For several years now, our man in the field Matt Lazorwitz has attended Flame Con, New York’s annual LGBTQ+ comic convention, to interview creators, attend panels and generally be a good friend.
But that’s the East Coast. What about the West Coast?
Prism Comics has just brought to our attention Q Con, Southern California’s only free LGBTQ+ comic convention, returning for its fourth year to Fiesta Hall in West Hollywood’s Plummer Park. Guests this year include Killer Queens and Canto co-creator David Booher, Blue Beetle writer Josh Trujillo and Lumberjanes co-creator Shannon Watters. Not to mention regular Redesigning contributor Joe Pryde and our friends from The Comics Courier!
Panel announcements are expected in April, per the show’s website. Opportunities to volunteer and table at the show are still available.
Check out the original press release below for more information, and if you’re in the area, check it out!
Prism Comics, the nonprofit championing LGBTQIA+ visibility, diversity and inclusion in comics, graphic novels and popular media, is proud to announce the 4th Annual Q Con, Southern California’s only LGBTQIA+ comic convention and the return of Q Con the Podcast.
Q Con will take place on Saturday, May 3 from 11 am to 6 pm at Fiesta Hall in Plummer Park, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90046. Q Con is a celebration of LGBTQIA+ comic books, graphic novels, pop media, gaming and cosplay.
Q Con is free to the public and family-friendly, providing pre-teens through adults with the opportunity to find a wide variety of comics and graphic novels affirming LGBTQIA+ representation at one exciting, colorful event. Meet comics creators! Get autographs! Attend panels! Show your cosplay pride! Enter the costume contest for fun and prizes!
Creators scheduled to appear include David Booher (Killer Queens, Ghostbusters), Rachel Dukes (Frankie Comics, The Wizerd); Jack Foster (Gun), Sam Irvin (Elvira’s Haunted Hills, Captain Samouflage and The Frankensam Scam!), Ed Luce (Wuvable Oaf), Knave Murdock (Transcat); Bradley C. Rader (Fogtown), Josh Trujillo (Blue Beetle), William O. Tyler (We Belong), Shannon Watters (Lumberjanes, Hollow), Kendra Wells (Tell No Tales), TokyoPop and more to be announced. The City of West Hollywood Arts Division and Los Angeles Film School are generous sponsors of Q Con 2025.
To reserve free tickets to Q Con visit qconprism.org
Free tickets will also be available at the door
Q Con is also currently accepting applications for exhibitor tables – seeking LGBTQ+ comic creators, businesses and volunteers. If interested in tabling at Q Con or volunteering – email Ted Abenheim, President of Prism Comics at ted@prismcomics.org for details.
Q Con the Podcast returns with bi-weekly broadcasts featuring insightful interviews with Q Con exhibitors and industry professionals, followed by discussions with pop culture experts on the latest entertainment news from a queer perspective. Previous guests have included: Tara Madison Avery (We’re Still Here, publisher, Stacked Deck Press); Viktor T. Kerney (We Belong, StrangeLore); A.J. Catalano (production and props designer, Tron: Legacy, X-Men: Days of Future Past); and Josh Trujillo (Blue Beetle, Washington’s Gay General).
Q Con the Podcast is hosted by Julian Jetson (Producer/Host, Gay Geeks and Where to Find Them panels at San Diego Comic-Con and producer of Comic Con Palm Springs) and produced by Chris Riley (Producer, X-Reads podcast, The Uncanny Experience). The podcast will promote all things Q Con and queer representation in comics, cosplay and popular media.
Q Con the Podcast is now available on Apple, Spotify, iHeart Radio or the podcast platform of your choice.
Dan Grote is the editor and publisher of ComicsXF, having won the site by ritual combat. By day, he’s a newspaper editor, and by night, he’s … also an editor. He co-hosts The ComicsXF Interview Podcast with Matt Lazorwitz. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, two kids and two miniature dachshunds, and his third, fictional son, Peter Paul Winston Wisdom. Follow him @danielpgrote.bsky.social.
