Joel Christian Gill
{{Short description|American cartoonist, educator, and author (born 1975)}}{{Infobox author
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|15 January 1975}}
| birth_place = Roanoke, Virginia
| image = Joel Christian Gill (center).jpg
| caption = Gill at Dink Comics and Art Expo 2016
| alma_mater = {{plainlist}}
{{endplainlist}}
| website = {{URL|joelchristiangill.wordpress.com}}
}}
Joel Christian Gill (born 15 January 1975 in Roanoke, Virginia)Sheena C. Howard, Encyclopedia of Black Comics, Fulcrum Publishing, 2017, p. 83. is an American cartoonist, educator, and author of a number of graphic novels from Fulcrum Publishing: Strange Fruit Vol I : Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History, Bass Reeves: Tales of the Talented Tenth No.1, and Bessie Stringfield: Tales of the Talented Tenth, No. 2, Strange Fruit Vol II: More Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History, a picture book "Fast Enough: Bessie Stringfield's First Ride" from Lion Forge and Fights: One Boys Triumph Over Violence{{Cite web|title=Surviving Violence: PW Talks with Joel Christian Gill|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/82223-surviving-violence-pw-talks-with-joel-christian-gill.html|access-date=2020-08-20|website=PublishersWeekly.com|language=en|archive-date=2020-08-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200829214640/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/82223-surviving-violence-pw-talks-with-joel-christian-gill.html|url-status=live}} a memoir about how children deal with trauma and abuse from Oni Press. He has taught studio art, Illustration and comics while serving as Chair of the Comic Arts and Foundations programs at the New Hampshire Institute of Art. In the Fall of 2019 he accepted an appointment as Associate Professor of Illustration at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. In 2020 he began work on an adaptation of Dr. Ibram X Kendi's Stamped from the Beginning a Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America for Ten Speed Press.
Early life
Gill earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art from Roanoke College and a Master of Fine Arts in Painting from Boston University in 2004.{{cite web|title=Joel Gill - Linkedin Profile|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-gill-0241176a/|website=Linkedin}}
Career
Owing to the success of his ongoing series of graphic novels highlighting little known and uncelebrated historical African-Americans and the contributions they made to American history, Gill is frequently profiled in print{{Cite web|url=http://www.nhmagazine.com/February-2016/Graphic-Tales/|title=Joel Christian Gill's Strange Fruit Volume 1|website=www.nhmagazine.com|date=20 January 2016|language=en|access-date=2017-08-09|archive-date=2017-06-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170601032615/http://www.nhmagazine.com/February-2016/Graphic-Tales/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bu.edu/today/2015/african-american-comics/|title=Forgotten African American Stories, Told in Comic Books {{!}} BU Today {{!}} Boston University|work=BU Today|access-date=2017-08-09|archive-date=2017-08-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809212409/https://www.bu.edu/today/2015/african-american-comics/|url-status=live}} and interviewed on television and radio.{{Cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/02/14/384947485/strange-fruit-shares-uncelebrated-quintessentially-american-stories|title='Strange Fruit' Shares Uncelebrated, Quintessentially American Stories|work=NPR.org|access-date=2017-08-09|language=en|archive-date=2017-08-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810011115/http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/02/14/384947485/strange-fruit-shares-uncelebrated-quintessentially-american-stories|url-status=live}}{{Citation|last=WGBHForum|title=Joel Christian Gill On Gender And Color In Comics|date=2017-03-02|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6icp6jsRd6s|accessdate=2017-08-09|archive-date=2023-04-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230411073259/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6icp6jsRd6s|url-status=live}} He is also asked to speak at comic arts conventions and college campuses across the U.S.{{Cite web|url=http://www.conventionscene.com/tag/joel-christian-gill/|title=Joel Christian Gill - Convention Scene|website=www.conventionscene.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-08-09|archive-date=2017-08-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808102917/http://www.conventionscene.com/tag/joel-christian-gill/|url-status=live}}
He has also contributed to the Huffington Post{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joel-christian-gill/lets-get-rid-of-black-history-month_b_6655356.html|title=Let's Get Rid of Black History Month|last=Gill|first=Joel Christian|date=2015-02-10|website=Huffington Post|language=en-US|access-date=2017-08-09|archive-date=2017-03-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322053616/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joel-christian-gill/lets-get-rid-of-black-history-month_b_6655356.html|url-status=live}} advocating for the end to Black History Month and for the incorporation of the achievements of African-Americans into the larger narrative of American history. Gill is also a member of the Boston Comics Roundtable.{{Citation|last=CBS Boston|title=The Secret Worlds of Boston Comic Con: Taking On Real World Issues|date=2017-08-02|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhJBu9vMKMk&list=PL0A6GoWBe_nVRkbeAueoZEYTeql3J-8MB|accessdate=2017-08-21|archive-date=2023-04-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230411073300/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhJBu9vMKMk&list=PL0A6GoWBe_nVRkbeAueoZEYTeql3J-8MB|url-status=live}}
Awards and honors
In 2016, Gill was honored with a Distinguished Alumni Award from Boston University.{{Cite web |title=Announcing the 2016 Distinguished Alumni Awards {{!}} College of Fine Arts |url=https://www.bu.edu/cfa/announcing-the-2016-distinguished-alumni-awards/ |access-date=2017-08-09 |website=www.bu.edu |language=en |archive-date=2017-08-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809213111/https://www.bu.edu/cfa/announcing-the-2016-distinguished-alumni-awards/ |url-status=dead }}
Publications
= Standalone books =
- Fast Enough: Bessie Stringfield's First Ride (2019)
- Fights: One Boy's Triumph Over Violence (2020)
- Stamped from the Beginning: A Graphic History of Racist Ideas in America (2023)
= ''Strange Fruit'' duology =
- Strange Fruit, Volume I: Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History (2014)
- Strange Fruit, Volume II: More Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History (2018)
= Tales of the Talented Tenth trilogy =
- Bass Reeves (2014)
- Bessie Stringfield (2016)
- Robert Smalls (2021)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
[http://joelchristiangill.wordpress.com/ Official website]{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gill, Joel Christian}}
Category:Artists from New Hampshire
Category:American graphic novelists
Category:African-American comics writers
Category:African-American comics artists
Category:American comics writers
Category:American comics artists
Category:Roanoke College alumni
Category:Boston University College of Fine Arts alumni
Category:African-American novelists