One Day We Will Get There...

Thursday marked the beginning of San Diego Comic-Con, the granddaddy of all comic,sci-fi and geek culture festivals in the united states. While many states and folks have their won version (Atlanta has two: Dragon-Con and MomOCon),  I've never attended and I've always wanted to go (yes, in costume) to the original see some of my casts of my favorite shows and upcoming movies (Marvel, DC, TV projects).  I also wanted to meet authors of my favorite books and see some of the cool panels on various topics.

But, for years, the main complaint of Comic-Con is that it hasn't been welcoming to inclusion. It's gotten a lot better. There have been more people of color and women not only in cos-play, but presenting in panels. I think last year with Black Panther really pushed things forward with regards to sci-fi stories that are for US and by US yet have a universal appeal.

My dream has always been to sit on a panel, talking about my work or even the work of others. I used to think that maybe I was too old to sit up on someone's panel in a graphic tee, skinny jeans and cool specs and talk about cool themes in comics and sci-fi, but I think there is a place for me and my voice/aesthetic. The question is: What do I have to say?

Well, I am working on that. I am working on my "voice" in the stories I plan to submit. I want to the tell nuanced stories of black women/PoC/marginalized foks on the periphery of society. And I want to make it plain: We will exist. We've been existing. And we will exist well into the future, even if you are trying to destroy IT and US in the meantime. 

One day I will get that.... "WE" will get there... Because the stopries I am telling are "our" stories.