Hi folks, welcome back! It’s been a while since I’ve written a post, because my two main subjects of posts, live shows and comic books, haven’t been happening! I want to extend my wishes that you are all safe and following CDC regulations at this time. You keep me safe, and I’ll keep you safe!

The past week has been challenging, to say the least. With all of the violence that continues to be perpetrated against POC by the police, I thought that I could do something special to highlight some of my favorite non-white comic creators and musicians. I’ll primarily be featuring black artists, but also other POCs. With our dear leader targeting latinx people, as well as the targeted and institutional racism that has affected those of Asian descent, and of course the aboriginal people of the North American continent, I think it’s important to highlight all of these different ethnic and cultural backgrounds.

This week, I’m going to aim to post one profile each day (maybe more, maybe less, depending on time) that highlights one of these creators. If you have anything to share, please feel free to comment below! I have a tiny voice, but hopefully adding that to the multitude of tiny voices out there will help the Black Lives Matter movement to gain more and more traction. At the bottom of this page, you’ll find a few resources to donate to. I know many of you are in dire financial straits right now due to COVID-19, but if you can donate anything to these causes, there’s no better time!

Vita Ayala

Writer

The first time I encountered Vita was in an anthology called Twisted Romance. This was a collection of queer-centered “romance” stories, although that term is pretty loose. There were some really cool and innovative stories in this collection, and Ayala’s jumped out at me. I knew this was a writer that I should investigate further, and the more I learned about them, the more impressed I was with their work.

Recently, I reviewed their Comixology exclusive miniseries, Quarter Killer. You can read all those issues by looking for the tag for that series. With this work, Ayala cemented themself in my head as one of our great modern sci-fi writers. They have an understanding of the issues that are affecting us, and how those issues might evolve in the future. I was also impressed in these stories with their ability to show all the sides of an issue, even the icky ones.

As a non-binary black New Yorker, it would be hard to find a more representative example of the changing face of comics, and of our society as a whole. I can only guess how much bullshit vitriol they’ve gotten on the internet, given their gender identity and race, but everything I’ve seen of Vita shows a funny, compassionate, smart writer. They are getting a steady stream of work in the industry, and it looks like the trajectory of their star is going to be long and far.

Vita has a patreon, found here: https://www.patreon.com/vitaayala. You can also find a lot of their works on Comixology, or at your local comic shop!

Resources

Here are a few organizations and communities that could use your help:

• George Floyd Memorial Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd
• Minnesota Freedom Fund: https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/
• Black Visions Collective: https://www.blackvisionsmn.org/
• Reclaim The Block: https://www.reclaimtheblock.org/
• Campaign Zero: https://www.joincampaignzero.org/
• Unicorn Riot: https://unicornriot.ninja/