my love affair comics started in the
1970s I’m a native New Yorker I grew up
in the Bronx the neighborhoods of sound
view and then co-op city there’s a
really fun childhood it was actually my
neighborhoods were very diverse in co-op
city you had Jews Italians Irish
Hispanics you know black folks and
Asians and it was a really fun
environment like my crew were friends
and I used sweets to ride our bikes
around and we still get into trouble
we’re responsible for property damage
even saw a dead body it’s almost like
the movie stand by me only with open
fire hydrants and people of color that’s
a different TED talk you know we used to
I used to used to watch TV shows all the
time some of my favorites were the
original Star Trek I used to walk around
my house going and I crapped my parents
up because I used to recite the opening
you know to boldly go but I just say to
bogel ego and used to crack my dad up
all the time I never got why he was
laughing but eventually I did
I watched the Six Million Dollar Man
would Steve Austin and I used to copy
him I loved the Incredible Hulk you know
you won’t like me when I’m angry
you won’t you won’t but Star Wars when
Star Wars came out that blew me away
like that opening shot of the big Star
Destroyer chasing that little rebel ship
and I was just like oh my god I was just
I probably the images on that just
really made an impression upon me I
never forgot that to this day and I’m
probably you know begged my parents
would take me to see that feeling like
three times the theater and back then
that was a lot like my mom was like
really you want to see again again and I
was like I have to have all the
merchandise I need everything I need the
toys I need the underoos you know
somewhere George Lucas was like yes yes
and I and so I even had like the store
was lunch box and back then we used to
carry the middle lunch boxes to school
yeah yeah I doubt they could do that
today what the metal detectors in all
that stuff but I and then I started
sketching I started drawing and then one
day I drew my Star Wars lunchbox and I
brought that drawing home and my mom my
dad saw and he said huh wow this kid
might have some talent here so they
enrolled me in a local community center
painting course so once a week and this
is in co-op city in the Bronx once a
week I used to paint with my teacher
named Emilio and so I learned how to
create images in color it was awesome
and so after I had a certain amount of
paintings and a certain body of work I
used that to apply to the Fiorello H
LaGuardia High School of Music & Art
that’s the fame school for those of you
who don’t know you know where the the
movie where the kids used to break into
I want to live forever on in the
hallways in the lunchroom I mean that
really was true you know you know we
boring art majors would be sitting
drawing and people would just be like ah
I don’t like damn okay but it was cool
it was great because it was such a
diverse group of kids from all over the
five boroughs of New York that were
under this one roof and it was an
amazing creative environment to be in
you had art majors vocal majors dance
majors music majors and drama majors the
really cool thing though is that the art
and the dance majors shared the same
floor so every day I used to see pretty
girls walking around in leotards but
that’s a different TED talk
this is the 1980s this is the birth of
MTV in the music video you know you had
the Michael Jackson videos the Printz
videos even that aha take on me that was
all animated we art students love that
but then like started noticing something
I’m like you know with the exception of
Michael Jackson and prints most of the
videos were the ol featured white
artists even the people dancing in the
backgrounds or whatever or whatever they
were all white people and I was like huh
that’s interesting then I started
noticing the TV shows that I used to
love you know most of them featured
white folks films too and if you saw
people of color we were usually like the
jive-talking sidekick
we were like the threat or we were
struggling and you know listen I
remember the Jeffersons so yeah they
moved on up but at the same time you
know you had good times and I was I’m a
fan of good times but I mean between
like Janet Jackson getting beaten or
burned by the iron or like the father
dying off-screen I was like this mean
mom yeah we watched a little more
uplifting maybe mash I mean there’s
something like that like you know like
there were jokes Olivia Nam war like
they they had jokes there so but so
while I was in school you know I really
started like developing my craft and I I
really started drawing and I really
wanted to become a comic book artist
that was my thing and I started to you
know really say okay this is what I want
to do for a living I really want to tell
stories I want to tell images you know
because as a comic as in growing up I my
friends used to read comics but I loved
comics seeing the images of like you
know Superman and super women like
leaping tall buildings in a single bound
that was awesome it really made me feel
empowered I mean it’s a run around my
house like you know do a whole lot of
stuff because it really made me feel
empowered and those images I remember
those images they just really just blew
me away they made an impression upon me
