10th Annual Flame Con to Be Held August 17-18 in New York City

Flame Con, which is created and produced by LGBTQ+ non-profit Geeks OUT, will be ten years old in 2024! The world’s largest queer comic expo, Flame Con is held annually in New York City, though the specific venue has changed over the years. The Sheraton Times Square Hotel will host the tenth outing from August 17-18.

I’ve personally been attending Flame Con since 2016, and it’s probably the most inclusive and welcoming convention I’ve ever been to. It’s two days of discussions, performances, and workshops featuring LGBTQ+ creators and guests from the words of comics, art, and entertainment. It also hosts my favorite show floor ever, and I usually end up spending an obscene amount of money. It’s definitely a highlight of my year.

“For years, the constant refrain we’d hear attending other conventions was ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if..?’, says Nic Gitau, President of Geeks OUT. “‘Wouldn’t it be cool if… there was a safe space for LGBTQ+ fans to connect?’ or, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if… there was a show that proved audiences were hungry for unapologetically queer storytelling?’. Over the last ten years Flame Con has become a home for queer fans, championed queer stories, and celebrated queer creators as their careers have sparked and exploded. We’re grateful for a community that’s grown exponentially each year and we’re excited to gather the best of LGBTQ+ comics and pop culture once more, in what will be a standout 10th anniversary show.”

Flame Con has also announced the first of its special guests for the tenth anniversary: Molly Knox Ostertag. She is the acclaimed ABA Indies and New York Times bestselling graphic novel author-illustrator of The Deep Dark, The Girl from the Sea, and the Witch Boy trilogy: The Witch Boy, The Hidden Witch, and The Midwinter Witch, as well as a writer for animation.

Last year’s event (which I sadly had to skip, as I was sick) featured many queer-oriented vendors, creators, and special guests including Maia Kobabe (Gender Queer: A Memoir), Terry Blas (Rick and Morty, Steven Universe), Alyssa Wong (Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, Batman: Urban Legends), and Stephanie Williams (Nubia and the Amazons). Among the panels and presentations held last year were “Demystifying Game Design,” “How to Make Your Independent Queer Comic,” and “What A DRAG!: A Panel on Drag and Cosplay.” The expo also featured a live edition of host Connor Goldsmith’s CEREBRO podcast and a special LGBTQ+ comedy showcase with a lineup that included Calvin Cato (Netflix) and Veronica Garza (MTV, NPR).

“Flame Con is always my favorite convention of the year!,” says Josh Trujillo (Blue Beetle, Hulkling & Wiccan), 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.”  

GLAAD Award-winning author and film programmer Anthony Oliveira (Steven Universe) shares, “Flame Con is easily my favorite comic convention. Nowhere else feels so much like home. 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!”

Every year, Flame Con holds an official after party. This year, to celebrate the tenth anniversary, Fireball: The Official Flame Con After Party will be held August 17 at Hell’s Kitchen Industry bar. Current RuPaul’s Drag Race cast member Megami will host.

Tickets to Flame Con, as well as the after party, can be purchased here. There are weekend and daily passes available. I hope to see some of you there!

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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