans of the book have had to be patient between issues. Kevin hopes that there will be less time between the second and third issue, but the creation of the book has been a major side project in his otherwise full life.
In creating the book, Kevin has had an eye-opening experience as to how much time and effort it takes to create a successful comic book.
“Before actually making a comic, I had no idea how much dedication it took,” Kevin says. “I look at these DC and Marvel comic artists, and any artist who releases a comic on a monthly basis, and that takes an incredible amount of dedication.
“I don’t think many people realize what’s needed to make 24 pages of story. I know how long it takes for me to make just one. Being a father and having a full-time job, the only time I have to dedicate to it is between the hours of when my daughter goes to sleep and when she gets up for school.
“But when you have a story in your mind, it’s literally a part of you. You do find to make the time to happen. Whether its six months or nine months or a year, it will happen. If I had to give any advice to any artists out there, it’d be that you can’t beat yourself up for not being done when you want it to be done. It takes time and dedication.”
With an action-filled story and superior art, Neon Black is one of the best independent comic books I’ve come across in 2017. It’s a book worth checking out, not only because of the hometown connection, but due to its superb quality.
So put September 24th on your calendar to not only join in the fun of the first Peterborough Comic Convention, but to stop by and say hello to Kevin Briones and to discover the world of Neon Black for yourself.
For more information on Kevin Briones, Neon Black and his other art projects, visit his website at www.kevinbriones.com. For more information on the Peterborough Comic Convention, visit Pop Culture Canada’s website at www.popculturecanada.ca.
