If you build it, they will come and help to make you billions of dollars in sales. That is just one aspect of what Comic-Con International has done, but for fans of the comic book genre, it’s much much more.
I bet you that most of the comic book fans didn’t know that Comic-Con International: San Diego—which was started in 1970—is actually a nonprofit educational corporation and that they are dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular art forms primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture.
For so long, the African-American creators and characters have been purposely absent, despite having legions of fans that have helped create trillion-dollar franchises.
Fast forward to 2016 and with the sleek speed of a deadly, determined black panther, the wave of changes, even in the comic book franchise world, is coming.
One of the most anticipated sneak peeks is around the anticipated comic book adaptation of “Black Panther,” which is being brought to life by director Ryan Coogler.
The always elegant Coogler summed up his passion for all things comic book when sharing a bit of personal nostalgia. In 2009, he was sitting inside the same hall, as a fan, but now he was inside there as a director.
On hand was lead actor Chadwick Boseman, who plays the Wakandan king and hero, who teased the crowd by sharing, “Ryan has beautiful things in store for us.”
The surprises kept rolling. Lupita Nyong’o will play Nakia, who has a long history in the comics, sometimes as a potential wife for T’Challa and later as a villain named Malice.
Michael B. Jordan will be playing Erik Killmonger, an expert fighter and nemesis of Black Panther. And finally, “The Walking Dead” star, actress and Tony-nominated playwright, Danai Gurira, will be playing Okoye, the head of the Dora Milaje, the personal bodyguards of the Black Panther.