and the difference between film and
comic books is that with a comic book I
could hold that image in my hand and I
can look at that image whenever I wanted
you know so I said okay you know what I
want to become a comic book artist and I
want to do this for real and so I
applied to the School of Visual Arts
which is also in Manhattan and I got a
scholarship to go there I applied to
Pratt and Parsons but my parents are
like no you got a scholarship to SBA you
going there and so I was determined to
get work before I graduated college
because I don’t want to be like
everybody else and you know be amongst
the herd so in my junior year I went to
the New York Comic Con and back then in
the 90s there was only one convention in
town that was the New York Comic Con
both Marvel DC are both based in New
York City and they would send their
editors there to look for talent and if
you were aspiring comic artists you went
there to get work and I did
unfortunately I did I got my first
paying work doing painted illustrations
for Marvel Comics then I went on and I
started working from milestone which is
the first black owned public comic book
publisher and then I went to DC Comics
and there I became the first black
artist to draw a regular Batman series
which is Detective Comics thank you
but those of you don’t know DC Comics
stands for Detective Comics that’s their
flagship title but it was really awesome
on this black kid from the Bronx I’m
creating like I’m working well you know
when one of the most iconic brands in
the world I’m creating new characters
and co-creating like sections of Gotham
City you know and it really started I
started getting fans I started noticing
people started noticing like my work and
became fans of my work and then I
noticed that people actually liked my
work but they were also impressed by the
fact that I was doing in and for people
of color they’re like wow we can do this
and for other people they were like wow
they can do this and that really made me
start to think about things you know the
interesting thing is as an artist you
know we work in our little hovels we
work in our little caves you know we
tend to work in our studios or apartment
and we don’t get to we don’t get to
adventure on to the outside world and we
really don’t see the effects of the work
that we create until we go outside you
know I it’s really pretty scary
sometimes we know we don’t shave
sometimes we don’t bathe sometimes you
know I gotta wear pants like this is for
you this is the love I have for you guys
you know dressing up here but I noticed
that when I would go to comic convention
those people would say wow you know what
hey I’m an aspiring artist how can i how
can I do this or I have kids how can you
know how can I foster their interest in
this and so that really inspired me to
create a book that would encapsulate all
of my experiences and hopefully sort of
give people insights in terms of how I
tell a story and how I craft an image
and that was pretty cool and also the
really cool thing is that it gave me at
the opportunity to create images that
were outside of the comic book genre
more personal images more diverse images
you know so after that I went back to
doing regular comic books I Illustrated
Luke Cage I did Captain America I’ll
illustrate it Black Panther and then
today I work alongside Robert Kirkman
the creator of The Walking Dead well I
don’t draw this I don’t draw the Walking
Dead but I mean you know we work on a
comic book that’s about this
international art art thief named Conrad
Paulson it’s really cool and this is a
really great example of the power that I
have in terms of representation when we
first started working on the book Robert
would send me notes about the characters
because we had to create this universe
from the ground up and aside from the
lead character
uh and his family who we just assumed
were white Robert really didn’t give me
any specific notes on the other people
in the story and so there is a female
FBI agent who’s trying to bring Conrad
Paulson down you know and so her name is
Elizabeth Cohen and so what I’m doing
the design from the car let me draw her
as a black woman sent it off Robert saw
what he said Oh Elizabeth Cohen’s black
now cool just like that I use my power
and so going forward you know like
that’s my thing is to diversify any
story or any image that I’m good that
I’m hired to draw that’s it but that’s
like standard procedure for me now I
just do that so if I can’t draw if I
can’t change a major character they’ll
be like a black guy in the background
like or a woman just like oh you know
hey I do it but what I really want to do
is I really want to capture a moment in
time with a static image that’s what I’m
trying to do and so whether or not it’s
you know like an action scene or a car
chase or you know an argument between
two people or a shootout or even a scene
of a woman holding her child and showing
love that’s my power and so because I
believe that art inspires art creativity
feeds feeds creativity and everyone in
this room has this power so whether or
not you are an artist and you draw some
of the most iconic brands in the world
or you simply are just having an
interaction with someone you just met we
all have the power and is the power of
representation thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
