Trinity City Comics, spearheaded by Trinity City Arts (formerly the Black and Blue Story Project) in collaboration with Young Aspirations | Young Artists (YAYA), has emerged as a new voice in the realm of graphic novels and community engagement. This project, supported by a Cross-Sector Impact grant, showcases the incredible journey of multiple talented teen creators working in collaboration and their immersive experience to create the inaugural issue of the comic. Through their lens growing up in New Orleans, Trinity City explores the impact of community safety, police reform, and climate justice, offering a glimpse into the intersection of activism, storytelling, and visual art.
co-creators in response to demand from their growing
legion of fans. Each page delves into one of the
teen protagonists’ backgrounds, passions and the
disabilities they live with. Image by Blair Augillard.
Trinity City Arts, focused on activism and storytelling, joined forces with YAYA, an organization dedicated to mentoring teen artists, particularly those from underserved populations in at-risk neighborhoods. The collaboration birthed Trinity City Comics, a four-issue comic book series set in a futuristic New Orleans in 2078. The project's uniqueness lies in its approach, as the students played a pivotal role in creating the characters and shaping the world within the graphic novel.
Collaborating with writer Angélique Roché and visual artist Steve Prince, three teens—Morgan Prevost, Keith Singleton, and Blair Augillard—embarked on a year-long journey, co-creating the comic's main characters and the intricacies of Trinity City's world. The setting, a divided society with the affluent floating on "L.I.L.I. pads" while the less privileged reside in the under city, mirrors contemporary social stratification. The collaboration aimed to empower the teens to express their ideas, opinions, and concerns, fostering a sense of ownership and leadership within the creative process.
The project not only delved into the creative aspects of graphic novel production but also became a platform for mentoring teens in art and activism. The students, initially drawn from YAYA’s mentorship program, faced the challenge of expressing their thoughts and experiences through art collaboratively. Angélique and Steve led the teen creators in creative exercises designed to draw them out of their shells and be playful with their creative process.
As they explored both Afrofuturism and New Orleans culture, the teen creators were introduced to graphic novels like the adaptation of Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower and met with Al Grandoit, a member of the Brave Young Hunters Black Masking Indian Tribe. Simultaneously, weekly lessons in drawing techniques by Steve Prince enriched their artistic skills, creating a holistic learning environment that combined cultural awareness with technical proficiency.
brought together all six of the artist-creators with
the community leaders who champion them like
Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson.
Photo by Carolina Hernandez.
Trinity City Comics #1 has been distributed both as a free PDF on the project's website and through limited print runs. The teen creators' contributions extend beyond the comic, with their involvement in book launches and a creative retreat during the summer to further explore the characters, including how each character lives with a disability. The project's success is visible not only in the tangible product but also in the personal growth of the teen creators.
Trinity City Comics expanded its scope in response to funding opportunities, including support from the disability justice program of the Ford Foundation. The teens actively participated in the decision-making process, aligning the project with themes of community safety, police reform, and climate justice. The engagement with these critical issues, combined with their artistic contributions, highlights the depth of their involvement in shaping the narrative and thematic elements of Trinity City Comics.
As the project moves forward and the Issue #1 teen creators move into college and young adulthood, Trinity City Arts will involve new teen writers from 826 NOLA, expanding the collaborative and mentorship model. The original trio of students remain connected to the project as advisors, ensuring a continuity of their influence. Trinity City Comics has become a catalyst for inspiring other teens to explore “artivism”, fostering a new generation of artists committed to addressing societal challenges through creative expression.
Trinity City stands as a testament to the transformative power of collaborative storytelling and youth leadership in the realm of graphic novels. By empowering teens to shape narratives that reflect their experiences and concerns, this project goes beyond art creation, becoming a platform for social impact and advocacy. With its roots deeply embedded in the cultural fabric of New Orleans, Trinity City Comics serves as a model for the potential of creative collaboration in addressing pressing social issues.
To learn more and read the graphic novel, visit Trinity City Comics.