Excited for the increasing spotlight on Black Panther with the feature film coming out in 2018, retailer Fantom Comics in Washington, D.C. hosted a unique event known as Move or You Will Be Moved: A Black Panther Fashion Show over the weekend. The haute couture show included cosplay and Wakandan street fashion, and a marketplace of local black creators selling their jewelry, clothing and other Afrofuturist fashion accessories. Plus of course, Black Panther comics and paraphernalia.
“Where’s all the Black Panther merchandise? We’re less than a year out, and we don’t have any Happy Meal toys or anything we can just get on hand,” Sellars asked, introducing the concept to the crowd. “So with that came this idea of what about an Afro-futuristic showcase of what it means to be great? Of what it means to be in Wakanda.”
Interviews and profiles
Speaking of Wakanda: The writer of the recently canceled World of Wakanda Roxane Gay speaks out on how publishers and the comic industry can become more diverse, inclusive and reach out to a wider audience.
Women make comics: Global News of Canada created an ‘InstaList’ of Five female illustrators easing your adulthood woes with their comics. The five slice-of-life webcomic creators spotlighted are Lianna Finck, Mari Andrew, BIG SIS, Sarah Andersen and Gemma Correll.
Women sell comics: The BBC appeared to be taken aback by Dark Side Comics shop owner Holly Ringsell, so they wrote a feature about this woman with her own comic shop in a male-dominated space.
Legendary: Jeff Smith appeared on the local Fox News show Good Day Columbus to talk about his upcoming induction into the Wizard World Hall of Legends this weekend at Wizard World Columbus:
The Biz
Layoffs: Marvel Comics laid off two employees this week: Executive Vice President and General Manager Peter Philips as well as his number two, Kristin Vincent, Vice President of Digital Products.
Something old turned into something new: A look at the process of taking old comics and restoring them with new technology.
Something borrowed: Itching to read a classic Dell comic? Comic Book Plus is a catalogue of downloadable of Silver and Golden Age comics that are now in the public domain.
Conventions and festivals
Something blue: DC’s Art Academy features Cully Hamner illustrating Blue Beetle at San Diego Comic Con: