Between MoCCA Fest, FlameCon, and New York Comic Con, New York City is home to several established comics events every year. But with all of these events based in Manhattan, Brooklyn is due for a gathering of its own. And this year, it will.

The Brooklyn Organization Dedicated to the Endurance of the Graphic Arts (BODEGA), a new nonprofit dedicated to supporting and sustaining comic and graphic arts in Brooklyn and the greater New York area, will host the inaugural Brooklyn Expo of Comics (BEC), a two-day comics festival in Williamsburg, November 14–15.

BEC will feature a varied slate of panel discussions with leading creators and industry voices alongside a convention where over 100 artists will showcase and sell their work. Its goal, per a release, is to spotlight comics talent from New York and around the world while also generating appreciation for independent comics and zines.

BODEGA is led by a team of comics publishers, creators, and industry leaders. Bryce Gold, previously head of content at Comixology and head of comics at Kickstarter, will serve as executive director of the new organization.

Comics writer James Tynion IV will chair the board of directors, on which Gold and illustrator Courtney Menard also sit. Illustrator and educator Christina Lee will be communications manager, comics literary agent Paloma Hernando will serve as outreach manager, and Smoke Signal publisher Gabe Fowler joins as panel coordinator for the convention.

“When I started publishing comics and zines in New York, resources for comics creatives outside of educational institutions were few and far between,” Gold said in a statement. “So much of my approach to comics was through a ‘do it yourself and figure it out’ ethos, and I’ve always strived to pay that knowledge forward, providing the next generation of creators more accessible support than what was available when I was in their shoes. BODEGA is here to reshape that relationship, and I am so excited to offer future comics creators new opportunities to learn, create, and flourish here in Brooklyn.”

The event’s bodega-themed branding extends to a number of its initiatives. BEC also plans to debut the BODEGA Comic Arts Trophy (CAT), honoring standout publications presented at the convention with a mid-convention award ceremony, and launch the Brooklyn Annual of Graphically Elevated Literature (BAGEL), a new magazine showcasing comics storytelling and talent from New York-based cartoonists, with future editions premiering annually at BEC.

BODEGA and BEC are supported by an initial donation from Tynion, who is also CEO and founder of multimedia production house Tiny Onion. Tynion lives and works in Brooklyn, so this festival is personal for him, he said.

“For years I’ve wanted to find a way to use my stature in the industry to help support the people working on that cutting edge, and do what I can to support a thriving scene in the city I love,” he stated in the release. “It’s hard to live as a working cartoonist in New York, and we want to do what’s in our power to help.”