SDCC ’25: For Tony Weaver Jr., an Eisner nom is a win for mental health

Like most first-time attendees, Tony Weaver Jr. is thrilled to be at San Diego Comic-Con, soaking up the vibes. But make no mistake, mental health and ways he can elevate awareness around it are never far from his mind. His debut graphic novel Weirdo, a poignant tale of bullying and belonging, has earned “Book of the Year” honors from Kirkus, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly and People Magazine. Then came  the Eisner nomination, which for this Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient was icing on the cake.

Weaver, who spoke with The Beat last year about the book, returns to share his continuing mission to promote mental health awareness and reflect on what this recognition means for his work.

Nancy Powell: Congratulations on the nominations. It’s been a year since the book has come out. What has all this meant to you?

Tony Weaver Jr.: I don’t have words to express how grateful I am, number one, that a book like Weirdo was able to exist, but number two, that it found the communities that needed it and the people that needed it, the kids that needed it, the families that needed it, the parents that needed to develop an understanding of how to best have conversations with their kids about things like this, the stories of impact that I’ve heard about Weirdo and the ways that I’ve witnessed kids kind of embrace it. It’s something that I wake up grateful about every day.

Powell: And do you think that is because of our present climate? There’s a lot going on in the world, and there’s a lot of fear and uncertainty.

Weaver: Well, I think that mental health is an issue that’s always worth talking about, but in the climate that we live in today, kids are dealing with a significant amount of uncertainty. They have a lot of questions and some of the old platitudes that we’ve given kids to kind of keep them complacent don’t really work anymore. I say, ‘just be yourself. Just be yourself.’ Yeah, no, that’s not going to get me anywhere. ‘You’re amazing, just the way you are.’ Uh huh. Doesn’t feel like that. I go to school and that’s not what’s happening. When I go on online spaces, that’s not what’s happening. I look at the news, that’s not what’s happening. We are really at a point right now where some of these empty catchphrases that we use to convince kids that positivity is important, they’re not working. They need something more substantial, and I think Weirdo offers that.

Powell: Hopefully you’ll win the Eisner. Do you have any other books coming out? Or are you going in another direction?

Weaver: I’m thinking very deeply about the Eisner right now. Being nominated for the highest award in the comic book medium on my debut book is something that I don’t take for granted. It’s really a wow moment. But additionally, I think I want to create more stories in this world. So I’ve written Weirdo 2. It’s is in the process of being illustrated. And I also have a YA fantasy series that’s been acquired at Macmillan that we’re in the process of creating and working on but I think the biggest thing for me is that I’m very excited about what Weirdo has done so far, but I needed to go farther. I need it in more places. I need more people talking about it. I need it in more classrooms. I need it on more state reading lists. And I think that an accolade like the Eisner would go really far in helping that happen.

Powell: Do you have any fear with the book banning and censorship happening that  the message might stop?

Weaver: I think that a book ban concerning Weirdo is a matter of when, not a matter of if. I’m glad that it hasn’t happened so far that I’ve been informed about anyway, but I think that anyone attempting to keep books out of kids hands, they won’t be successful, especially with a story like Weirdo that I poured so much my heart into, that the community is really rallying around. I think any attempts to keep a tool like that out of the hands of kids that need it won’t work. They can try, but I’m a very stubborn person. If I took the time to write the book, best believe I’m gonna take the time to make sure kids get it.

Powell: What do you thought about Comic Con? Are there specific artists that you want to see, or any panels that you want to attend?

Weaver: I think that when I come to Comic Con, I’m really just here for the community. I follow along with the community, and I see where it takes me. I might end up at a panel, I might end up at an activation, I might end up at a party, who knows, but that’s the joy of it. I don’t really show up with a schedule. I’m just here to look around.

Stay tuned to The Beat for more coverage from SDCC ’25.