Flame Con X Recap: A Good Time Had By All

Every year, Geeks Out holds Flame Con in New York City. Flame Con is the world’s largest LGBTQ+ convention, and honestly one of my favorite events of the year. Each outing boasts a stellar lineup of queer creators from comics to books to television, and a stellar show floor showcasing some truly amazing art.

This year was the event’s 10th anniversary, and they pulled out all the stops. Once again hosted by the Times Square Sheraton, Flame Con X was bigger and better than ever. For the first time, programming could be found on three levels instead of the usual two. The schedule was packed with a variety of panels, workshops, and other events – like live podcast tapings and an improvised Star Trek musical. Major names in queer geek culture – like ND Stevenson and Anthony Oliveira – sat on panels and held signings. And the exhibit floor even boasted a couple of major publishing companies – Macmillan (whose table display was fantastic, with little Pride flags sticking out of the pages) and Yen Press.

As always, Flame Con strives to be a fun, inclusive, and safe space for all geeks in the LGBTQ+ community. Flame Con is basically the only event I’ve been to in the past two years that still follows COVID protocols, requiring all attendees to wear masks. When picking up your badge, you can also grab a pronoun sticker. (And the lanyards are all colors of the rainbow!) There is a quiet room for anyone who finds themselves overwhelmed and needing a break. And every single bathroom is gender-neutral.

Flame Con X had some truly stellar programming this year. I obviously couldn’t make it to every panel that interested me, but my friend was shocked by how many possibilities I had on my list. My favorites were “Danmei 101: An Introduction to Queer Men with Flying Swords”, which felt more like a bunch of friends chatting than a panel, and “ND Stevenson and Molly Knox Ostertag in Conversation”, which was hilarious, inspiring, and also extremely sweet. My friend really enjoyed “Homosexually, My Dear Watson: A History of Queer Readings of Sherlock Holmes”, which was a pretty great lead-in to the ND Stevenson and Molly Knox Ostertag panel, considering Molly is working on graphic novels based on all of the original Holmes stories.

If panels aren’t your cup of tea, don’t worry, Flame Con has you covered. The Gaymer Lounge hosted tutorial sessions for games like Dungeons & Dragons, as well as tournaments for games like Super Smash Bros and Street Fighter, in addition to free play and meetups. The Flame Con X staged hosted a poetry slam, a comedy show, a cosplay contest, and the aforementioned improvised Star Trek musical. And if you were proud of your cosplay but didn’t think it was good enough to compete, you could join the Cosplay Runway, which was open to all cosplayers.

And speaking of cosplayers, there was a workshop on how to get started with cosplay and one on body positivity. There were also workshops for anyone interested in hosting an event in their community, one on how to set up the perfect Artist Alley table, and even one on staying healthy while working at a job that has you sitting for most of your day.

There is always an after-party, which has never really been my scene, but this year they had an alternative to the after-party called Camp Fire. Camp Fire was held in the Gaymer Lounge and was a chill hangout where people could craft, chat, and swap books.

But what made Flame Con X such a great experience is the community. Let me tell you, when I say that Flame Con always has my favorite Artist Alley, I am completely serious. I spend more money at Flame Con than I do at every other convention. There is always such a variety of artists who table, and they sell such a wide range of merchandise. You can find zines of all kinds (I bought a Haikyu!! one from Jamie Kaye, and my friend bought one about birds), prints, earrings and other accessories, clothes (I didn’t buy it but I seriously debated a Kirby bucket hat that said “Always hungry”), charms, pins, and of course books and graphic novels.

I had a limited budget this year, as I have Anime NYC this weekend, so I had to be sparing with my cash. But once I did my customary loop of the floor, the first table I stopped at was Foxflight Studios for their Watership Down pins. How often do you see Watership Down merch? Never. So I absolutely had to buy one of the rabbit saints. And I wish I could shout out each artist that I bought from, but all of their cards got mixed up in my bag so I can’t remember everyone.

Basically, Flame Con X was a fantastic time. It’s one of the highlights of my summer, and I look forward to it every year. If you’re a queer geek, you absolutely should try to attend at least once.

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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