kelly sue meets Congressman Lewis
Photo courtesy of Laurenn McCubbin

By Kyle Pinion

For those unaware, I’m a part of the Dragon Con Comics & Pop Arts Programming Staff. Our job to pull together panels of interest to the attendees on a variety of topics be it fan-based, academic, guest-spotlighting, or a blend of the three.

One of the most exciting moments, personally, of Dragon Con 2014 was getting an opportunity to introduce Captain Marvel/Pretty Deadly writer, and one of the leading voices of feminism in Comics, Kelly Sue DeConnick to Civil Rights Pioneer, Congressman John Lewis.

While The Beat covered his amazing and emotional panel that was held this past Sunday in Atlanta, this occurrence that took place afterwards held its own bit of noteworthiness.

DeConnick had the following to say about Lewis, after attending his panel, on her Tumblr blog:

 He’s a gentle man, soft spoken, extraordinarily gracious and inspiring. He represents, I think, the best of us. What I want it to mean when i say, “I am an American” is everything that man stands for. John Lewis is a true American hero.

We ALL need to know his story — because it is OUR story.  ALL OF US, regardless of skin tone.  Go buy (March: Book One) for your family, then one for your school’s library too.  Read it, teach it, look at what is going on around us today.

And of course, there was no way the Congressman was getting out of the room without the above “duck-face” selfie.

Add this event on top of the utterly packed attendance for her Carol Corps meetup that was also held that weekend, and a number of dynamic panels ranging from Creator Owned Comics to a number of Gender, Race, and Sexuality in Comics Round-tables, it was a great weekend for fans of the Marvel and Image creator. Needless to say, Dragon Con was elevated significantly by her presence. I’m so very grateful I got to be a part of it.

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