There’s a lot of Annapolis in Rodney Barnes.

And plenty of the California-based comic book author appears in “Crownsville,” a supernatural thriller based on the history of the Jim Crow hospital outside the city where he grew up.

“My grandmother was a nurse at the hospital growing up, and I had a couple of cousins and family members who were patients there,” Barnes said. “And it was just one of those things that was omnipresent. Crownsville was always like in the background, some way, shape or form.”

Barnes will talk about his five-issue comic book series and sign copies of “Crownsville” No. 1 at Third Eye Comics in Annapolis from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday.

Published by Oni Press, the series explores the hospital’s history and the 1,100 Black people buried in anonymous graves on the grounds.

Barnes worked with historian Janice Hayes-Williams, who led efforts to identify the dead and spread the story of their mistreatment, and MSNBC journalist Antonia Hylton, who chronicled it in her 2024 book, “Madness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum.”

“Antonia’s book is nonfiction and more of a sprawling epic about the place. Mine is just a slice of genre that I’m bringing to it,” Barnes said.

In Barnes’ retelling, an unexplained death inside the abandoned hospital is ruled a suicide.

Annapolis Police Detective Mike Simms and Paul Blairare, a reporter for The Capital newspaper, dig deeper, discovering connections between the death and spirits locked within the walls of the crumbling hospital. It’s a different way to share powerful history.

“It’s almost like telling a war story, or telling something a moment in history or a moment in time,” Barnes said, “to get you emotionally connected and hopefully develop a sense of empathy for a period of time and not just academia.”

There’s also a lot of autobiographical detail in the narrative, the drawings by artist Elia Bonetti and the cover art by Jason Shawn Alexander. Detective Simms bears a striking resemblance to the author, and Bonetti relied on Barnes’ hometown photos.

City Dock, Anne Arundel Medical Center, Carr’s Beach, St. Anne’s Episcopal Church and the Denny’s on West Street all appear. There are also references to specific people and events, including the 2018 mass shooting in the Capital Gazette newsroom and Hayes-Williams’ uncle, George Phelps.

“He was my boss,” Barnes said. “He hired me when I got out of high school. I needed a part-time job, and he hired me to be a security guard.”

The Crownsville hospital closed in 2004 and sat largely idle for decades. Anne Arundel County is redeveloping it as Crownsville Hospital Memorial Park, a home for organizations working in wellness, arts, education and racial healing.

Barnes is an established writer, both in comic books and television. You can expect more Annapolis-influenced works from him.

“I think a lot of people talk about Baltimore because of ‘The Wire’ and the work of David Simon and Tom Fontana, and Barry Levinson,” Barnes said. “But I like talking about Annapolis.”

Admission to Barnes’ signing is free. A single issue of “Crownsville” #1 is $4.99, and the signing is free. Third Eye offers presigned and VIP packages on its website.

Here are other great things to do in the week through Nov. 12.

Art by the foot

5-8 p.m. Thursday

Art Walk, a tour of Annapolis galleries and museums, offers an expanded program of live demonstrations this season.

Eleven galleries and museums will be open for the stroll, featuring demonstrations, sketch sessions, lectures by artists Abigail McBride and Gary Schlappal and the kickoff of the Maryland Federation of Art’s Virtual Artist in Residence Program with artist Nichole Leavy.

Participating galleries include Annapolis Marine Art Gallery, Annapolis Pearl Gallery, Gallery 57 West, Jo Fleming Contemporary Art, the Earl and Martino galleries at Maryland Hall, the McBride Gallery, MFA Circle Gallery, the Elizabeth Meyers Mitchell Art Museum, the Galleries at Quiet Waters Park and Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum.

Admission is free.

Principals concert

7:30 p.m. Friday

Some of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra’s principal musicians will star in “Darkness to Light,” the company’s largest production of the season.

Second English horn Rick Basehore will perform the solo in Jean Sibelius’ “The Swan of Tuonela,” while principal horn Alex Kovling will perform the solo in Gustav Mahler’s “Symphony No. 5.”

Others with key roles in the program include principal trumpet Christopher Sala and principal harp Katherine Ventura. The program repeats at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

There will be 78 musicians on stage for the performance at Maryland Hall, more than the usual 60-70. The orchestra is adding horns, trumpets and flutes.

Tickets are $25 to $95.

13,000 years

10 a.m. Saturday

Archaeological studies at Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary and the surrounding area have uncovered 75 known sites representing 13,000 years of human history.

Anne Arundel County archaeologist Drew Webster will discuss insights the digs have offered about the area’s Native American history, followed by a two-mile round-trip hike to River Farm for an archaeological site tour, starting from the sanctuary’s visitor center in Lothian.

The tour is open to anyone age 12 and up, although anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Admission is $10.

Rope over water

Noon Saturday

The start of construction in the remake of City Dock has moved the annual Tug of War to just one side of Spa Creek this year.

The Maritime Republic of Eastport has set up a competition zone on Second Street, where teams will vie in seven heats. There will be music, food and other fun on tap.

Spaces are available on several teams. Registration to tug is $30, plus fees. All proceeds go to local nonprofits.

Music weekends

3-5 p.m. Saturday

The Annapolis Jazz & Roots Festival opens two weekends of music Friday.

Although most events are sold out, there are seats available for the Michael McHenry Tribe’s concert of soul, funk and rock from 3-5 p.m. Saturday at the Moyer Center.

Tickets are also available for Joshua Redman Quartet , which will play music from its new album at 7 p.m. on Nov. 16 at Maryland Hall. Admission is $35-$85.

Other free events next weekend include the Unified Jazz Ensemble playing Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Benny Goodman at 7 p.m. on Nov. 14 at Eastport United Methodist.

The Ed Hrybyk Trio will offer “Bass Traditions: Charles Mingus, Ray Brown, Oscar Pettiford and More” in an 11 a.m. Nov. 15 concert at the Eastport-Annapolis Neck Library, followed by a Q&A.

Footworks Percussive Dance Ensemble performs a tribute to the company’s founder, the late Eileen Carson Schatz, at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis.

The Freedom Choir performs world music at 3 p.m. Nov. 16 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.

Veterans Day

11 a.m. Tuesday

Veterans Day honors the service of anyone who wore the uniform of the U.S. military, although it originated to mark the armistice that ended the Great War, now known as World War I, in 1918.

Annapolis marks the day, starting with an 11 a.m. service at Memorial Circle sponsored by the Fleet Reserve Association.

The Naval Academy Band will perform a free concert at Maryland Hall at 7 p.m.

And the Veterans Classic at Alumni Hall, a men’s college basketball doubleheader, features the University of Tulsa against the University of Rhode Island at 6 p.m., followed by Navy vs. Yale at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $25-40.