I’ll be appearing at Minnesota’s Convergence Con from July 2-4 in Minneapolis.

CONvergence is a convention for fans of Science Fiction and Fantasy in all media held at the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel in the Twin Cities area. This will be my first trip to this Con featuring, among other stalwarts, Joel Hodgson (Agent J!) and his fellow inhabitants of the Satellite of Love from Mystery Science Theatre 3000!

My unbelievably full panel schedule is reproduced below:

Thursday July 2

3:30 PM: Diversity in Comics
About: A discussion of how comics address diverse issues like race,
gender and sexual orientation.
Panelist(s): Dwayne McDuffie, Scott Jamison, M. Nicholas Almand,
Christopher Jones

7:00 PM:
Opening Ceremony

Friday July 3

9:30 AM: Finding my way in the comics industry
About: Dwayne McDuffie talks about getting into the comics business
and shares his inspirations and experiences
Panelist(s): Christopher Jones (mod), Dwayne McDuffie

12:30 PM: Dwayne McDuffie & Patrick Rothfuss Signing

Saturday July 4
11:00 AM: Justice League Past, Present and Future
About: From its first appearance in 1960 to its fractured present, how
has the Justice League changed over time? Can its origins be traced
even further back?
Panelist(s): Dwayne McDuffie, Daniel Wallace, Scott Jamison, Moira
Cross, David Gustafson, W. Scott Patterson

12:30 PM: Live Commentary w/Dwayne
About: Join Guest of Honor Dwayne McDuffie as he provides live
commentary on animated episodes of Static Shock and Justice League
Unlimited. There will also be time for Q & A following the two
commentaries.
Panelist(s): Matt Savelkoul (mod), Dwayne McDuffie

2:00 PM: Comic Creation Process
About: What goes into creating a comic book? How to translate an idea
into a full-fledged publication.
Panelist(s): Dwayne McDuffie, Melissa Kaercher, Christopher Jones, Bob Lipski

5:00 PM: Milestone Comics
About: Discussion of Milestone Comics by its founder, Dwayne
McDuffie. Moderated by Christopher Jones.
Panelist(s): Christopher Jones (mod), Dwayne McDuffie

11:30 PM: Guest of Honor Cage Match
About: Which one of our guests is the biggest bad ass? There is only
one way to find out! We are going to toss them in a cage lined with
barbed wire in an all out brawl to determine which guest is the best.
Eight guests enter, one guest leaves!
Panelist(s): Patrick Rothfuss, Kelly McCullough, Trace Beaulieu, Frank
Conniff, Brian Keene, Joel Hodgson, Mary Jo Pehl, Dwayne McDuffie

Sunday July 5
2:00 PM:
Dwayne McDuffie & THAC0 Signing

5:00 PM:
Closing Ceremony

Dwayne again: As you can see, I’ll be pretty easy to find. I’m also planning to bring some Static Shock and Justice League trades for sale. Oh, and for the convention’s charity auction, I donated a signed Justice League Unlimited script, it’s “Epilogue,” the story intended to bookend the entire Timmverse. Appropriately, Bruce Timm has been kind enough to also sign the script. And do a sketch on the cover. Click it for a better look.

The very first Milestone comic will finally be collected, 17 years after its original publication. HARDWARE: THE MAN IN THE MACHINE will reprint Hardware #1-8, featuring the character’s origin, and first adventure. The Direct Market (comic book store) release date hasn’t been announced yet, but it tends to be about a month earlier than in the general market.

Here’s a preview of my final issue of Justice League of America, featuring the JLA teaming with Icon and Hardware in battle with Starbreaker. Don’t miss the secret of how the Milestone heroes ended up in DC Comics’ continuity.

I also suggest you take a look at some of the comments from your fellow comic book fans. Every once in awhile, I’m reminded how racially backwards a portion of our audience is and how important it is to… You know what? I’ll let them speak for themselves:

“…how many blacks did McDuffie manage to sneak onto the team this time–five? (I bet DC editorial gave him the same order as Burger King in that lawsuit–to “lighten things up around here.”)”

“Why don’t they call this the “Minority League”? ”

“I don’t think anyone will support an original black “mainstream” character. I know I won’t.”
“Couldn’t they get Static, Black Lightning, or one of his daughters instead of Dr. Light on the cover of BET League of America? Ha!”
“Maybe they should establish a separate league for all the negro superheroes. I’m not saying kick them ALL off. One would be okay. (Doesn’t Hollywood have some kind of law that says every movie has to have at least one black in it?) I just think they’re going overboard with all this diversity stuff. I mean, how many comics do minorities read anyway?”

Dwayne again. Welcome to my world. You know, the one where race doesn’t matter…

Former Milestone writer/editor and Justice League Unlimited crony Matt Wayne has turned his talents to this week’s issue of Brave and the Bold, featuring the first meeting between Black Lightning and Static.

Click here for a new interview about his upcoming projects in comic books (and Marvel animation!)…

Dear Pixar,

This is not an angry letter. It is especially not an angry letter about¬ÝUp, which I adored. I could have sat in the theater and watched it two more times in a row. I cried, but I also laughed so hard in places that it wore me out.

So I’m not complaining; I’m asking. I’m asking because I think so highly of you.

Please make a movie about a girl who is not a princess.

Of the ten movies you’ve released so far, ten of them have central characters who are boys or men, or who are anthropomorphized animals or robots or bugs who are voiced by and imagined as boys or men. These movies feature women and girls to varying degrees –¬ÝThe Incredibles, in particular — but the story is never “a girl and the things that happen to her,” the way it’s “a boy and what happens to him.”

I want¬Ýso much for girls to have a movie like¬ÝUp that is about someone they can dress up as for Halloween, as¬ÝAnika Noni Rose said about starring as the voice in¬ÝThe Princess And The Frog. Not a girl who’s a side dish, but a girl who’s the big draw.

And I’d really, really like it¬Ýnot to be a princess.

Click here for more, then come back and discuss…