1970s I’m a native New Yorker I grew up
in the Bronx the neighborhoods of sound
view and then co-op city there’s a
really fun childhood it was actually my
neighborhoods were very diverse in co-op
city you had Jews Italians Irish
Hispanics you know black folks and
Asians and it was a really fun
environment like my crew were friends
and I used sweets to ride our bikes
around and we still get into trouble
we’re responsible for property damage
even saw a dead body it’s almost like
the movie stand by me only with open
fire hydrants and people of color that’s
a different TED talk you know we used to
I used to used to watch TV shows all the
time some of my favorites were the
original Star Trek I used to walk around
my house going and I crapped my parents
up because I used to recite the opening
you know to boldly go but I just say to
bogel ego and used to crack my dad up
all the time I never got why he was
laughing but eventually I did
I watched the Six Million Dollar Man
would Steve Austin and I used to copy
him I loved the Incredible Hulk you know
you won’t like me when I’m angry
you won’t you won’t but Star Wars when
Star Wars came out that blew me away
like that opening shot of the big Star
Destroyer chasing that little rebel ship
and I was just like oh my god I was just
I probably the images on that just
really made an impression upon me I
never forgot that to this day and I’m
probably you know begged my parents
would take me to see that feeling like
three times the theater and back then
that was a lot like my mom was like
really you want to see again again and I
was like I have to have all the
merchandise I need everything I need the
toys I need the underoos you know
somewhere George Lucas was like yes yes
and I and so I even had like the store
was lunch box and back then we used to
carry the middle lunch boxes to school
yeah yeah I doubt they could do that
today what the metal detectors in all
that stuff but I and then I started
sketching I started drawing and then one
day I drew my Star Wars lunchbox and I
brought that drawing home and my mom my
dad saw and he said huh wow this kid
might have some talent here so they
enrolled me in a local community center
painting course so once a week and this
is in co-op city in the Bronx once a
week I used to paint with my teacher
named Emilio and so I learned how to
create images in color it was awesome
and so after I had a certain amount of
paintings and a certain body of work I
used that to apply to the Fiorello H
LaGuardia High School of Music & Art
that’s the fame school for those of you
who don’t know you know where the the
movie where the kids used to break into
I want to live forever on in the
hallways in the lunchroom I mean that
really was true you know you know we
boring art majors would be sitting
drawing and people would just be like ah
I don’t like damn okay but it was cool
it was great because it was such a
diverse group of kids from all over the
five boroughs of New York that were
under this one roof and it was an
amazing creative environment to be in
you had art majors vocal majors dance
majors music majors and drama majors the
really cool thing though is that the art
and the dance majors shared the same
floor so every day I used to see pretty
girls walking around in leotards but
that’s a different TED talk
this is the 1980s this is the birth of
MTV in the music video you know you had
the Michael Jackson videos the Printz
videos even that aha take on me that was
all animated we art students love that
but then like started noticing something
I’m like you know with the exception of
Michael Jackson and prints most of the
videos were the ol featured white
artists even the people dancing in the
backgrounds or whatever or whatever they
were all white people and I was like huh
that’s interesting then I started
noticing the TV shows that I used to
love you know most of them featured
white folks films too and if you saw
people of color we were usually like the
jive-talking sidekick
we were like the threat or we were
struggling and you know listen I
remember the Jeffersons so yeah they
moved on up but at the same time you
know you had good times and I was I’m a
fan of good times but I mean between
like Janet Jackson getting beaten or
burned by the iron or like the father
dying off-screen I was like this mean
mom yeah we watched a little more
uplifting maybe mash I mean there’s
something like that like you know like
there were jokes Olivia Nam war like
they they had jokes there so but so
while I was in school you know I really
started like developing my craft and I I
really started drawing and I really
wanted to become a comic book artist
that was my thing and I started to you
know really say okay this is what I want
to do for a living I really want to tell
stories I want to tell images you know
because as a comic as in growing up I my
friends used to read comics but I loved
comics seeing the images of like you
know Superman and super women like
leaping tall buildings in a single bound
that was awesome it really made me feel
empowered I mean it’s a run around my
house like you know do a whole lot of
stuff because it really made me feel
empowered and those images I remember
those images they just really just blew
me away they made an impression upon me
and the difference between film and
comic books is that with a comic book I
