Jazzy Mag Takes Brooklyn Comic Con 2024

Cosplay. Pole dancing. Professional wrestling. A turtle. And of course, comics. All things you could expect to find at this year’s Brooklyn Comic Con.

Taking place in Brooklyn’s Major R. Owens Community Center, this convention managed to pack a wide variety of activities into its relatively small space. It had your typical convention offerings, such as pop culture celebrity guests, comic vendors, and artists showcasing their work, old and new.

When I arrived late that Saturday afternoon, however, I certainly didn’t expect to walk in on a medieval duel! How often do you find that? Toward the back of the convention space, wrestling promotion Battle Club Pro had set up a ring, with two armor-clad knights duking it out, one with a battle axe, the other with duel maces. While the outcome may have been predetermined, there were several points where the theatrical aspect of pro wrestling had left my mind, and I believed these two were really engaged in an old world war.

The sound of weapons and armor clanking against one another resonated throughout the high-vaulted convention space, even amongst the loud, bustling crowd. They were on their feet for a true battle that raged on for over ten minutes! However, this was only the first of many in-ring matches that captured the audience’s attention.

Vendors

Conventions are a great chance for vendors and artists to get their work to a larger audience. The first that caught my eye was Lauren Ruins’ stand, “Ruined Creations,” which features characters of all variety of fandoms as cute ceramic statues. Somewhat resembling Funko Pop figures, these little statues are handmade and hand-painted! Of course, the Sailor Moon figures grabbed my attention first, which were in the center of her table. Sailor Moon herself had been sold out, but the remainder of the Sailor Senshi were on full display!

Sailor Senshi Ceramic Figured By Lauren Ruins, by Sloan Varunok

Plenty of other fandoms were represented, such as super heroes, professional wrestling, anime, horror films, and beyond! If you’re looking for a gift with a personal touch, I suggest her work! Send Lauren a message on her Instagram @ruinedcreations.

Next, the work of artist Damion Scott was on display, who creates portraits of iconic figures in a variety of fields. What sets these portraits apart are how the creations of these icons make up the facial features of their creators in an imaginative way, bringing to life both the figure and their work. My favorite was his portrait of Dave Chappelle, my favorite comedian. Inside his portrait featured characters and references to his iconic Chappelle’s Show. I first saw this piece at New York Comic Con 2022, and was happy to see it once more.

Carl Paolino, who’s work you may recognize from MTV’s Celebrity Deathmatch, had a table himself. Promoting his new comic Spontania, a hero who appears when she’s needed most, he had clay figures and concept art from his work on MTV, including the clay faces used for Stone Cold Steve Austin.

If you don’t remember or weren’t alive for it, Celebrity Deathmatch was a claymation TV series which ran from 1997 to 2002, before being briefly revived in 2006. The show featured clay models of celebrities of the day fighting to the death, all of which being voiced by the stars themselves. Marilyn Manson, who has since become controversial for different reasons than in his career prime, recurrently won these matches before disappearing out of sight.

I picked up a signed copy of the Celebrity Deathmatch PC game from Paolino, who himself bought them back from eBay. While I have no way to play it, it was just too cool not to pick up.

Paolino agreed to appear for an interview on Jazzy Mag, so stay tuned!

Comics

It’s only right to include the pickups from the con (comic being in the name, after all).

First was Draku, a family effort by two fathers and sons, father Desmond Labor, his son Sincere Labor, father Steven Cagney, and his son Talon Cagney. Being that Sincere and Talon are still elementary schoolers, their comic journey is off to an astounding start!

The story centers around Sincere, himself, as he and his friend Jia each find dragon eggs in the woods near their Florida neighborhood. Upon hatching, they discover each dragon has a unique power. Mysterious to our pint-sized protagonists, they’re sent on a journey to find where these dragons came from and where they belong.

Jia’s dragon, Teli-Hop, takes them to the Kukulkan pyramid in Yucatan, Mexico, where they learn more about their dragons, the land, its culture, and about themselves in equal measure.

Each issue takes them to a new destination, where the characters learn about their new environments, giving educational value to each story.

It’s something kids and adults can equally enjoy, and is a series schools should consider bringing aboard!

Visit Draku.co for a copy of your own!

Next, Justin Cermak’s Of Death centers on Nece, a high school girl who mysteriously survives a car crash with her scientist father.

The spirit of Death seems to lurk around every corner. Appearing when imagery of death is present, including crucifixes and even a picture of a dissected frog in her anatomy textbook, Death looks for his revenge for seemingly escaping him.

The tone and artwork match in eeriness, and I’m excited to see where the story goes. Visit indyplanet.com/data-red-comics for more.

