Pekar Comic Book Fest Returns To Cleveland Heights On Sept. 18

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, OH — Pekar Comic Book Fest will return to Cleveland Heights on Sept. 18.

Last year's event was canceled due to COVID-19 and organizers want to make up for lost time with a full slate of fun activities for all age groups now planned. The festival will run from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Coventry Village and will be followed by a free screening of "Big Hero 6" in PEACE Park.

This year's event includes:

• Artist and vendor market;
• Free face painting;
• Cosplay and character costumes - Free Tommy's milkshake vouchers for those who come in costume!
• Zine-making and illustration crafts with Lake Erie Ink;
• Free takeaway crafts from Heights Libraries;
• Sidewalk chalk art competition in Pekar Park;
• Kid's carnival games and bounce house in the PEACE Park; and
• Maker's market and fall festival by Made Cleveland, a Group of Local Creators.

At 2 p.m. Mac's Backs will present a special event for serious comic fans, "Comix Today: A Panel Discussion with Artists, Writers and Editors." Panelists will discuss the current state of the comics industry and make recommendations on what fans should be reading.

The event will take place outdoors in front of the library, and feature the following comics folks:

• Eileen Sabrina Herman — The managing editor of Hermes Press, a publisher of books and comic strip reprints focusing on the art and artists who populated comics, cartoons, comic strips and pulp magazines in the 1920s and 1930s.
• Jake Kelly — A Cleveland-based artist, writer and illustrator who has produced concert flyers, zines and comics books (including Lake Erie Monster). During the pandemic, Kelly has helped raise money for various venues using his art. He is now working on a series of comics, called "Death, Destruction, Vice & Sleaze" about episodes from Cleveland's past.
• Rachel Miller — The managing editor of The Comics Journal and co-curator of the show "Ladies First: A Century of Women's Innovations in Comics and Cartoon Art." She is working on a textbook, "Introduction to Comics."
• Bryan Christopher Moss — An artist and illustrator whose book, "Eightfold Path, will be published by Abrams in 2022. He is also an educator and curated the show "The Black Panther: Celebrating 50+ Years of Black Superheroes" at the King Arts Complex in Columbus.

Pekar Comic Book Fest is named for Cleveland-native Harvey Pekar, who wrote the autobiographical "American Splendor" series. Work from the series adorns the walls of the Lee Road Library in Cleveland Heights (and we recommend you take a look!).