Expert Extra #19: Dr. Lee Francis IV, owner of Native Realities Publishing and Red Planet Books & Comics

Inside 254

Dr. Lee Francis IV (Laguna Pueblo), self-described indiginerd poet, educator, activist, comic creator and owner of Native Realities Press, co-owner of Red Planet Books & Comics, and founder of Indigenous ComicCon, generously sat down with us for a comprehensive and wide-ranging interview on why he started these businesses, the current state of affairs for #Indigenous #comics, and how he attempts to #decolonize the comics medium. Lee's creative enterprises also provide an antidote to the "sidekickery" that #Native characters are usually relegated to in comics and other mediums by creating binders of skilled Native artists and writers that he hopes will get mainstream comics publishers away from using Indigenous creators as lip service consultants and instead, provide these makers with an equal seat at the table. "We want to be able to write our own stories. Tell them in the way we tell them," Lee says. Listen today, share with friends, and feel inspired.

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