True's Books & Comics Is Using Stories to Help Build the Next Generation

Category: Community / Comics / Culture

Suggested Tags: True's Books and Comics, Afrofuturism, Black Comics, Youth, Phoenix, Arizona, Community, Black Creators, Afrofuturism Legacy Social

SEO Title: True's Books & Comics Is Investing in the Next Generation Through Comics & Afrofuturism

Meta Description: True's Books & Comics is showing what happens when comics, culture and community come together—with a focus on inspiring and creating opportunities for the next generation.

Summary:
Comics can entertain us. They can also teach, inspire and give a kid permission to imagine a future bigger than what they see around them. True's Books & Comics is putting that idea into action, using storytelling and community to pour into the next generation.

This Is Bigger Than Selling Comic Books

At Enterblaze, we're always going to show love to people who understand that this industry can be about more than moving books off a shelf.

True's Books & Comics is one of them.

What stands out about their work is the emphasis on getting stories, creativity and culture in front of young people.

Because you never really know what that first comic book can spark.

One kid reads it and becomes a lifelong reader.

Another starts drawing.

Another decides they want to write their own universe.

Another sees a character who actually looks like them, comes from a culture like theirs, and realizes for the first time:

"Hold up... I can be part of this too."

That's why this work matters.

Giving the Youth More Than Something to Read

Representation gets talked about a lot.

But representation means a whole lot more when young people are given the opportunity to actually participate in the culture instead of only consuming it.

Books and comics can introduce kids to writing, illustration, graphic design, history, mythology, entrepreneurship and entire creative industries they may have never considered before.

And when those stories are connected to Black history, culture and imagination, the impact can go even deeper.

It tells the next generation that our history doesn't only belong in the past.

We can imagine the future too.

That's exactly why Afrofuturism is such a powerful space for young creators.

Afrofuturism Is About Asking "What Comes Next?"

That idea will be on full display at the upcoming Afrofuturism L.E.G.A.C.Y. Social in Phoenix on September 26.

The event brings together culture, creativity and community around the idea of building sustainable Black futures.

Afrofuturism combines elements of Black culture and history with science fiction, technology and imagination to ask a powerful question:

What does our future look like when we're allowed to imagine it ourselves?

For young people especially, that's a hell of a question.

The future doesn't have to be something that simply happens to them.

They can write it.

They can draw it.

They can design it.

They can build it.

And organizations, bookstores, comic creators and community leaders willing to create spaces for that imagination are helping plant those seeds right now.

Comics Can Be the Beginning of Something Much Bigger

Somebody's first interaction with art might be Batman.

Somebody else's might be manga.

Some kid might pick up an independent Black comic and realize the person who created it isn't some unreachable name working inside a giant corporation.

They're an independent creator.

They're an entrepreneur.

They're somebody from the community.

And suddenly creating your own story doesn't seem impossible anymore.

That's why we believe independent comics have a unique opportunity right now.

We aren't just building alternatives to the mainstream comic industry.

We're building another door into the industry entirely.

True's Books & Comics represents the type of community-driven work we want to see grow: putting books in front of young people, encouraging creativity and helping connect the next generation with stories that expand what they believe is possible.

Build the Future You Want to See

The Afrofuturism L.E.G.A.C.Y. Social is ultimately about more than dressing futuristic and celebrating Black culture for one night.

It's about legacy.

What knowledge are we passing down?

What opportunities are we creating?

What institutions are we building?

And what will the kids watching us today have available to them tomorrow?

That's a conversation the comic community needs to be part of.

So Enterblaze Comics wants to give True's Books & Comics their flowers for investing their time and energy into young people and helping demonstrate that comics can be a vehicle for something much bigger.

Because the next great artist, writer, publisher or creator might already be here.

They might just need somebody to put that first book in their hands.

Learn More

Learn more about True's Books & Comics

Learn more about the Afrofuturism L.E.G.A.C.Y. Social

Enterblaze Comics — Fueling the next wave of independent manga, comics and creators.