MomoCon is an Atlanta based fan convention, started in 2005, that focuses on anime, comics, cartoons, gaming, cosplay and pretty much every other facet of nerdom that exists. I begged to go, on bended knee and after submitting a press application, I got accepted to rep the Blavity fam at the Georgia World Congress Center from May 26th to the 29th.
And it was lit.
For the sake of time, I’ll just run you through the highlight reel. But first, I have to tell you what happened at the beginning of day 1. I caught an Uber over to the GWCC extra early because I knew traffic was going to get extra real. My Space Jam jersey was crisp out of the package. The boy was really feeling himself. But when it’s time to go inside, guess what? The boy also left his whole press badge back at the house.
I pulled a noob move.
So I Uber back to the house to get the said badge, pull up to the very front of my apartment, and get out. Guess what again? My keys are nowhere to be found. It turned out that I left them in the first Uber that I took to get to the con.
The noob moves just kept on coming.
I got in touch with the driver, they agreed to bring me my keys.
But I had to wait.
Things eventually sorted themselves out, but blerd fam please learn from me. Double check to make sure you have everything.
After that, it was smooth sailing.
The exhibitor hall tried to separate me from my coins.
Everything the light touched was for sale and I was extremely tempted. If you name it, they had it – there was literally something there for every kind of nerd under the sun. They even had strategically placed ATMs so you could withdraw cash and get your fix. What was my poison of choice, you ask?
What was my poison of choice, you ask?
Funko Pop! Toys
https://www.instagram.com/p/BF9MSLuTFGb/?taken-by=popvinyl
Guests on the panels kept it all the way 100.
One panel specifically, “Representation in Cartoons and Media” featured my homies Marcus and Greg, the creators of Tuskegee Heirs. The other panelists were colorist Omaka Schultz, also on the Tuskegee Heirs project, Carrie Tupper from the webcomic Kamikaze, and the ridiculously talented artist Afua Richardson. My new homie Richard Douglas Jones from the Black Nerd Power podcast was the host. They talked about the state of diversity in mainstream film, television, and animated series – and it got really real.
The Gaming Hall was all the way about that action.
They had arcade, console, computer and tabletop games. There were games I already loved, games I’d heard about and games from foreign countries that I’d never seen in my entire life. In that room was the only time I truly felt overwhelmed during the whole con. I won’t lie, I nerd-ed out in a way that was completely detrimental to my health. However, I played one game that I loved more than the rest.
Blade Ballet
This multiplayer robot versus game was tons of fun and super addicting. It’ll be available this summer on PS4 and Steam.
After all that, I met a living legend.
Cree Summer is the actress that brought Freddie Brooks to life in A Different World and the voice behind so many animated characters that we all loved growing up. She’s also an amazing human being. I really wanted a one-on-one interview, but I did get to ask her a few questions.
If Freddie Brooks had her own animated series, what would it be about?
Cree: Oh my gosh. Well if Freddie Brooks had her own animated series, it would probably be about world issues in a very funny way. As we know from great comedians like Lenny Bruce, or even my beloved Drawn Together there’s always a way to address the serious in a hilarious way. And I think that’s what Freddie would do.
In a perfect world, what would we see in terms of representation in film?
Cree: You know, I grew up on an Indian reservation with the Plains Cree Indians, and it would be about all indigenous peoples – male and female and transgender. To be just represented as being human would be kind. To be represented as all inclusive earthlings would be beautiful.
And taught her about Snapchat.
All in all, MomoCon was an experience I’ll never forget. I highly recommend the visit. This con is only getting bigger and better every year. Because it’s in the heart of Atlanta, it’s extremely blerd and POC-centric. The good news for you is that registration for 2017 is already open.
Stay tuned for my interview with Renee Cooper, the blerd Media Relations director of MomoCon and a round-up of some of my favorite cosplays at the con.
Thanks for reading Strictly 4 My Blerds.
I do this because I love the culture and the community. If you enjoyed this post let me know on Twitter and share it with the homies on Facebook. If you have any suggestions on comics I should write about, things I should write about in the column, or people I should interview, tweet me or leave a comment. Make sure you use the hashtag #S4MBlerds.
