Tenth Annual Flame Con to Celebrate Queer Geekery in NYC
The tenth annual Flame Con is scheduled for August 17 and 18 in New York City this year. The expo will feature comic creators and host events for LGBTQ+ fans. The event, the largest queer comic con in the world, will open programming applications in March. Fans can expect plenty of opportunities to cosplay, attend panels with their favorite artists, and attend after-hours nightlife events.
Flame Con-10th Annual Convention in New York City
“For years, the constant refrain we'd hear attending other conventions was ‘Wouldn't it be cool if..?,' Nic Gitau, president of Geeks OUT, the nonprofit that organizes Flame Con, said in a statement. “‘Wouldn't it be cool if… there was a safe space for LGBTQ+ fans to connect?' We're excited to gather the best of LGBTQ+ comics and pop culture once more in what will be a standout 10th-anniversary show.”
Molly Knox Ostertag, New York Times bestselling graphic novel author-illustrator of The Deep Dark, The Girl from the Sea, and the Witch Boy trilogy, has been announced as the first of many special guests for this year's expo. The Fireball after party, featuring drag, burlesque, and dancing, is scheduled for Saturday night and is set to be hosted by Megami of RuPaul's Drag Race season 16 fame. While vendor schedules are yet to be published, last year's con featured queer-oriented vendors like Maia Kobabe, author of Gender Queer: A Memoir, Terry Blas of Rick and Morty and Steven Universe, as well as Alyssa Wong of Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, and Batman: Urban Legends.
Praise for Past Flame Con Events
GLAAD Award-winning author and film programmer Anthony Oliveira, who has worked on Steven Universe, said in a statement that Flame Con is easily their favorite annual con.
“Nowhere else feels so much like home,” Oliveira said. “It feels like someone took all the best parts of a con and just kept those, like if you made a whole con out of the weird queer section of every other expo’s Artist Alley!”
“Flame Con is always my favorite convention of the year,” said Josh Trujillo, Flame Con guest and comics writer and designer.
“It's a unique opportunity to meet with friends, peers, and fans in a more intimate setting. The stories we share as queer people can be so personal, and it means the world to know that readers connect with it.”
Tickets Now Available for Flame Con
This year's expo will be held at the Sheraton Times Square Hotel in New York City. Tickets are available online now and start at $23. Fireball: The Official Flame Con After Party will be held at Hell's Kitchen's Industry bar, and additional announcements about vendor applications and schedules will come later in the year.
