The Black Billy Crystal?

We're jussumen that rock the mic!

So I'm back on board to host the GLYPH awards this year in Philly, coming up in May. Check out the PR posted last week for it - it's big news!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JAMAR NICHOLAS RETURNS AS HOST OF THE GLYPH COMICS AWARDS

The Glyph Comics Awards Committee is proud to announce that Jamar Nicholas will return to host this year's awards ceremony at the East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention (ECBACC) in Philadelphia. Nicholas, a Philly native, is best known for his hip hop comic strip Detective Boogaloo, as well as his autobiographical series The Jamar Chronicles. In 2007 he hosted the Awards for the first time, delighting the audience with his unique brand of humor while serving as emcee of the evening's entertainment, which also included performances by spoken word/rap artists Grayson Board, Randy Moore, and Brother G.

"I'm very excited about having the opportunity to host the 2008 Glyph awards, and am honored to be asked," says Nicholas. "I had a great time hosting last year's awards, and to have it take place in such a historic institution as the African American Museum makes it even greater."

"We really couldn't ask for a better host," says Committee Chair Rich Watson. "Jamar's local, he's a cartoonist himself, and he's funnier than anybody hosting this thing has a right to be, so we hope to have him as our go-to guy for a long, long time."

The Awards ceremony will be held Friday, May 16 at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, the night before ECBACC, which will be held the next day, Saturday, May 17, at Temple University's Anderson Hall.

The Committee also wishes to remind everyone that the poll for the Fan Award remains open until March 31. Everyone is encouraged to head over to the ECBACC website (http://ecbacc.com/wordpress/?page_id=76) and vote for your favorite black comic from 2007.

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 are named for the blog Glyphs: The Language of the Black Comics Community at Pop Culture Shock (http://glyphs.popcultureshock.com), started in 2005 by comics journalist 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 (ECBACC), in association with the Temple University Pan-African Studies Community Education Program, 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 on the Temple University campus in Philadelphia each May. 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 Maurice Waters at maurice.waters@ecbacc.com, or visit the official website (www.ecbacc.com).

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