Black woman founder creates virtual Comic-Con to help vendors recoup losses due to pandemic
Virtuous Con, a brand new virtual comic book convention series, announced several special guests today for Virtuous Con: Black History Month, going live February 20 and 21, 2021. The announcement featured on the Virtuous Con website included several award-winning artists and writers, including YA author Daniel José Older (Shadowshaper Cypher, Star Wars: The High Republic), artist, editor and founder of Megascope imprint John Jennings (Black Comix Returns, Kindred: A Graphic Novel), author and activist L.L. McKinney (A Blade So Black, NUBIA: Real One), writer and H1 imprint co-founder Kwanza Osajyefo (BLACK, Ignited) and Nigerian comic creator and founder of YouNeek Studios Roye Okupe (E.X.O. The Legend of Wale Williams, Malika).
The virtual venue will feature Indie artists and exhibitors in a live interactive virtual space dedicated to science fiction, fantasy, comic books, anime and more. Complete with virtual “booths” for vendors to interact live with attendees about their products. Also, live programming, where the audience can watch and interact in real-time discussions, as opposed to pre-recorded Youtube or Zoom links.
Virtuous Con also happens to be founded by an African-American woman. Cerece Rennie Murphy, a science fiction author (The Order of the Seers and The Wolf Queen), entrepreneur, is no stranger to conventions. An avid comic con attendee herself, she was already immersed in the speculative lit space with her indie scifi website Narazu. Murphy created Virtuous Con out of a need to help many of her creative colleagues and friends whose businesses were adversely affected by the COVID-19 shutdowns. Especially BIPOC creatives.
“We’ve all tried to make due in the virtual environment, but we have the tools to do better,” Murphy says. “Virtuous Con provides a needed venue for artists and fans to reconnect, support each other and re-establish a sense of community that has been lost due to the pandemic”. Virtuous Con: Black History Month is one of three conventions Murphy is helming this year. Including a Juneteenth event and an end of year Holiday convention.
February will not be Virtuous Con’s maiden voyage. Murphy successfully Beta tested the event in October 2020 with a small group of attendees and vendors on the Remo platform, which she customized to support the convention. Currently, Virtuous Con is offering an early bird discount to vendors who sign up by 1/22/2021. For details about vending, special guests, and sponsorship opportunities, please visit the Virtuous Con Website
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