After their successful virtual Black History Month event in February, Virtuous Con is once again spotlighting Black creators in comics, sci-fi, fantasy, and gaming at Virtuous Con: Juneteenth, this Saturday and Sunday, June 19-20 from 11 a.m. ET-6 p.m. ET. Accessible through the Virtuous Con website, the free virtual convention’s theme is “Seeing Farther: Taking Our Vision to the Next Level” and features some incredible programming. Including a live-streamed Master Class series sponsored by crowdfunding platform Kickstarter and a live Black Music Month series sponsored by comics and culture company Urbanime.
Virtuous Con: Juneteenth special guests include actor and activist Wilson Cruz, currently starring in STAR TREK: DISCOVERY on Paramount Plus, Academy Award Winning Director Peter Ramsey (Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse), and Award-Winning Fantasy Writer Justina Ireland (Dread Nation, Star Wars: High Republic Test of Courage).
In addition, legendary voice actor Phil LaMarr (Samurai Jack, Supergirl, Justice League), Science Educators Dr. Raven Baxter (Raven the Science Maven) and Lindsey E. Murphy (TheFabLab) Award-Winning Writers David F. Walker (Bitter Root, Naomi), L.L. McKinney (Nightmareverse, NUBIA: Real One) and Evan Narcisse (Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Rise of the Black Panther) are also scheduled to appear. Gaming was also added to the event programming, and professional SIMS player Xmiramira and actor, singer, gamer Omega Jones (aka Critical Bard) will also be featured.
The Kickstarter MasterClass Mini-Series is designed to help independent artists elevate their craft and business acumen with free lessons in everything from creating an audiobook, to marketing self-published work, to crowdfunding techniques to augment funding goals.
June is also Black Music Month, and urban geek lifestyle brand Urbanime will be leading discussions on how the intersection of Black music, comics, anime, and sneakerheads have created a new geek lifestyle.
Virtuous Con: Juneteenth’s virtual floor show will feature Indie artists and exhibitors dedicated to science fiction, fantasy, comic books, anime, and more in a live interactive virtual space. Complete with virtual “booths” for vendors to interact live with attendees about their products and interactive panels and live programming. The audience can interact in real-time with panel discussions, as opposed to pre-recorded Youtube or Zoom links.
As a Black woman-owned convention, Virtuous Con: Juneteenth has a special meaning for founder and award-winning author Cerece Rennie Murphy (The Order of the Seers, The Wolf Queen), “Woven within the spirit of Juneteenth, as an event and a celebration, is the notion of possibility and progress,” Murphy says. “We’re about leveraging creative freedom to expand the narratives and mediums where marginalized voices can thrive. Each of our vendors and guests is a shining example of that!”
