The O’Keefe Prize for Graphic Literature is a annual event that promotes DVC students’ work in graphic literature, this event was held in the BFL Conference Room on Thursday March 28.

The O’Keefe Award is a memorial to James O’Keefe, a former English instructor at Diablo Valley College who passed away on Dec. 9, 2008 to cancer.

O’Keefe founded the graphic literature course at DVC; English 176 prior to his illness. The course is designed to motivate students in the field of graphic literature, giving them working skills now, even if they decide to wait on a major.

“Graphic literature is movement and words depicted by the readers imagination, everybody loves pictures and words,” Adam Bessie, DVC English Instructor said of the event.

According to Joe Field, graphic literature and comic books are on the rise in print media, while newspapers and magazine are phasing out; magazine are transferring to broadcast, but print media is now focusing on graphic literature.

“The geek shall inherit the Earth,” Joe Field said to the audience at he award ceremony.

Joe Field was the guest speaker at he event, he is the comic guru at the world –renowned flying colors comic and other stuff, his organization been around since October 1988.

The grand prize winner of the third annual James O’Keefe Prize for Graphic Literature was Ana Valdez, she wrote “GO FISH;” which won her $100 and DVC President Peter Garcia congratulated her for her accomplishment, winning the event.

“I was really humble, I wasn’t anticipating winning the 3rd annual James O’Keefe award,” Ana Valdez said. “I appreciated in being in the contest.”

Students who also participated in the event were there to support their friends who won, still others sat in for extra credit.

Students such as Jeff Miranda, were excited and entertained at the event, he said “the teachers were funny…”

Frank Lin, an international student came to the event for extra credit, otherwise he wouldn’t have come because he thought that the artwork was not good. Lin said, he has no interest in the “Western comic culture” and believes the drawing to be inferior in comparison to Eastern comic culture such as Japanese Manga.

Other students at the event who came for extra credit such as Mikalla Parks never knew that graphic literature could be a taught in college.

“I never expected comics (to) be combined with college studies, it was unexpected,” Parks said.

For a full list of winners and to read the winning comics, visit: http://jamesokeefeprize.blogspot.com/

(Content edited: April 8, 2013. Wrongly attributed quote corrected)