#NYCC2019 - Thursday Edition – The Power of the Blerds, GeekRicans and NerdLyfe!!!
Region 99 finally touched down to the annual New York Comic Con @ the Jacob Javitz Center in NYC. Now normally I would write about the Funko’s I collect, Cosplay, and other forms of pop culture, that’s coming shortly. For Thursday, I decided to do something a little different. This time I decided to write about the magic and awesomeness of how pop culture has blended into the mainstream of society. I decided to do this after I saw something that caught my attention on Thursday. It literally warmed my heart and wallet so much, that I decided, this was the route I was going to take. And because of what I saw, I now feel that pop culture has fully integrated into the mainstream of society.
Pop culture has finally graduated to the masses, so much so, that musical artists, sports players, and others have merged with us geeks and nerds to create their own brands in specialized ways.
Allow me to provide you with some examples…
1. Vans x Harry Potter
J.K. Rowling has merged her Harry Potter Brand with the internationally known skateboard shoe retailer to create a pair of special edition ‘kicks’ that represent Hogwarts heavy and the famed wizard school’s perspective houses. I myself have fallen victim to the trend on account that I own three pairs of them in the form of ‘Gryffindor’, ‘Ravenclaw’ and their local newspaper ‘The Daily Prophet’. Those shoes are amazing.
2. My Hero Academia x Megan Thee Stallion
Recently Megan Thee Stallion, Rapper, did a photo shoot incorporating My Hero Academia’s character Todoroki. It didn’t disappoint. In fact, her photoshoot brought in more viewers to the show and incorporated a new host of watchers who link Hip-Hop to Anime’ like never before.
Beat to Beat caught up to Megan Thee Stallion during SXSW to talk her love for anime, freestyles, uncut scenes from Big Ole Freak + more Shot by: Chino Chase
3. NYCC 2019 presents…. Coach?
And now for the Coup de grâce… when I went to NYCC I saw the collaboration between Michael B Jordan x Coach introducing a new line of Naruto based merchandise in footwear and bags. Chances are, they’ve probably been out, but this was my first time seeing them @ NYCC. What caught my attention were the Sharingan inspired boots and the Bookbag. First at the con, It appears that high-end brands are noticing the power of the nerd and are trying to cash in on the power of the Nerds, Blerds, GeekRicans, and others. Whatever the case, as long as its not ‘gucci’, I’m good.
Power of the Nerds
King Vader w/ Fan
The Power of the Nerd is growing. We are now the mainstream. No longer are we the ‘laughed at, pointed at, glasses wearing’ stereotypes of the past. Almost everybody has a favorite anime and/or superhero movie and because of the industries impact on society, you can’t help but gravitate to something in the realm of pop culture. As Funko stated, ‘Everyone is a fan of something’ and it has now transcended to ‘Ultra Instinct’, ‘Plus Ultra’, whatever you want to call it. The power of the nerd is here and our numbers are growing. So much so, that major brands are starting to take notice and are reaching out to us to grab our dollars and they are willing to pay us their dollars to do endorsement deals, special guests appearances and more. For Example, King Vadar showed up at NYCC to endorse the Michael B. Jordan x Coach collaboration and take photos in the process. His love for Naruto and Dragonball Z is unbound and he has 1 million followers and growing.
Sasuke is attempting to destroy the hidden leaf village but Naruto refuses to let that happen! by (instagram: @kingvader) Videographer: Henrique Kraychete
This, right chere, is the power of pop culture. The Power of NYCC, the Blerds, GeekRicans and other Nerd cultures too many to mentions. We made it People!!! We are now the Norm!!!
Welcome to #NYCC2019
