I had the opportunity to attend the Black/Excellence event at City Tech which was a showcase of the art of comic book artist Khary Randolph. The event was held in the Grace gallery on the 11th floor of the Namm building.
I am a huge fan of comic books and I have read them ever since I was little and have grown to love many the superheroes that are well known today. I am also an illustrator and I couldn’t to be a part of this inspiring event. Khary has illustrated for well known comic book industries such as Marvel and DC Comics. I was very inspired by his sharp and clear comic book art which was hung all over the gallery. There were also books displayed which showcased his art. One of my favorites was his drawings of the Ninja Turtles, characters I grew up with in my childhood. I also love his versions of Spider-man and Black Panther.
The art that really caught my attention was the art in the comic book “Black” which was written by Kwanza Osajyefo. They just had the covers of each issue displayed.The story is about what if only black people had super powers. I instantly put it on my “books to purchase” list and am looking forward to reading it. The event also encouraged me to read comic books that I have never heard of with great stories and stories that relate to what is going on in our society today and “Black” is one of them. And sequel to black, “White” will be coming out sometime next year.
I had the chance to talk with Khary for a few minutes and one of my questions to him was which program he used to illustrate. He told me he only uses Photoshop and that he has all the tools he needs when it comes to drawing. This also made get Photoshop on my tablet and test it out for all my illustration purposes. Khary was very humble and it was such an pleasure to meet him.
