UPDATED: Geeking out with Hey GeekCal

Hey SoCal! This weekend, Sailor Moon stans, Naruto nerds, and Pokémaniacs will converge at the Los Angeles Convention Center for the return of Anime Expo. This assemblage of all things anime kickstarts a month of fandom festivities that includes the release of Thor: Love and Thunder, the Midsummer Scream film fest, and most iconically, San Diego Comic Con. In anticipation of these adorkable events, Mike Ciriaco has rounded up the best of our Hey GeekCal content to feed your need for nerdery.

And for upcoming events, check out Fabi Diaz‘s Hey GeekCal Summer Geek Guide.

Geeking Out At LA Comic Con

Excerpt from the original article:

“For Chris DeMoulin, CEO of Comikaze Entertainment, the company that produces LA Comic Con, serving Los Angeles-area fanbases is one of the principles of this event.”

“We want two things to always be true about LA Comic Con,” explained DeMoulin, sitting in an empty convention room before one of the LACC’s many pop-culture panels. “One: It’s by fans, for fans. A filter for every decision that we make is, ‘will this be fun for fans? Is this what the fans want?’ The other mantra is, ‘It’s got to be LA.’ LA is such a neat place. It’s not just the center of the entertainment universe, whether you’re talking about podcasts, or TV, or movies, or video games, but it’s the mash-up of our pop culture.””

And for more on comic book conventions , check out Jason Kentaro’s coverage of QCon.

Queer Coded Art Show Champions LGBTQ and Mental Health Services

Excerpt from the original article:

“Video Games have given us a myriad of heroes over the years, from the Super Mario Brothers to the Final Fantasy XV bromos. But Queer Coded gives us some new heroes, LGBTQ artists. 

Sponsored by Joystick, the monthly LGBTQ mixer at North Hollywood’s Player One barcade, the Queer Coded art show explores video game culture from a queer perspective, with 15% of its sales going towards charities of each artist’s choice. Donations will benefit queer-focused organizations such as The Matthew Shepard Foundation and The Los Angeles LGBT Center, as well as general mental health non-profits like The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.”

For more on the Queer Coded gaymer art show series, check out Jason Kentaro’s photo coverage of The Shows That Gay’d Us.

And for a more serious take on video game culture, take a look at Playing the blame game with video games, yet again by Eloin Barahona-Garcia.

Be sure to check in with Hey SoCal throughout the month of July for our newest Hey GeekCal Content. Keep on geekin’ on, SoCal!

More from Hey GeekCal