MECCAcon is space that provides an atmosphere for nerds of color to interact with and support creators of color, check out new diverse titles, and free reign for cosplay. You can also meet up with other nerds of color that share the same interest across the genre of pop culture. Black Nerd Problems talked with Maia “Crown” Williams, the founder and organizer of MECCAcon, to learn more about the importance of the gap MECCAcon fills.
© NayMarie Photography for Taji Mag | www.TajiMag.com
Black Nerd Problems: For years you have nurtured MECCAcon/BSAM into a much-needed haven for incredible African diasporic comics, film, and art from some of the most slept-on Black and brown indie artists in the game. That seems to be the ultimate labor of love. What work or moment sparked that passion for you and what makes you so ride-or-die for this particular universe?
Maia “Crown” Williams: The biggest moment was looking thru my son’s comics collection, and noticing the severe lack of self in books my son was reading. Other than Black Panther, which he had many of, there were barely any others. Also, not one was an indie series of any kind. I began researching and discovered another person in Detroit, Andre Batts, who organized a local convention here in Detroit. I met him at the African World Festival and began working with him immediately. I also began googling indie Black comics and met quite a few online via Facebook. Us indies are everywhere on social media, but we form like Voltron via Mark Zuckerberg.
I was so amazed how many Black comic series existed, how many creators were Black that I had never heard of, and I became obsessed with buying my son… everything, lol. His comic book selection is insane, he has titles famous, legendary creators even tell me they’re jealous of. He even has like 50 first edition prints of Milestone. How? One will never know the Jedi mind tricks my son beholds. I believe in working in the comic book industry cuz I believe the self-sustainability of my people. I can’t complain about lack of this, that, and the third if I’m not out here contributing to the growth and elevation of it all. I do my part, then I complain.
BNP: You are constantly imagining ways to grow MECCAcon into a bigger and better entity. One of the cool things you’re introducing this year is a subscription box service. Can you talk a little bit about that and what we can expect to find inside?
Maia: #MECCAconSubBox is literally the first of its kind. A friend of mine came to me with the idea because she was crazy enough to think that I could pull this off, lol. It officially launched in full on October 1st, and I am very excited! You receive 3-4 printed comic books, downloads of international Black award-winning films, and maybe downloads or a physical gift of something else. We have many sci-fi, Afrofuturism, speculative fiction, and filmmakers participating, as well as Black-owned businesses, all from across the country and globally. It’s pretty exciting.
Read on here. [x]
