Tony Weaver Jr. Interview: Dream Con 2025

Tony Weaver Jr., Writer

Tony Weaver Jr. has built a world where being yourself is the superpower. In this conversation from Dream Con, he talks about storytelling as a source of joy, his inspirations across anime and literature, and why embracing your weirdness might just open the door for someone else.

Photographs & Interview by Asa Featherstone, IV

First things first: how many Mt. Lady hats do you actually have?

If I’m being honest, I had five. It started with one, but after a video I made blew up, they sold out everywhere. I panicked and bought four more. I’ve lost one and one’s unworn—so three are in rotation. I’m super self-conscious about how it looks, especially after the pandemic when I couldn’t get a haircut. I’m from Atlanta—your hairline has to be right!

What are you hoping for from your first Dream Con?

Black joy. Just seeing Black folks being nerdy in their own space—where people can cosplay without judgment, swag surf in an Ichigo outfit, and just be. That’s what I’m excited for.

What drew you to storytelling?

Stories move people in ways nothing else can. Our mission is to make stories that feel like a shonen anime theme song—music that makes you want to get up and move. That’s the energy I want my stories to have.

A lot of your storytelling also feels personal. Why go that route?

For me, great storytelling starts with something core to the human experience. It’s easier to get there through grounded ideas. Even when I venture into fantasy, like with The Dream Frontier, I always start with a fundamental human feeling.

When did you start fully embracing your weirdness?

I never really set out to. I actually tried everything but being myself and it wasn’t working. I mimicked what I thought was acceptable. But it never fit. Eventually I found people who made space for me to be me. And once I embraced that, I saw how it encouraged others too. Self-expression becomes a shared burden—we carry it for each other. When people see you expressing yourself, it invites them to do the same thing.

What are some of your creative inspirations?

I pull a lot from slice-of-life manga and anime. Princess Jellyfish is a favorite—it’s raw and deeply human. I also draw from August Wilson, the Harlem Renaissance, and Black authors like Jacqueline Woodson and Jason Reynolds. That connection to history and nuance helps inform my work.

I love that you’re pulling from other types of historical texts.

There’s such a rich tapestry of Black literature. I tell manga fans all the time: put the manga down and read some of our people’s work because it makes ours better and allows us to view a bigger world. When my book Weirdo got blurbs from Jason Reynolds and Jerry Craft, i

You’re leading a few panels at Dream Con. What are you excited about?

The “Make Manga and Make Money” keynote. It’s not just a panel—it’s an hour-long masterclass. I’m diving into mindset, strategy, and monetization. A lot of people think access means networking, but it’s really about learning how to build something that can sustain you. I’m all about giving real resources to our people.

You’ve reached all kinds of audiences—what have you learned about yourself and your work?

I’m unlearning ego. As Black creatives, ego can be armor—but it can also hold us back. On the same coin, I’m learning to bet on myself and be louder about the things that I’m working on. I’ve met people who didn’t even know I had a book because I wasn’t talking about it enough on social. You have to believe in your work and share it.

Last question: what advice would you give someone who's hesitant, but hungry to create?

There’s room for everything. Think of it like food: McDonald’s, Five Guys, and Michelin-starred restaurants all serve food. You can be a “McDonald’s creative” and still have global impact. But nothing happens unless you take that first step.