Magna AX by Manny714 is an American-made sci-fi manga, in which protagonist Satoshi comes to the city of New Allure, rebuilt after an event called “The Grand Disaster.”

In this world, people can emanate power from their souls called “aura.” He’s drawn there by Hasuna, girl whose mysterious guiding voice calls him to the city. Her purpose is uncertain, but will be revealed as the story goes on.

More available at magnaax.com.

Not all comics acquired came from indie artists however, as I also bought Marvel’s Beavis and Butt-Head #2 and Astro Boy #2.

Capitalizing on the success of the MTV series of the same name, Marvel produced a limited comic series of Beavis and Butt-Head. Similar in format to the show, the book contained several story segments. There is “Dead From the Neck Up,” where the boys visit a funeral parlor to see a dead body after watching a zombie movie, a recounting of veteran neighbor Tom Anderson’s military memories in “True War Tales,” and the self-explanitory “Diner Pranks.”

The visual jokes are where this issue shines most, as the reader is rewarded for their attention to detail. The tone and dialogue is relatively consistent with the show, which is surprising for a Marvel product. The language is somewhat toned down, but swearing is still present throughout. Definitely worth the find if you’re a fan like me!

Astro Boy #2 is the English translation for the manga, presented in full-size, full-color pages from 1987. In it, Astro Boy accidentally wanders into a testing ground for the laboratory he was built in, and encounters a much bigger, deadly war machine robot. Astro Boy beats him handily, but is reprimanded by his inventor, Dr. Tenma, for leaving his room. Instead of being impressed with Astro’s resilience, he has his memory wiped, but it seems part of it still remains in the final panel.

As a fan of Astro Boy since childhood, I always jump at the chance to snag merch when it appears, and this has become one of my favorite finds! English translated manga was not nearly as commonly found in the 1980s as it was even a decade later, so this is an exciting edition to the collection.

After Party

After day one of the convention was the “After Party,” where the main hall used for panels was converted to a dance floor. A disco ball hung from the ceiling, electronic music reverberated throughout the room, arcade games lined the back wall, and a bar was set up for those looking to get into the party spirit. However, those spirits may have have dropped upon seeing a can of Modelo costing $8.

The idea was awesome! A dance party with like-minded costumed comic fans with games, music, and drinks? Of course the turn out would be strong!

However, this one seemed to work best on paper.

To start, they staggered the attendance, which made sense given the space. However, the room felt largely empty for most of the event. A clear dance floor is the quickest way to lower its vibe, as it gives the impression that people don’t want to dance. Several folks, try as they might, tried to get the mood picked up with some admittedly impressive moves. However, it was all for not. When their best efforts couldn’t spark others to join, they soon ambled away from the center of the action, wondering what else to do.

The game selection was solid, with a variety of fighters, racing games, and other co-op action titles. All the same, you needed to snap up your spot quick, because I saw no one get up from their seats at the game station. It would’ve made for a great break from the dancing. That is, if there was dancing to take a break from. The organizers likely thought the dance would be so hopping that the games would be used intermittently.

Sadly, the case was the opposite.

Overall, this idea was solid, but lacked in execution. The event could have benefited from a less staggered entrance, allowing more people in at a time. This would make the space feel more full and vibrant, likely encouraging more dancing. Additionally, the music selection could have been more lively, and the drinks more cheap.

While that last part may be a tall order, the after party is definitely an idea worth expanding on.

Professional Wrestling

On the second day of the convention, WWE legend Rikishi introduced the segment produced by promotion Remarkable Wrestling. Rikishi’s family has deep roots in professional wrestling, with over 75 combined years in the business, including his sons Jimmy and Jey Uso, nephew Roman Reigns, and cousin Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He then declared himself, not the Tribal Chief, but the Tribal Cheeks, a play on Roman Reigns’ nickname.

After that intro came the first match, a cosplay wrestling match featuring Nintendo’s Luigi vs Wario, portrayed by Micah Cortez and Christopher Gage respectively. These men did an excellent job as the characters they dressed as, and their wrestling style matched their characters’ personalities. Luigi, the timid brother of Mario, ran away from many of Wario’s attacks, with Wario taking the offensive for most of the bout.

Wario, himself, wrestled in character, intimidated the ref, stinkfacing Luigi, and of course, delivering his iconic “Wah!” However, all that momentum couldn’t save him, as Luigi eventually gained the momentum to get the three count.

Their match had some awkward bumps, including Wario losing his mustache and hat, but was nonetheless entertaining and unique!

