Price range: $0.00 through $10.00
The author of Apsara Engine and graphic memoir Spellbound, will talk with Crucial editor Audra McNamee about her innovative approach to making comics.
The author of Apsara Engine (winner of the 2020 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Graphic Novel/Comics) and graphic memoir Spellbound, will talk with Crucial editor Audra McNamee about her innovative approach to making comics. Rani went to graduate school for architecture and worked in the field for many years, but then turned her focus toward making comics. Rani’s work often explores themes of urbanism, gender, and sexuality.
Date: Tuesday, December 8th, 4-5pm PST/7-8pm EST
About Rani Som:
Rani Som (formerly Bishakh Som) is an Indian-American trans femme visual artist and author. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, MoMA.org, Autostraddle, The Strumpet, The Boston Review, The Georgia Review, Black Warrior Review and The Brooklyn Rail, amongst other publications. Her graphic novel Apsara Engine (The Feminist Press) is the winner of a 2020 L.A. Times Book Prize for Best Graphic Novel and a 2021 Lambda Literary Award winner for Best LGBTQ Comics. Her graphic memoir Spellbound (Street Noise Books) was also a 2021 Lambda Literary Award finalist.
Rani’s artwork was featured in solo shows at ArtLexis Gallery and at Jaya Yoga Center and in group shows at The Society of Illustrators in New York, the Bannister Gallery at Rhode Island College, Issyra Gallery, the Grady Alexis Gallery, De Cacaofabriek in the Netherlands, Art Omi in Ghent, NY and Twelve Gates Gallery in Philadelphia.
About the Artist Talk series:
In 2026, Crucial Comix is hosting a series of talks by cartoonists about their art-making process. These one-hour sessions are open to the public and all sliding scale. Artists previously featured in the series were Lee Lai, Thi Bui, Mattie Lubchansky, Nate Powell, and Lucy Bellwood.
To make them affordable, all of our classes and workshops are offered at a sliding scale cost.
Supporter - This payment level pitches in a little extra toward the teacher’s income and helps pay artists to create new comics at Crucial. Thanks for your support!
Standard - This is the basic rate for the class, which covers our costs.
Discount - We want people of all income levels in our classes, so choose this rate if you paying the standard rate is a stretch for you.
We set aside three spots in each class to be offered for free to people who would find it a hardship to pay the discount rate for any reason. These free spots are first-come, first-serve. If you would like to take a class for free, please send us a short email about yourself, what class you would like to take, and why. If a free spot is still available, we’ll send you a discount code to register for free! Email: editors@crucialcomix.com
