ECBACC facts for kids

The East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC) is a special event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It's the first comic book convention in the area that focuses on Black creators and characters. Hundreds of comic book artists, writers, and fans come together here.

ECBACC is a non-profit group. This means it's not trying to make money. Instead, it focuses on education, reading, and the arts. Yumy Odom, a teacher and scientist from Temple University, started ECBACC in 2002 with Maurice Waters.

ECBACC grew out of something called the "Black Age of Comics." This movement started around 1981. It's all about people of African descent creating many different Black characters in the comic book world. One of the first "Black Age" characters was NOG: Protector of the Pyramids. He was created in 1981 by artist Turtel Onli. NOG stands for "Nubian of Greatness."

The ECBACC convention usually happens in May in Philadelphia. It kicks off on Friday evening with the Glyph Comics Awards. These awards often take place at the African American Museum in Philadelphia. Then, there's a full day of convention fun on Saturday.

ECBACC also has a special program called the STARS Workshop. STARS stands for "Storytelling That Advances Reading Skills." This program uses comic book art to help kids be creative and improve their reading. It also shows them different jobs they could have in the comic book industry. Kids in the STARS Workshop get to create their own heroes. They write stories for the characters they invent. Besides workshops, ECBACC now has a cool costume contest too!

Discovering ECBACC's Journey

The idea for this convention started way back in the 1990s. It took over ten years of planning and teamwork. The first convention was held on May 11, 2002. It took place at Temple University. Some of the first guests included famous artists like Arvell Jones and Jerry Craft.

In 2003, about 50 people attended the show. They met guests like William H. Foster, III and Jerry Craft.

A special award, the ECBACC Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award, started in 2004. In 2005, the convention grew to be two days long. Since 2006, the Glyph Comics Awards have been a big part of the annual ECBACC convention.

Many talented people have attended ECBACC over the years. In 2007, guests included Dwayne McDuffie and Kyle Baker. The 2008 show celebrated Black women in comics. In 2009, guests like Kevin Grevioux and Jamal Igle were there.

The first "AfriCoz" costume contest happened on May 19, 2012. Guests that year included William H. Foster, III and Eric Battle. The 2013 ECBACC had its second costume contest. It also showed a movie called White Scripts and Black Supermen.

Special Events at ECBACC

Honoring Comic Book Heroes

ECBACC Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award

The ECBACC Pioneer Lifetime Achievement Award celebrates amazing men and women. These are people who have made big, lasting contributions to comics and science fiction. They helped open doors for others in the industry.

Here are some of the people who have received this award:

• 2004: Samuel Joyner – a political cartoonist for The Philadelphia Tribune
• 2005: Bertram Fitzgerald – creator of Golden Legacy comics
• 2006:
  • Tony Tallarico – creator of Lobo, the first African-American character to have his own comic book
  • Turtel Onli – known as the "Father of the Black Age" concept
• 2007: Larry Fuller – a famous underground comic artist
• 2008: Nichelle Nichols – who played Lt. Nyota Uhura on Star Trek
• 2011 (posthumous awards, meaning after they passed away):
  • Orrin Cromwell Evans & George J. Evans, Jr. – creators of All-Negro Comics (1947), the first independent Black comic book in the U.S.
  • Dwayne McDuffie – co-founder of Milestone Media (1993). This company created many diverse characters like Hardware, Icon, and Static.

Glyph Comics Awards

The Glyph Comics Awards celebrate the best comics. These are comics made by, for, and about people of color. The awards usually happen on the Friday evening before the main convention. They are often held at the African American Museum in Philadelphia.

AFRICOZ and AFRICOZPLAY: Costume Fun!

ECBACC's AFRICOZPLAY costume contest is a fun way to celebrate positive images of Black people. It focuses on characters in the comic book and sci-fi world. "AfriCoz" cosplay means dressing up as pop-culture characters. But it has a special focus on Black characters or characters with an African style.

"AfriCoz" celebrates Black characters. It also lets Black cosplayers enjoy dressing up in fantasy costumes. It helps them feel supported and seen. Sometimes, Black cosplayers felt they had to dress as White or Asian characters. This was because they didn't get much support for dressing as Black characters. AfriCoz helps change that! If you dress up as a Black or African character, you're called an Africozer or Africosplayer.

Other Cool Conventions

There are other conventions like ECBACC that focus on Afrocentric themes. These include Onyxcon in Atlanta, Georgia, and Motor City Black Age of Comics in Detroit. The Schomburg Center in New York City also hosts a Black Comic Book Festival.