Next up, Mario and his rival Bowser took to the ring for a back-and-forth bout, momentum shifting wildly throughout. Lots of top rope action and blow-exchanging was had, until Luigi came back to avenge his brother from the turnbuckle. Wario, himself, made a return to even the odds, making for a wild two-on-two match. The brothers concluded their match with a double Irish whip reversal to slam Wario and Bowser together, before taking the top ropes for a one-up elbow smash. 1, 2, 3, Mario Brothers won!

Next was a tag match between wrestler “The Psychedelic Psychonaut” Kris Robinson and “Mankind” (cosplayed by my friend Chris, aka Camel Clutch Cosplays) and Cono Cappuchia with “Macho Man Randy Savage” (cosplayed by my friend Aaron, aka The Machoverse).

The match begins with Macho and Mankind circling the ring before locking up and pushing each other off. As soon as Macho noticed Mankind sliding Mr. Socko on his wrist, Macho immediately tagged out to Cono, with Mankind doing the same for Kris right after.

This is where the wrestling really picked up, as these two put on some seriously impressive moves. Hurricaranas, dropkicks, and high kicks were par for the course, as the wrestlers moved at lightning pace.

A top rope jump from Cappuchia was reversed with a mid-section kick from Robinson, which was followed by a Northern Lights suplex for the pin attempt. This resulted in a two count, with the battle raging on.

Kris Robinson Drop Kicking Cono Cappuchia (Screen Cap), by Sloan Varunok

Reversals upon reversals ensued, as it was hard to tell who truly had the upper hand. That question was answered when, after Cappuchia pulled a sideways DDT on Robinson, he brought Macho Man in on the fun. Cappuchio held Robinson in place for Macho to deliver an elbow bump to The Psychedelic Psychonaut’s forehead, knocking him to the mat.

Cappuchia gave The Macho Man the honors of delivering the leg-hook pinfall. 1, 2,3, and “Pomp and Circumstance,” the entrance theme for Macho Man, filled the ring and the spirits of those in attendance!

Robinson, not so pleased with Mankind standing by, cut a promo on him as such. Mankind, with no patience for this, pulled up Mr. Socko and delivered a mandible claw to Robinson, before thusly exiting the ring.

Pole Dancing

Now this was a segment I did not see coming.

Pole dance troupe Subtle Asian Polers took to the pole in cosplay to drum up support to open their own studio. What sets them apart from your typical pole troupe was their use of video game and anime cosplay, giving them a sense of character beyond what the moves could tell.

On film was dancer Gigi, dressed as Pikachu doing a lollipop dance routine. Lollipop poles are poles with a spinning hoop on top, allowing for dynamic movement and inverted hangs. Gigi showed fantastic grace, as she was able to keep her core still while hanging upside down and delivering fluid motions in 360 degrees. Working in fitness myself, I have a great respect for the athleticism they displayed.

Gigi Performing Lollipop Pole Routine as Pikachu by Sloan Varunok

The only detraction from their set was the background they were given. Their banner behind them was bright and colorful, though on either side were trash cans and cleaning supplies, which made filming a touch difficult. This was by no means the fault of Subtle Asian Polers, who were given an area by the convention. My hope for them is next convention they perform in has a more film-friendly backdrop.

The dreary surroundings were soon forgotten because of this little fella!

Belonging to one of the dancers, this turtle was so cute, he deserved a mention. The black bow was an unexpected touch, but a welcome one for sure.

As soon as he was set on the floor, he walked right over to me and pecked at my boot. I surely did not turn him away.

How could I?

Final Takeaways

Though on the smaller side of Comic Cons, Brooklyn Comic Con managed to make the space feel big and vibrant with its plethora of guests and vendors. It seemed to be geared toward an older crowd, rather than the family-friendly vibe set at the larger Comic Cons, with a number of activities catering to adults. The pole dancing routine, professional wrestling, and afterparty helped give BKCC its own identity, which I feel is to the conventions benefit.

While the production values were lower than the New York counterpart, the convention gave its attendees their money’s worth, providing plenty to look at and enjoy per square foot.

The organization could have been improved, as I was able to walk through the convention doors the first day without a pass of any kind, only finding where to pick up my press badge halfway through the day. Likewise, the cosplay catwalk was something of a mess, as the staff didn’t seem certain where to line the crowd up so not to block standing space, or when to let each person walk, leading to it being a bit of a free-for-all.

However, the staff was all quite friendly and helpful, and contributed to the feeling of community therein.

While I attended as press, the general admission was $40 per day, and was cheaper if bundled. The value was strong, and I would recommend attending if given the chance! This was my first Brooklyn Comic Con, and likely my last for a while, as I will be moving to New Mexico in a few months. Overall, I was happy with the experience, and would join again!

You won’t get conned at this Con.

Except on the beers.