I am extremely honored to have recently been named as the new chairperson of The Glyph Comics Awards Committee (GCA). I would like to thank Rich Watson, the original chair and founder of GCA as well as the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC) for this amazing opportunity. I am looking forward to working with this prestigious award program and the ECBACC.
Sista ToFunky
Here is the official Press Release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PAMELA THOMAS NAMED NEW CHAIR OF GLYPH COMICS AWARDS
The Glyph Comics Awards (GCA) Committee, in partnership with the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC), has officially named Pamela Thomas the new chair of the committee. She replaces original chair and GCA founder Rich Watson and will run the awards program.
Thomas, a.k.a. “Sista ToFunky,” is the curator of the online website The Museum of Uncut Funk (www.museumofuncutfunk.com), a black pop culture site and blog with an emphasis on the 1970s.
“We’re very fortunate to have found someone not only willing to carry the torch for us, but someone who has a deep and abiding love and appreciation for black pop culture in general,” says Watson in a statement. “With our support, we believe Pam is the one who can not only keep the GCAs going, but to take it to the next level.”
A former art gallery owner and current college professor, Thomas maintains a large collection of black memorabilia from the 1970s, including movie posters, animation cels and comic books. Her posters have been written about in several magazines, including King and Savoy, and they have been featured on Black Entertainment Television. This past January, she debuted her traveling animation exhibition, “Funky Turns Forty: Black Character Revolution,” at the ToonSeum in Pittsburgh.
The 2013 GCA season will begin next month when the open call for submissions will be announced. At this time, comics publishers from around the industry will be invited to submit their work for consideration in the 2013 awards.
About the Glyph Comics Awards:
The Glyph Comics Awards recognize the best in comics made by, for, and about people of color from the preceding calendar year. While it is not exclusive to black creators, it does strive to honor those who have made the greatest contributions to the comics medium in terms of both critical and commercial impact. By doing so, the goal is to encourage more diverse and high quality work across the board and to inspire new creators to add their voices to the field. The awards were founded in 2005 by Rich Watson as a means to provide news and commentary of comics with black themes, as well as tangential topics in the fields of black science-fiction/fantasy and animation.
About ECBACC:
The East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (www.ecbacc.com/wordpress) is an annual gathering of comic book creators and retailers who create and sell material that caters to black readers of all ages. In addition to selling their work, they also take part in panel discussions and self-publishing workshops for aspiring creators. The convention is held in Philadelphia each May. There is also a reception held the preceding night. ECBACC is an outgrowth of the original Black Age of Comics Convention in Chicago, founded by Turtel Onli.
For more information about ECBACC, contact event coordinator Akinseye Brown at akinseye.brown@ecbacc.com.
