On May 19, 2018, I had the pleasure of attending the 17th annual East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC). This was my first time attending, and it turned into a very pleasurable experience. I had a chance to meet three legends; Alex Simmons creator of Blackjack, Don McGregor (writer of Black Panther), and Tony Isabella (co-creator of Black Lightning). Not only did I have the pleasure of meeting these legends but I also had a chance to meet such talented creators as Jerry Craft, N Steven Harris and Regina Sawyer, just to name a few.
It was apparent that the organizers took great care in putting together this event with their selection of a group of top notch artists and writers to present during this event for current and future fans. They also put together a wonderful ensemble of inspirational workshops and panels, all geared to help inspire artists. I also have to point out how friendly this con is to the youth. Some vendors would have categories geared toward adults, and others geared specifically towards younger fans.
The convention organizers also designed workshops that were specifically aimed toward their younger attendee’s. During the event I met an eleven year old comic book artist and writer, which was pretty inspirational.
The entire atmosphere was nothing but friendly and welcoming, as well as informative. All the artists were more than happy to provide advice and share their own stories. They were approachable and enthusiastic about their work and sharing it with their fans, while also providing valuable advice to those future comic book creators.
All and all this would be a con that I would recommend to visit. I forgot to mention that this was an admission free event. So if you are on a budget and think you can’t afford to visit a con, this one would be worth a try.
Judith Joachim-Swanson is an aspiring writer. She is an independent, freelance blogger, and you can find her other work here. She is also a self-published indie writer of Cigarette (The Catcher Series Book 1) which incorporate a steampunk Sci-fi theme.
