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”
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”
There were more than 68,000 total attendees at E3 this week, and I’m almost certain all of them have been gaming more than I have in the past five years. I’m retired. Too many consecutive days of realizing I’d played through the night until dawn had me putting the sticks down. Not to mention, I just can’t keep up with these kids. I’m washed.
Yet here I got the fortunate opportunity to cover E3 for NOC in the conference’s first year open to the public. I had to do this, for the culture, for the kid inside who never finished Mario 2, and for the same kid that reached the end of Streets of Rage and chose to kill my brother to take over the gang.
In the age of #BlackLivesMatter and the Trump administration, bigotry and institutional oppression have been front burner topics more than ever before on social media and in 3D-space.
Needless to say freedom fighters such as myself are speaking our truths and shining light on the darkness that is racism and other forms of bigotry.
Unfortunately when you tell the truth and shame the devil, the devil will move heaven and hell to try to silence you.
In exactly three short weeks, New York Comic-Con will be returning to the Javits Center on the West side of Manhattan, and we will be there stationed at Epic Proportions Booth 2010! And since it’s a Comic-Con, we will once again be co-hosting a meet up with our friends at Black Girl Nerds on Friday night! That’s right, we’re bringing BGNOC to NYCC!
So this past weekend Onyxcon returned to the ATL. Sadly, I wasn’t able to make it but I was there in spirit celebrating with my fellow Wakandans.
A few years ago, I had the pleasure of attending with a couple of friends including my fam Kiyra and my date, J.
Suffice it to say, I scored with plenty of swag and spent quite a bit of cash. It’s all good as I’m all too happy to support black businesses. As I chatted with my peeps, something struck me as odd. I’ve been to plenty of cons over the years, as both a guest and an attendee. I’ve had some wonderful experiences, and I’ve had some less than pleasant ones.
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.
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”
March 18th-20th 2016 was the inaugural season of a new kind of comic convention. The Silicon Valley Comic Con (SVCC) was one of the most overwhelming (in a good way) con experiences I have ever experienced. The marketplace was typical; comics, old toys, tee shirts and stickers, the museum-esque presentation of beloved geek memorabilia was there in all of its sterile glory.
Close to a decade ago, I met a Blaxican artist at Dr. Comics and Mr. Games in Oakland, CA. We had mutual geek interests, as well as an undying love and connection to hip-hop culture — the vibe was pure fiyah. He was already a parent, and I was about to be one. We became friends. He’s a visual artist, toy maker, animator, and filmmaker. I’m a writer, marketing guy, pop culture scholar, and performer. Match made in geek heaven. We bandied about ideas on how best we could work together, but nothing really panned out. Then, something happened. I don’t know what his catalyzing agent was, but mine was WonderCon. Continue reading “Coming Soon: MaeJay and the Mech“
