FLAME CON: The New LGBTQ Convention You Should Be Supporting

Move aside, heteronormative heroes, and make way for FLAME CON: a queer-focused comic convention planned for 2015. We all know the importance of representation and diversity in media – we are Black Nerd Problems, after all – and there’s nothing better than a convention to socialize, celebrate, and discuss inclusion of the LGBTQ community comics and media. FLAME CON is being planned by Geeks OUT, an organization dedicated to empowering and supporting the queer geek community, but there’s a lot to be done before the new con becomes a reality. We talked with Geeks OUT about the new con on the block.

Black Nerd Problems: How did Geeks OUT get started? Geeks OUT: Geeks OUT was founded just after New York Comic Con in 2010. Based on the leftover energy from the one LGBTQ panel at the Con that year, the founding members – five geeky friends – recognized there was a true community that just needed a home-base and maybe for someone really to name it. In the past handful of years we’ve seen the representation of being a geek – and being queer, and being a queer geek – change so much that now we can plan a whole convention for LGBTQ fans, not just one panel. BNP: What is the mission of Geeks OUT, and what types of events have you done in the past? Geeks OUT: Gathering and empowering a community was first and foremost our mission, which we largely accomplished through monthly events centered around events in NYC, everything from geeky burlesque to a Game of Thrones-themed bar crawl to a…