The Black Comic Book Festival was founded by Deirdre Hollman, Schomburg Director of Education and Exhibitions, artist and comic book creator Jerry Craft,  (Mama’s Boyz), artist, creator and teacher John Jennings, (Blue Hand Mojo, Kindred) Professor of Media and Cultural Studies, University of California, Riverside and Jonathan Gayles, artist and Professor of African-American Studies at Georgia State University. This year is the 5th year that the convention is being held at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York and for the first time it will be held on two days instead of one! As always, the event is free and I hope to see many of you there! There are several new and interesting panels to enjoy as well (like the tribute to Jackie Ormes!) and it all happens this Friday, January 13 and Saturday, January 14. If you can’t make the event, be sure to check out the panels on livestream! See below for a schedule of events:

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I am really excited about this brand new convention coming to Baltimore because I know how hard the creators have been working to get this off the ground. On April 27, 2018 at the Baltimore Convention Center, Jamie Broadnax of Black Girl Nerds and Robert Butler, CEO of The Black Geeks are joining forces to bring you the first annual Universal Fan Con. You know what this means?

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On October 6th, 2016 I had the pleasure of moderating the most memorable panel that I have ever witnessed, much less participate in. It was called Afropunks and Blerds: The Black Nerd Rennassiance, and featured black alternative royalty such as Corey Glover (lead vocalist, songwriter Living Colour, Galactic), Vernon Reid (guiratirst, songwriter, activist Living Colour), Dr. Sheena Howard (writer/Eisner Award recipient Black Comics: The Politics of Race and Representation), David F. Walker (writer, Power Man and Iron Fist, Cyborg, Shaft, Nighthawk), Ytasha Womack (Afrofuturism: The World of Black SciFi and Fantasy Culture, Rayla 2212), John I. Jennings (writer/Eisner Award recipient The Blacker the Ink: Constructions of Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art, Blue Hand Mojo) and Jamie Broadnax (writer/founder of the community Black Girl Nerds) Here are excerpts from that panel thanks to TheFanBrosShow crew. (If you’re looking for me, I’m the one quietly freaking out in the corner that I’m onstage with these people!!

I hope to have access to the full video and upload that soon as well. Enjoy!

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From Oct 6-9, 2016 I was lucky enough to participate in two of the record 38 panels at New York Comic Con whose subject matter centered around Diversity and Inclusion. As long as I’ve been going to NYCC I have NEVER seen this many panels on diversity, nor have I seen this much intersectional diversity represented either. Almost all of them were packed, despite many being scheduled at the EXACT same time. I think the thing that impressed me the most this year was the VARIETY of the ethnicities and genders involved in many of the panels. this year’s NYCC featured thirty-eight separate panels split into four subcategories: Disability, LGBTQ, People of Color and Women. I remember when there was just one, (Geeks of Color I think) and the moderator tried to include as many different representations of diversity on the panel as possible. Whereas during NYCC there were panels dedicated to a specific topic or ethnicity. Here a highlights from a few…

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If you are attending Comic-Con in San Diego at the San Diego Convention Center this weekend, and you support Black Lives Matter, then pack a white shirt, black pants and a black tie. Because this Saturday, July 23, 2016 a group of artists, bloggers, fans and con attendees will cosplay as cast members of The Book of Mormon plus name badges that say “Black Lives Matter” (instead of your name) for a Flash mob photoshoot. Organized by award-winning African-American comic book artist David Walker (Cyborg, Power Man and Iron Fist), the event will be held Saturday, July 23 at 2pm at the Upper Level at the Outside Promenade adjacent to the Sails Pavilion.  In usual flash mob fashion, anyone who shows up can participate. No you don’t have to be African-American to participate and no you don’t necessarily have to cosplay, but Walker is asking that everyone wear a BLM badge. Click the image below for a download link to make your own.

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LockettDown Productions and BronxHeroes are back with the 2nd Annual Women in Comics Collective NY International (WiNC for short) Convention. It’s held at Bronx Library Center (NYPL) 316 East Kingsbridge Road, Bronx, NY 10458  Saturday, March 12 from 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM and admission is FREE. One of the most awesome things about Bronx Heroes is that they are dedicated to the indie comic world. They give indie artists a chance to shine like industry veteran Alitha Martinez , who is currently working on Batgirl for Marvel but has her own project Yumi and Ever which she self-publishes through her company Artiststorm.  Regine Sawyer, owner of LockettDown Productions and creator of the Women in Comics Collective International as well as the Women In Comic Convention,  has several titles under her own publishing company. Which means she is not only creating comics herself she HIRES artists to work for her. LockettDown titles include Eating Vampires and The Rippers. These women have a wealth of real-world knowledge about the business of comics, art and what it takes to succeed in the largely white male-dominated comic book industry. If you are a woman or POC you really need to get ot this convention not just to support, but learn something.  This year the schedule and artists line up looks AMAZING. Check out the details below.

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On Saturday, February 2o, from 10am-7pm will be the Second Annual Khem Comic Book Fest.  The small indie event was created by Naseed Gifted (PB Soldier) for youth in the Newark, New Jersey area. The focus of the Festival is Youth Literacy for people of color through the fundamentals of sequential media. The event boasts a marketplace, workshops, music and cosplay. The event is free, and open to the public. A downloadable flyer, a list of some of the featured comicbook artists as well as program info can be found below:

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