'Black Heroes Matter' Wins Big Again at San Diego Comic Con
The grassroots movement, which went viral at last year's uber-gathering of creators, fans, and aficionados, scored big again with major media coverage, and celebrity support. Riding a wave of momentum created by press from The Hollywood Reporter, Daily Beast, and Vice News, the movement received greater push by being named to Rolling Stone's list of "Best Things We Saw at 2017 San Diego Comic Con.
San Diego, CA, August 1, 2017 (Newswire.com) - Amid the throng of frenzied fanboys, fangirls, nerds, geeks, artists, writers, cosplayers and celebrities at this year's five-day, pop culture extravaganza, known as San Diego Comic Con, a group of seventy-plus African-American attendees made a powerful statement without uttering a single word.
Assembled on the convention center's Grand Staircase in the front of the building, where thousands of curious passersby could see, the group gathered for the 2nd Annual 'Black Heroes Matter' flash mob, to bring attention to the glaring lack of Black heroes (and heroes of color) in pop culture, and in mainstream media. Photographers, videographers, and journalists were on hand to document the event, which grew exponentially from last year's gathering, tripling in size.
The flash mob was coordinated by two men; Richard G. Tyler II (known in Black, independent comic book circles as 'URAEUS') creator of the 'Black Heroes Matter' movement, and David Walker (award-winning comic book writer, currently penning Marvel's 'Luke Cage' series) who organized the initial flash mob, one year ago.
The success of the gathering outside of the convention center was reflected within the walls of the building as well, as URAEUS, and veteran comic book illustrator, Ryan Benjamin (Star Wars; X-Men; Batman; Teen Titans), along with a team of guerilla marketers disseminated over 120 'Black Heroes Matter' t-shirts, countless stickers, decals, and buttons to enthusiastic convention-goers, who gobbled the swag up like it was going out of style. 'Black Heroes Matter' shirts could be seen everywhere in the venue, on supporters of all races and ethnicities, and were a constant reminder of the issue of representation and diversity, which is the core of the movement.
'Black Heroes Matter' shirts also found their way into the hands of numerous celebrities in attendance, who embraced the message with zeal. Writer/Director Salim Akil, showrunner of the forthcoming 'Black Lightning' television series, proudly wore a 'Black Heroes Matter' shirt during the 'Black Lightning' Panel; and stars such as Will.I.Am (The Black Eyed Peas); Tyler the Creator; Jesse L. Martin ('The Flash'); Cress Williams ('Black Lightning'); and Letitia Wright ('The Black Panther') were spotted with 'Black Heroes Matter' gear (available at www.blackheroesmatter.biz).
On the social media front, actress China McClain ('Descendants 2'; 'Black Lightning') garnered over 160,000 likes on Instagram for a photo of her modeling a 'Black Heroes Matter' t-shirt. To encapsulate the excitement generated by the movement, Rolling Stone Magazine listed 'The Return of Black Heroes Matter' as one of 'Best Things We Saw at 2017 San Diego Comic Con.'
Next on the agenda for 'Black Heroes Matter' is October's New York Comic Con, which played host to the 1st 'Black Heroes Matter' Panel in 2016; a standing room only event that gathered content creators, artists, and fans, and drew coverage from HBO's 'Vice News', and BET.
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