OutLoud Comics 2025
Andrew Edwards discusses comics and community in anticipation for reading their work at OutLoud Comics Pride charity comics reading this weekend in LA!
We are taking a break from our Creators First series this week to talk about OutLoud Comics - a Pride charity comics reading we've help put on for the past three years! But don't worry, we still have a fantastic interview from artist Andrew Edwards who will be reading at the show this weekend!
This Saturday, June 21st 2025, is the third annual OutLoud Comics Pride charity comics reading. This event is a wonderful celebration of our LA comics community – and for a good cause! All of the proceeds from the show will go to the LA LGBT Center and the venue Scribble.
We had the chance to talk with one of this year's featured artists, Andrew Edwards. Check out the interview below where Andrew shares how they found their way into comics and why they are excited to be a part of this year's OutLoudComics reading!
Can you tell us about yourself and your art making practice?
Hi, I’m Andrew Edwards, an Afro-Latinx comic artist and animator based in Los Angeles. My work orbits around heartfelt, interpersonal narratives, often semi-autobiographical, pulling from my embarrassingly specific lived experiences. Back in Pittsburgh, my professor, John Pena, got me hooked on his own autobio comics and would go out of his way to bring in guest lecturers with indie comics that captured grief, love, regret, the whole range of messiness! I always aim to have that same poignant sincerity. Regardless of genre, I’m drawn to those small, intimate moments that reveal something tender, absurd, or bittersweet about being human.
Visually, I try to honor that authenticity by mixing traditional and digital media. I love to imbue a handmade, tactile feel or a certain simplicity that makes the stories grounded, comforting, and emotionally resonant.
What first made you want to make comics yourself?
I had access to a lot of comics growing up. There was Calvin and Hobbes in the newspaper, a Farside anthology on the coffee table, and Sam Logan’s “Sam and Fuzzy” webcomic on dial-up. But I remember specifically loving Rod Espinosa’s manga “Neotopia.” I found it after sneaking into the Teen section of the local library. It had everything: sci-fi automatons, dinosaurs, fantasy creatures, combat, romance, and solar-punk societies. Suddenly, comics didn’t have to be gag strips. After devouring the first three volumes, it was like I’d been given permission to dream big with comics, even if my first attempt was essentially a Neotopia Pokémon AU. It planted the seed that I could build whole worlds on the page.
What has been your experience in the LA comics scene?
It’s been extremely welcoming. I fell into the comics scene pretty quickly after moving to LA. A friend put me on to Comics O’Clock, a monthly comic reading curated by Mikey Heller, and I was hooked. I’d attend every reading I could, listening, laughing, mingling with artists I’d been fans of on social media for years. At the time, impostor syndrome had me introducing myself as a marketing contractor, but it’s hard to be in such a fun, creative environment and not create something yourself. Friends would see me doodling out my little autobios on my Galaxy Note and badger me to do more, to enter comics competitions and submit to reading events. So I finally leaned in.
Fast forward a year later and I launched a webtoon, won a Negative Space Comics competition, and had several charity readings under my belt. It’s been a blast expanding my work and giving back to the communities that made me feel confident enough to claim the title “comic artist” out loud instead of “marketer who dabbles.”
How does it feel reading comics live on stage?
You wouldn’t know it from my stage persona, but I’m actually really shy about public speaking. Luckily, the glare from being on a well-lit stage means I’m spared from seeing how many eyes are looking up at me. However, once the reading begins, the discomfort is worth it.
The laughs, the awws, the stillness during a pause… You realize your story’s no longer this solitary art practice in your home but this shared moment. I think Roland Barthes talks about the “punctum,” that sting of recognition in a photograph; live comics have a similar effect when a piece lands emotionally, and that recognition is a gift I can give myself and others. We’re all looking to feel seen, and sometimes, a comic about weeping in a public park hits harder than you expect.
What are you most looking forward to at this weekend’s event?
Being part of the audience, honestly. There’s such a wide emotional range in these live readings, from absurd humor to quiet heartbreak. Having read “Strong Female Protagonist” in college, I’m excited to watch Molly Ostertag. I always love the care they bring to their work, portraying queerness representation in a tender, resilient, and expansive way. Also, I live for post-show decompression: chatting with others about favorite moments, celebrating the charitable impact we made as a community, and getting excited about the stories still to come!
I heard you're debuting a new piece at the reading, can we get a preview?
Yes, I won’t spoil specifics, but it’s a new standalone comic separate from Part-Time Angel. It’s been a rough year on a lot of fronts, and evidently, I decided it was a good time to run myself into the ground. I was thinking about where I get those impulses and how questioning old assumptions can make mundane moments so emotionally loaded. The comic is being made specifically for live reading, so I’m leaning into how I can bake the prosody of the text into the rhythm and pacing of the panels.
Is there anything else you would like to share with our readership?
I’d encourage everyone to make art for themselves first. Some of the most personal pieces I was most afraid to share ended up connecting the deepest. I remember this Steve Wozniak lecture in college, where he spoke on how making something specifically tailored for ourselves is inherently tailoring it for our desired community. If it resonates with you, it’ll probably resonate with someone else too.
Thanks so much for reading and be sure to check out Andrew's work - as well as all the artists performing at this weekends show!