This Kansas City ‘Blerd’ created a comic book convention where Black nerds can cosplay in peace

Heartland Mini Con will welcome all fans of comics, video games, and cosplay, to a space where Black nerds can connect and support one another. The organizer says it’s aimed at counteracting the racial discrimination some experience at bigger, more popular conventions.

The Kansas City metro has established itself as a place that celebrates nerd and pop culture with events such as Planet Comic Con, Planet Anime Kansas City, and Naka-Con in Overland Park, which bring in thousands from across the region each year.

But a new, smaller convention coming on Saturday, May 30, is aimed at giving local creators and artists a platform while addressing some of the biases Black fans can face at large-scale events.

The Heartland Mini Con will be hosted by a Black-owned comic company established in Kansas City in 2021, Blerd Manga. It trades the grand scale of Planet Comic Con for a more personal, high-energy experience where fans can connect and support one another, said owner and founder Brandon Calloway.

“It’s important to have spaces and events,” Calloway said. “At the very least, we know that, no matter who you are, you can go and be accepted and not have to deal with people telling you you’re not allowed.”

The convention, at Equal Minded Cafe on Troost Avenue, will give attendees a chance to shop from local creators, celebrate pop culture, and play beginner-friendly Dungeons and Dragons games. It’s also a great chance to cosplay, said Calloway.

Though the event is open to all, he wants to create a space for people who consider themselves “Blerds” — fans of comic books, video games, anime, or any other kind of nerd culture who identify as Black.

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Members of these communities are frequently the victims of negative comments online and cyberbullying, Calloway said, especially when it comes to dressing up or cosplaying their favorite character.

“If a person is cosplaying a character that isn’t traditionally Black, it’s like a very well-known thing that you get all kinds of comments and racial slurs,” he said.

Trying to coexist in nerd spaces

Growing up as a Blerd at predominantly white Olathe North High School, Adrianne Banda said she sometimes felt misunderstood about her passion, despite the fact that nearly everyone at school knew she loved anime.

“I grew up heavily influenced by anime, and wasn’t ashamed to show it,” said the 28-year old.

Still, she said, even today there is a problem with nerds from different backgrounds trying to coexist in nerd spaces.

“There’s still a disconnect between the spaces themselves and connecting with the community,” Banda said.

Calloway said, growing up, he experienced racism the most when playing video games online, where competitors frequently used the N-word and other derogatory language toward people from diverse groups.

He said he even received confused remarks when he made his comic book company public because all the characters in his stories were Black.

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“I was posting them on Instagram and some young guy asked why all the characters were Black,” Calloway said. “You ever asked in other stuff like the anime you’re watching, ‘Why are all the characters white or why do they look white?’ And he genuinely never thought about that before.”

Calloway, also the CEO and founder of the nonprofit Kansas City G.I.F.T., said he sees the irony of it all: People who consider themselves nerds are generally outcasts themselves, and it can be hard to find people and groups that share similar interests. Even the well-known comic book series X-Men featured diverse groups of outcasts who fought against an oppressive system.

“There are messages delivered through well-crafted stories, and some of those audiences, some of those fan bases, they missed the message,” Calloway said, “they really missed the message, because confirmation bias is strong.”

That’s why he hopes Heartland Mini Con can bring people from all backgrounds together to celebrate pop culture — without prejudice and a sense of exclusion.

“Heartland Mini Con is for the comic lovers, the cosplayers, the gamers, and the people who have always wanted to check out a comic con without feeling overwhelmed. We wanted to build something exciting, local, and completely open to the community,” he said.

Heartland Mini Conis 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 30, at Equal Minded Cafe, 4327 Troost Ave., Kansas City, Missouri 64110. Entry is free. For more information, visitthe Facebook events page.