‘BLERD ALERT!’ Exclusive: Bringing Blackness To New York Comic Con 2024
Source: Keenan “HIGz” Higgins / REACH Media
“All the geeks in New York came together, and it was no drama — we had fun!”
Manny, who traveled all the way from Bucks County in his best cosplay of Nagato’s Akatsuki from the popular Japanese manga series Naruto, was right on the money with his assertion of the end to Day 1 for the 2024 New York Comic Con. Thankfully that same sentiment lasted for the remaining days ahead, bringing yet another year of the four-day convention to a close with over 200,000 happy (and more than likely painted!) faces leaving out of NYC’s immensely spacious Javits Center from October 17th to October 20th.
Even a whole week later, we’re still reveling at not only how impressively sizable everything was but most importantly the pleasant surprise of seeing the presence of Black culture in an abundance.
…BLERD ALERT!
Source: Keenan “HIGz” Higgins / REACH Media
RELATED: GEEK OUT – The Best Cosplay From Day 2 / The Best Cosplay From Day 3
Taking cues from Kid Cudi’s review of NYCC 2024 via Instagram (see above), the entire convention proved to be a success from many angles. The GRAMMY-winning emcee was on board to discuss his new comic book series, Moon Man, with issue no. 5 releasing just last week and an omnibus edition of all the issues arriving soon.
We can’t confirm anything, but don’t be surprised if this turns out to be a stepping stone for the Man on the Moon emcee to take his intergalactic obsession all the way to the big screen. If you ask us, we definitely could use a new Black comic book hero movie with Cudi, a proven triple threat already, at the helm of it all.
Each day of Comic Con found us running into Black culture in various aspects. At one end of the convention, an hour-long “Blerds Who Step” dance tutorial was in full swing inspired by “The Drums of Liberation” from fan-favorite Japanese manga series One Piece. In the basement, a handful of hip-hop heads battled it out in a Def Jam: Fight for NY gaming competition hosted by renowned retro gaming shop VideoGamesNewYork that occurred simultaneously as over 100 other gamers did the same in button-smashing glee. One woman well into her golden years, face painted as a butterfly to highlight her glowing youthful exuberance, warmed our heart as she played Mario Kart 64 with her grandchildren — it appeared that she even won, too!
Source: Keenan “HIGz” Higgins / Reach Media
Source: Keenan “HIGz” Higgins / REACH Media
Source: Keenan “HIGz” Higgins / REACH Media
Source: Keenan “HIGz” Higgins / REACH Media
Source: Keenan “HIGz” Higgins / REACH Media
At the center of it all was the cosplay. Every race, creed, gender, sexuality and color made sure to make it a memorable experience, from the five bearded and ripped gym bros who hilarious dressed up as Sailor Scouts of the iconic ’90s Japanese manga Sailor Moon — heels and miniskirts, aplenty! — to the countless iterations of Deadpool and Wolverine we spotted each day. Each. Single. Day.
Another amazing note about the cosplay was that no one got out of pocket in attempting to change their skin tone to be a character of another race. Black cosplayers specifically felt zero pressure to come as a Black character or lighten their skin if they chose a white character. (Editor’s Note: Listen, I cosplayed as Giles, Xander, Oz and Spike from ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ — all white men!)
Tokyo Bronx ACG photographer Kagé, who split his time between going as Goku from Dragon Ball Z and Izuku Midoriya of My Hero Academia, really made sense when he broke down the importance of showing up and showing out as a Black cosplayer. According to him, “It’s super important that I bring Black culture into the comic books, anime, gaming and Japanese culture scene because it’s a relevant part of our own culture especially now in 2024. It’s something we all grew up with and it genuinely brings our environment together.” Kagé even views it from a role model perspective, also adding, “We can be not only tough and masculine, but also explore our creative, geeky and nerdy sides as well. People need to be encouraged to be themselves.”
A mommy/daughter duo dressed as Princess Peach and Princess Daisy of Super Mario fame were also heart-stealers, with mom Tiana telling us the importance of letting her daughter know that she can be anything she wants with a little imagination. “She wanted to be Princess Peach, but was also like, ‘I can’t be Princess Peach because my skin isn’t the same color as her skin.’ I had to tell her, ‘You can be Princess Peach! You don’t have to be the same color and you’re just as pretty with a darker complexion and not-so-straight hair.‘”
Then there was Antoine, one of the standouts of Day 4 for his spot-on interpretation of the infamous Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street, complete with a rehashing of the horror icon’s signature tagline, “Freddy’s back!” Of course, for anyone who dared to ask him for a pic, he switched it up a bit to — yep, you guessed it! — “Freddy’s Black!” In-between slashing it up for the cameras, he explained his perspective as a Black cosplayer by stating,”[It’s about] spreading love and being positive while displaying originality! Getting out there and making people want to have fun [is the best]; we all have an inner child inside of us. No matter what age we are, we have to keep it alive!”
Source: Keenan “HIGz” Higgins / REACH Media
Source: Keenan “HIGz” Higgins / REACH Media
Source: Keenan “HIGz” Higgins / REACH Media
To wrap up this NYCC 2024 edition of BLERD ALERT!, just know that it’s well-worth the time and investment to attend. Whether you do all four days like we did or just dedicate one sole day to getting out all your geeky dreams, we guarantee you won’t regret it.
Until next year, fellow blerds!
Source: Keenan “HIGz” Higgins / REACH Media
Source: Keenan “HIGz” Higgins / Reach Media
Source: Keenan “HIGz” Higgins / REACH Media
Source: Keenan “HIGz” Higgins / REACH Media