could hold that image in my hand and I
can look at that image whenever I wanted
you know so I said okay you know what I
want to become a comic book artist and I
want to do this for real and so I
applied to the School of Visual Arts
which is also in Manhattan and I got a
scholarship to go there I applied to
Pratt and Parsons but my parents are
like no you got a scholarship to SBA you
going there and so I was determined to
get work before I graduated college
because I don’t want to be like
everybody else and you know be amongst
the herd so in my junior year I went to
the New York Comic Con and back then in
the 90s there was only one convention in
town that was the New York Comic Con
both Marvel DC are both based in New
York City and they would send their
editors there to look for talent and if
you were aspiring comic artists you went
there to get work and I did
unfortunately I did I got my first
paying work doing painted illustrations
for Marvel Comics then I went on and I
started working from milestone which is
the first black owned public comic book
publisher and then I went to DC Comics
and there I became the first black
artist to draw a regular Batman series
which is Detective Comics thank you
but those of you don’t know DC Comics
stands for Detective Comics that’s their
flagship title but it was really awesome
on this black kid from the Bronx I’m
creating like I’m working well you know
when one of the most iconic brands in
the world I’m creating new characters
and co-creating like sections of Gotham
City you know and it really started I
started getting fans I started noticing
people started noticing like my work and
became fans of my work and then I
noticed that people actually liked my
work but they were also impressed by the
fact that I was doing in and for people
of color they’re like wow we can do this
and for other people they were like wow
they can do this and that really made me
start to think about things you know the
interesting thing is as an artist you
know we work in our little hovels we
work in our little caves you know we
tend to work in our studios or apartment
and we don’t get to we don’t get to
adventure on to the outside world and we
really don’t see the effects of the work
that we create until we go outside you
know I it’s really pretty scary
sometimes we know we don’t shave
sometimes we don’t bathe sometimes you
know I gotta wear pants like this is for
you this is the love I have for you guys
you know dressing up here but I noticed
that when I would go to comic convention
those people would say wow you know what
hey I’m an aspiring artist how can i how
can I do this or I have kids how can you
know how can I foster their interest in
this and so that really inspired me to
create a book that would encapsulate all
of my experiences and hopefully sort of
give people insights in terms of how I
tell a story and how I craft an image
and that was pretty cool and also the
really cool thing is that it gave me at
the opportunity to create images that
were outside of the comic book genre
more personal images more diverse images
you know so after that I went back to
doing regular comic books I Illustrated
Luke Cage I did Captain America I’ll
illustrate it Black Panther and then
today I work alongside Robert Kirkman
the creator of The Walking Dead well I
don’t draw this I don’t draw the Walking
Dead but I mean you know we work on a
comic book that’s about this
international art art thief named Conrad
Paulson it’s really cool and this is a
really great example of the power that I
have in terms of representation when we
first started working on the book Robert
would send me notes about the characters
because we had to create this universe
from the ground up and aside from the
lead character
uh and his family who we just assumed
were white Robert really didn’t give me
any specific notes on the other people
in the story and so there is a female
FBI agent who’s trying to bring Conrad
Paulson down you know and so her name is
Elizabeth Cohen and so what I’m doing
the design from the car let me draw her
as a black woman sent it off Robert saw
what he said Oh Elizabeth Cohen’s black
now cool just like that I use my power
and so going forward you know like
that’s my thing is to diversify any
story or any image that I’m good that
I’m hired to draw that’s it but that’s
like standard procedure for me now I
just do that so if I can’t draw if I
can’t change a major character they’ll
be like a black guy in the background
like or a woman just like oh you know
hey I do it but what I really want to do
is I really want to capture a moment in
time with a static image that’s what I’m
trying to do and so whether or not it’s
you know like an action scene or a car
chase or you know an argument between
two people or a shootout or even a scene
of a woman holding her child and showing
love that’s my power and so because I
believe that art inspires art creativity
feeds feeds creativity and everyone in
this room has this power so whether or
not you are an artist and you draw some
of the most iconic brands in the world
or you simply are just having an
interaction with someone you just met we
all have the power and is the power of
representation thank you
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
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