Pop Culture Con Welcomes All 06/02/2019

The Colorado Convention Center was abuzz this weekend. For the average passerby, it may have appeared like an invasion. There were soldiers, Jedis, witches, heroes, heroines, robots, aliens, evil scientists, and a man with a television for a head. The scene is this year’s Denver Pop Culture Convention. In an effort to include more fandoms and content the festival is leaving the Comic-Con title behind. Fans of manga, anime, comics, film, fantasy, animation, and video games took over the convention center with the fervor of diehard sports fanatics.

There is a new guard for all thing’s nerd. The days of old white men arguing about Marvel versus DC are extinct. Now the faces in the crowd are young and diverse zealots. The one million square foot convention center housed over 100,000 visitors over the weekend. A vendor could be overheard asking a group of young men, “You guys like Marvel or DC?” to which one replied, “Everything.” Video games and virtual reality are changing the nature of media. And the content is becoming more diverse. The heroics of the invincible Superman are gone and now people want to see themselves represented in their heroes.

If there is a theme to Pop Culture Con it is inclusion. There is a serious attempt from vendors, producers, comic book creators, and writers to be more inclusive in their storytelling. If the steady lines at the dozen or so ATM cash machines tell anything, it is that inclusion sells. The new age of pop culture is upon us.

Alan Brooks is seizing the moment. Originally from Atlanta, Brooks uses his skills to tackle social issues like police brutality. Providing a fresh perspective on an overlooked topic the graphic novelist uses comics to reach his audience. Brooks is busy promoting his book, “The Burning Metronome.”

“A combination of The Twilight Zone meets The Usual Suspects, a supernatural murder mystery with social commentary,” Brooks says.

When he is not telling his own story, Brooks advances the stories of his peers via his podcast, Motherf**ker in a Cape. A platform that embraces marginalized groups within the comic book community. Native Americans, people with disabilities, and sex workers are just some of the shows recent guests.

“I want to show the humanity of all these different people through all these different venues,” Brooks says about his podcasts and books.

The times are embracing Brooks as well. The writer will teach a creative writing course at Regis University this summer.

It makes sense for the wave of inclusion to occur within this community. Walking around the masses of people at the convention you’ll hear statements of affirmation like, “Cool costume!” and “I love that!” and you’ll see people constantly stopping one another to take a photo in their elaborate or clever cosplay. Pop culture is growing rapidly as it includes more people of different backgrounds. Social media is enabling. With this combination, it is easy to see pop culture’s emerging dominance.

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