Cheyenne Ewulu on ‘Shades of Cosplay’ and Artistic Expression

Creating an influential and resonating documentary that digs into the heart of cosplay and Geekdom from a Black perspective as her first film wasn’t exactly Cheyenne Ewulu’s plan to begin with. What was supposed to be more of an artistic catharsis to express the frustration with racism and lack of awareness she noticed in the community she called home, became a beacon for Black cosplayers to find hope and admiration in their work.

Continue reading “Cheyenne Ewulu on ‘Shades of Cosplay’ and Artistic Expression”

‘Shades of Cosplay’ Makes Me Want to Cosplay

Cosplay is an enigma to me. The act of dressing up as one’s favorite character to an almost identical degree shows a mastery of craft-making, make-up, and acting that is rarely discussed in other mediums. Being a fan of a show or a character is no longer a passive experience when you cosplay, it becomes an active response to the work that inspires you.

Continue reading “‘Shades of Cosplay’ Makes Me Want to Cosplay”

‘Shades of Cosplay’ Brings the Black Cosplay Experience Front and Center

Film director Cheyenne Ewulu directed the 2015 documentary Shades of Cosplay about four Black cosplayers and their experiences during the 2015 Anime-Matusuri convention. Using her background as a cosplayer, Ewulu weaves a story that interacts with the world of cosplay and its issues of racism and inclusiveness in the space. Now in the year 2022, the film is being released online for the first time on February 4, 2022 — to celebrate Black History Month.

Continue reading “‘Shades of Cosplay’ Brings the Black Cosplay Experience Front and Center”

‘Superhero Diaries’ Cast and Creator Talk New YouTube Series

Superhero Diaries had its soft launch in early 2021, with advance episodes produced during the height of the pandemic. It quickly became clear that talent would need to record alone and only work together via green screen and editing and yet they were still able to put together webseries gold. With its official debut, the fantastic satire series is now able to bring actors together on-set, to parody the multiverse galaxies, in ways that could never actually happen but do.

Continue reading “‘Superhero Diaries’ Cast and Creator Talk New YouTube Series”

Phil LaMarr to Play Green Lantern in ‘Superhero Diaries’ Webseries

For the last two Halloweens I was Mile Morales, and it was both immensely charming to see kids excitedly rush toward our house for a picture and painfully sweltering because of the horrid Miami weather plaguing my cosplay. Those days seem even further away when thinking about the current state of things and how the pandemic has transformed the ways we get to celebrate our favorite pop culture figures.

Continue reading “Phil LaMarr to Play Green Lantern in ‘Superhero Diaries’ Webseries”

Into The SDCC-Cosplay-Verse With The NOC, Part II

More sights and snikts from the extraordinarily eventful San Diego Comic-Con 2019 (The 50th edition of SDCC!) Check out earlier coverage here and here!

We’ll get into the big reveals from SDCC50 on our podcast; we have plenty of time to contemplate the new Picard series, the Top Gun sequel (Miramar is right there in San Diego, after all), The CW’s Crisis crossover, the multiverse of announcements from Marvel in Hall H. For now, we’re still feeling the sunny afterglow from the melting pot of fandoms, cosplayers, and creative folk who make Comic-Con International such a special gathering, particularly so on this week when our Supervillain-In-Chief was yelling bigotry at POCs to “go back where they came from.” What can I say, fool: We’re from here.

Continue reading “Into The SDCC-Cosplay-Verse With The NOC, Part II”

Join the #RoseParade at San Diego Comic-Con 2019

This year marks the 50th anniversary of San Diego Comic-Con, and the one-year anniversary since a crowd of Rose Tico cosplayers gathered at Bayfront Park to show their support for Kelly Marie Tran. And we’re doing it all over again! This time, we’re planning to march in a “Rose Parade” from the Convention Center to the NOC Meetup at the Hilton on Saturday, July 20. Let us know you’ll be part of the parade on Facebook!

Continue reading “Join the #RoseParade at San Diego Comic-Con 2019”

Photos from 20th Century Fox’s “COSMIX” X-Men Event!

Last week Fox, IW Group, and The Nerd Reactor teamed up to put on a pretty x-citing event to commemorate 19 years of the X-Men film legacy at Downtown Los Angeles’ Wisdome LA! The event featured three EDM musical acts, including up-and-coming rising star Wenzday, as well as some amazing fire dancers and, of course, the immersive art pieces that you could only see at the Wisdome. Check out the photos from the event below:

Continue reading “Photos from 20th Century Fox’s “COSMIX” X-Men Event!”

Calling LA NOCs: Join Us for a ‘Dark Phoenix’ Party

Admit it. You’ve wanted to join the X-Men since you were a kid! You’ve wanted the cool powers, the costumes, and the chance to be X-Traordinary (not that you’re not now, everyone’s special — but like, I mean superpowers special, dude)! Well now’s your chance to rock your X-Men best and party like a mutant!

Continue reading “Calling LA NOCs: Join Us for a ‘Dark Phoenix’ Party”

Katsu Panther!!

These last few weeks have been truly exciting for so many reasons. We began a new convention season, Black Panther debuted, and #28daysofblackcosplay just wrapped, to name a few!

