Five stories that have North Texas talking: Latino Comic-Con coming to Dallas; Texas universities aren’t feeling the national enrollment slump; woman behind Amazon’s Alexa has UNT ties; and more.
At the end of this month, Dallas will host the state’s first Latino Comic Con at the Latino Cultural Center.
Hector Rodriguez, who created the comic “El Peso Hero,” in 2011 as a Dallas ISD teacher, tells Texas Standard that it’s about time for Latinos to have a place to celebrate the medium and their stories.
“As a community, we’ve been very patient,” he says. “We’ve always been involved in the comic book medium as consumers. Growing up on the border, I’ve always been accustomed to Mexican comics, as well as the American comic books. I felt that the time is now for Texas to have its own Latino comic con.”
Along with Rodriguez, who also founded Rio Bravo Comics, participating artists include Hector Cantú, the co-creator and writer of “Baldo!,” Sam de La Rosa, who’s got major Marvel credentials, Dallas-based illustrator Eliamaria M. Crawford and more.
The July 29 event will also include panels about the state of Latino comics and pop culture, a cosplay competition and short film screenings.
While the conventions can be expensive entertainment, the inaugural Texas Latino Comic Con is free to all — an intentional decision by Rodriguez to be more inclusive. [Texas Standard]
- Texas universities are enrolling 1.7 percent more students year over year. Universities nationwide are seeing a 1.5 percent decline in student enrollment. [Houston Chronicle]
- An Austin-based writer tells the story of learning the truth about his late grandfather — a doctor who tested psychedelic drugs on Texas inmates in the early 1960s. [Texas Tribune]
- Meet the brain behind Amazon’s Alexa: Toni Reid, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of North Texas. [MarieClaire]
- Texas native and Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles stands at just 4 feet 9 inches tall, but she can dunk — watch below. [KERA News]
The High Five is KERA’s daily roundup of stories from Dallas-Fort Worth and across the state.Explore our archives here. And sign up for our weekly email for the North Texas news you need to know.
