Published 3:41 pm Tuesday, October 20, 2026
A crowd gathered at The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience Saturday to hear a panel discussion led by Walt Grayson.
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Long-time weatherman and television news personality Walt Grayson, who also was the host of Mississippi Roads during much of its run made a visit to The Max in Meridian to moderate a panel discussion as part of the Jackson Comics Experience Saturday afternoon.
Grayson sat down with Talamieka Brice, Blake Barnes and Rod Mooney to discuss not only comic books in general, but also storytelling, specifically as it relates to Mississippi storytelling.
Grayson, who grew up in Greenville, spoke about the importance of storytelling.
Brice, who grew up in Kilmichael, said she was introduced to comic books by John Jennings, whose comic book art is currently on display at The Max. Brice said Jennings taught her the power of storytelling, specifically through comics, but also in general. Brice, who is an award-winning visual artist, photographer, filmmaker, writer and activist, said her interest in storytelling derives from her childhood.
Brice said she carried stories with her throughout her life and she wanted to share these stories with others. She said she recently finished her fifth film and her focus has been on lost stories and foundational truths of our nation.
Rodney Mooney said a near-death experience led him to seek out travel and stories of others to share. He referenced an initiative Mississippi had to take photos in all 82 counties. He said he and his family traveled to each of Mississippi’s counties to find these stories.
“I have traveled in all of these counties and in every one of them there is something beautiful,” Mooney said, noting that there is nothing more important than preserving the state’s many stories.
Mooney said he linked up with Barnes and Steven Butler and before long they felt like the Grimm brothers from Germany collecting forgotten stories to share with others.
“Preservation happens in so many ways,” Mooney said.
Mooney then told stories of working with local Mississippi tribes to save their stories including the story of the first Bigfoot sighting in Mississippi.
Barnes said his first introduction to stories and storytelling was reading C.S. Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia” series. He said comics were a good middle ground between novels and film and it was one of the ways he originally got into comic books.
The three then discussed their work with Jackson Comics and the various projects they are working on including the series “Mississippi Macabre” which shares Mississippi stories that relate to hauntings and other supernatural phenomena.