-pause- Let me introduce myself. My name is Tranquil Ashes, but you can call me Tranq for short! Welcome Tranquilities to my humble space where I write about my cosplay and body positive adventures. Most importantly I’ll be  featuring and giving voice to YOU, beautiful NERDS OF COLOR.

Continue reading “Katsu Panther!!”

Good Times at Animé Los Angeles

Hey guys, Edward here. My fellow NOC writer Josephine Chang and I seriously like to geek/nerd out at all the major SoCal conventions, especially the anime ones. So with that being said, it gives us great pleasure to talk to you all about Animé Los Angeles.

Established in 2005, ALA is a medium-sized, community-focused anime convention with a more moderate-paced environment. And these days where many conventions are rather chaotic in size and nature, ALA has become a nice reprieve. If you’re a first timer when it comes to anime conventions, this is the one for you.
Continue reading “Good Times at Animé Los Angeles”

Having a Ball At The 2017 Anime Expo Masquerade

Following the heels of our Anime Expo intro article this year, our first main event we went to last night was the Masquerade, a cosplay and performance competition that has been running for over 20 years. This year’s event was MCed by Ezra Weisz and without a doubt, I can already say that this is perhaps the best masquerade I’ve gone to, solely from the strength of the MC himself.

Continue reading “Having a Ball At The 2017 Anime Expo Masquerade”

Bigger, Badder and Hotter than Ever: Anime Expo 2017

It’s the second day of July and Anime Expo 2017 is well under way! While the first official day has come and gone with a bang (along with the unfixed misfortunes of horrific Line Con), there are still three big days filled to the brim with events, guests, panels, and anything anime related. If you’re in the Los Angeles area, still don’t have plans, and want to check something out this July 4th weekend, definitely give Anime Expo a go!

Continue reading “Bigger, Badder and Hotter than Ever: Anime Expo 2017”

Who is Captain America Going To Vote For?

by Vishavjit Singh | Originally posted at Medium.com

Who would the 75 year old quintessential American superhero vote for in the 2016 Presidential election today? For starters, Captain America does not exist. But although he might be fictional his mythology is palpable. Its ethereal connection to us Americans has a physical manifestation.

Trust me. I know. I get to don the uniform of this character armed with my turban and beard. I have traveled from Maine to California to Mississippi to Michigan to the RNC convention in Cleveland engaging fellow Americans from all walks of life.

This uniform has allowed for conversations to start in the midst of fear and ambivalence. It has allowed for common bonds to emerge despite our perceived and real differences

Continue reading “Who is Captain America Going To Vote For?”

An N.O.C. Halloween: Our Children’s Edition

Amongst my friends and family, it is no secret that the only holiday I care about is Halloween. No, it isn’t just because the candy is free and flowing — although this is a huge bonus. What I love the most about he holiday is that there is this unbridled demonstration of ingenuity, creativity, and imagination. People get to step a little outside of their mundane lives and step into the realm of the fantastic.

Another thing I love are the costumes. I don’t think I’m alone in this, especially amongst my fellow NOC. While many of us were too busy to dress up, we made sure that our children did.

I would like to present to you the NOC Parade of Costumes: Our Children’s Addition.

Continue reading “An N.O.C. Halloween: Our Children’s Edition”

Battle On, Amazons

Prior to Gal Gadot being tapped to portray Wonder Woman for the DC Extended Universe, there was an online campaign where fans wanted to see actress Gina Torres play the iconic superheroine.

Understandable. Much like Gadot — and for that matter, Lynda Carter — Torres is the perfect blend of grace, beauty, power, and wisdom.

Continue reading “Battle On, Amazons”

10 Black Cosplayers You Should be Following on Social Media!

Originally posted on The Anime Complexium

If you were to google “cosplay” or “cosplayer,” you will see a lot of great costumes and beautiful cosplayers, but maybe one or two that are Black. In addition, you will have a hard time finding a list featuring black cosplayers as well. Not saying these lists aren’t out there (it’s possible I missed something on the search), but I searched through pages and pages of the search term and came up fairly empty.

Before you even think about this being some type of division because the word “Black” is in the title, let me stop you right there. Cosplay isn’t about race, it’s about being yourself and having fun. On this very site I have interview all types of cosplayers. Unfortunately, media dictates what is “popular” or aesthetically acceptable. So let go of any pre-conceived notions that this is about division, it is not. This is about celebration. This isn’t a list of who is at the top or the best. This is about highlighting some of the great artists that have been making waves in the cosplay community. Trust, this is the first of many lists highlighting cosplayers of color.

Continue reading “10 Black Cosplayers You Should be Following on Social Media!”

Cosplay and Osaka: My Final Nipponbashi Street Festa

Ever since I moved to Japan in 2011, I have been checking out Osaka’s (my current hometown) cosplay extravaganza, the Nipponbashi Street Festa. Every year around the end of March, hundreds of cosplayers, anime/video game fans, and photographers collide in Nipponbashi (aka Den Den Town), Osaka’s answer to Akihabara. Sadly, this was my final experience in witnessing this wonderful event as I will be moving back to the U.S. this summer.

As always, it did not disappoint.

Continue reading “Cosplay and Osaka: My Final Nipponbashi Street Festa”