Geeks Out, the LGBT organization that works to offer and maintain a visible and vivacious queer presence at geek events, was out in full force for the third year in a row at New York Comic Con, which was held last weekend. The organization ensured it was a banner year for “queer geek” representation at NYCC, kicking off the con with a Thursday night panel dedicated to LGBT characters in comics, featuring Marvel Comics' Marjorie Liu and Daniel Ketchum, Archie Comics' Dan Parent, and writers Greg Pak and Rich Bernatovich. “A lot of the attendees were interested in hearing some of the challenges creators face in bringing queer characters to comics,” said Geeks Out board member Patrick Yacco of the inspiration behind the sponsored panel. “Nonetheless, the industry has made great strides in diversity in the past couple of years, and it's encouraging that the major publishers are trying to make their books reflect their fans.”
Geeks Out also sponsored a queer geek dance party, SNIKT2, Saturday night at Bartini, attended by several hundred LGBT fans sharing their love of pop culture. But the hub of homo activity at NYCC was the Geeks Out booth on the convention floor, where queer fans and supporters gathered throughout the four-day event showing off their geeky best. “One of my favorite parts of NYCC is seeing all of the love and passion that goes into people's costumes,” said Yacco. “I'm not exactly sure if it's a New York thing or not, but this con is where I see cosplayers pushing boundaries with gender and sexuality with their characters. I swear I see more gender-bending/cross-playing [people dressing up as a character irrespective of that character's gender] at NYCC than anywhere else. You can't help but smile when you see a 6 foot 3 man strutting down the aisles as Sailor Moon or Wonder Woman, on the lookout for evildoers in platform heels.”
Take a look at the collection of photos on the following pages, courtesy of Geeks Out/Ian Carlos Photography, featuring some of the best cosplayers (and cross-players) in attendance at NYCC.
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