FlameCon 2024, which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary earlier this month at the Sheraton Times Square, was phenomenal! When entering this LGBTQ+ comic convention, you were immediately hit with the queer-central focus of it all, and it was beautiful. As a Black queer woman myself, it was so much fun walking into a con that was made for us by us.
There was an exhibit hall with all kinds of queer merchandise including t-shirts, key chains, posters, pins, bags, books, and honestly everything you could think of. Artists sold anime and cartoon art, as well as posters from shows, movies, and games like “Steven Universe” “One Piece,” “Genshin Impact,” “She-Ra and the Princess of Power,” “The Owl House,” “Heaven Official’s Blessing,” “Honkai Impact,” “Scream,” “Haikyu!!,” “Supernatural,” “Naruto,” “Sailor Moon,” “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure,” and many more.
Among all the vendors present, I was drawn to Apparelleelexi, a booth where Lexi sold her handmade anime bags. Some designs included the soot sprite from “Spirited Away,” and a Calcifer from “Howl’s Moving Castle,” which are both from Studio Ghibli. Lexi told the AmNews that she started her business around the pandemic in 2021. “I wanted an All Might bag. I couldn’t find it anywhere, so I made it myself. I also pivoted to designing pins for my bags. I wanted to make it accessible for everyone and make it as fun as possible.” Lexi’s goal is to turn this into a full apparel business.
Some other vendors sold LGBTQ+ mangas and novels, like Yen Press with their girl love books and boy love books including “She Loves To Cook, She Loves To Eat,” “The Red Thread,” “Cuckoos Three,” and “This Monster Wants To Eat Me.” After checking out the exhibit hall, it was on to panels. One of the panels I got to witness was the “The Art And Biz of Queer Voiceover,” moderated by Princess Weekes with panelists including JP Karliak, Noel Palmer, AaimzTako, and Tom Cat, who discussed their experiences being queer and trans in the voice acting community; the character types they like to voice act; and how they discovered themselves during their voice acting. The panelists talked about the importance of having a backup plan when pursuing a voice acting career. People were also encouraged to advocate for themselves when given certain scripts. When asked how they connected with their characters, Palmer was quick to respond, “There is always a part of the character that is a part of you.”
The entire room said in unison, “Everyone’s voice is valid.” It was a powerful moment.
Cosplays were abundant from different fandoms including Marvel, DC Comics, “Hazbin Hotel,” “Steven Universe,” “Sailor Moon,” “Power Rangers,” “Pokemon,” “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure,” “Yu-Gi-Oh!” “My Hero Academia,” “The Owl House,” “Heaven’s Official Blessing,” and even Chuck E Cheese. Walking around, I stumbled upon Doctor Strange, Batman, Luffy, Steven Universe, Peridot, Neptune, Izuku, Luz, and many others.
This was my first time going to FlameCon and what an experience it was, I will definitely be back next year. Hope to see you there! For more info, visit www.flamecon.org.