The Dinky’s Make a Not-so-Dinky Impact on Local Comic Culture

All his life, Michael Prince has been an avid reader of all things, especially comics. Although he’s had to take some breaks from collecting comics because of how pricey it can be, he’s never lost his devotion to the written—and illustrated—word. So, when he was asked to be a part of DiNK Denver, the local comic convention that happens every year, he couldn’t say no.

“I was brought on to work with the DiNKY Award’s director, and I was kind of the assistant to him,” he explained. My title varied, but we finally decided on the title of DiNK librarian, since I arranged all the reading parties.”

The DiNKY Awards and DiNK comic con, like most local publishing endeavors, are truly a labor of love. They are all about bringing together smaller artists to showcase their work, and pretty much run on the volunteer hours of those willing to read and judge comics and organize the annual events. This year’s event took place April 11-12 and featured a lot of awesome works, including a lot of queer comics.

“The DiNKY’s have kind of naturally become very queer-oriented and inclusive of the LGBT community because of the people involved and freinds getting friends into it,” he explained. One comic artist who accepted an award last year said the DiNK’s get gayer every year, so that’s kind of been something we have all been trying to uphold and improve on. We usually have a lot of queer people involved behind the scenes and entering their comics.”

Another major point of pride for DiNK is how they prioritize local comics. While they appreciate some of the bigger names on the bill at Pop Culture Con, their main focus is on the local talent.

“I think the local aspect is one of the most important things we have,” he said. “You have so many great artists here in Denver who live and work and do projects, and I think this is really good for them. And I think it gets other local people to get involved and keep creating.”

In addition to providing a strong local voice, DiNK tries to give back to the community as much as possible.

“We work with a few different charities,” he explained. “We work with Camp Comic Book, a group that works with kids, and we also work with a group who gives books to kids on a local reservation. I think that kind of stuff is really important as a way to give back to the community. This year, for the first time, we also partnered with City of Denver as well.”

Of course, this legacy of helping out is nothing new for the world of comics. From the beginning, whether it succeeded  or not, the idea has been to tell stories that stand up for the downtrodden.

“I think that comics are a fantastic medium, because they are a little less examined by the powers that be. So people get away with heavier metaphors and saying exactly what they mean, unlike with TV or mainstream movies. I think comics have kind of had this rebellious core from the beginning. Even though the heroes might throw the cape on now and then, they get the point across.”

Stay tuned for info about DiNK 2020, and follow them to learn a lot more about comics.