If you’re interested in finding out more about comic books and graphic novels, a great way to discover new stories is to check out a local comics event. There’s a vibrant comics community here in Los Angeles, where you can meet artists, writers, publishers, and other readers who are ready and willing to turn you on to some amazing material.

Here are some local Los Angeles events coming up that celebrate the sequential art form.

This week:

Wednesday, March 2: NEW COMICS DAY! Find your local comics specialty shop.

Wednesday, March 2, 8:30 PM: The Meltdown with Kumail Nanjiani and Jonah Ray (weekly comedy show) featuring stand-up comedians Chris Gore, Matt Mira, Glenn Wool, Sean Patton, Brett Gelman, and Thomas Lennon, at Meltdown Comics, 7522 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles 90046. Tickets: $8.

Thursday, March 3, 7 PM – 10 PM: Meat! art show opening reception, with art by Michael Kupperman, Charlyne Yi, Brandon Bird, Carlos Ramos, J.R. Goldberg, Julia Vickerman, Myke Chilian, Layron DeJarnette, John McGuire Olsen, Richard George Lee, Britt Sanders, Andy Ristaino, and Jhonen Vasquez, at Meltdown Comics, 7522 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles 90046. Tickets: $0. Art show on display until March 17.

Saturday, March 5, 8 PM: Film geek podcast Battleship Pretension, hosted by Tyler Smith and David Bax, with special guests comedians Jim Bruce, Michelle Biloon, James Adomian, and Matt Champagne, broadcasts live at Meltdown Comics, 7522 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles 90046. Tickets: $5.

The future:

Wednesday, March 9, 8 PM: Comics podcast Bagged & Boarded with SModcastle’s Matt Cohen and Brendan Creecy and special guest, actor Aaron Douglas (Battlestar Galactica), has a live show broadcast at SModcastle, 6468 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles 90038. Tickets: $10.

Friday, March 11, 8 PM: Timeline B, a CD recording show with stand-up comedian Sax Carr, at Meltdown Comics, 7522 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles 90046. Tickets: $0.

Friday, March 18, 8 PM: Destructo: The Show from Beyond, a comedy show with Robert Selander, Sean Hart and Drennon Davis, at Meltdown Comics, 7522 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles 90046. Tickets: $6.

Friday, April 1: Sweet Streets debuts a new art exhibit, Magical Girls: Art Inspired by Shōjo Manga, at Meltdown Comics, 7522 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles 90046. Tickets: $0.

Monday, April 4, 8 PM: Nerdist Podcast Live with Chris Hardwick has a special episode on the blaxploitation spoof feature film Black Dynamite, with special guests, writer/actor Michael Jai White, writer/actor Byron Minns, writer/director Scott Sanders, and writer/producer Brian Ash, musical guest Adrian Younge and The Black Dynamite Sound Orchestra, with original art from the Black Dynamite comic book for sale by Jun LoFamia, will broadcast live from Meltdown Comics, 7522 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles 90046. Tickets: $15.

Saturday, April 9: It’s Mini-Comics Day! Celebrate Do It Yourself and make a comic in a day.

Wednesday, April 13, 7 PM: Deborah Vankin (Brand X, LA Times Calendar) signs her debut graphic novel Poseurs, published by Image Comics and art by Rick Mays, at Meltdown Comics, 7522 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles 90046. Tickets: $0.