Daku Con may have been back in November, but I am still thinking about it all this time later. As a life long convention goer, I can honestly say it is one of the most unique experiences that a patron can have with your fellow nerds in the Denver, CO area. If you seek asylum in a very open, very sex, identity, and sexuality positive environment, then look no further than Daku Con!
While not the biggest convention in this area, Daku Con certainly has things going for it that no other convention shares. The 18 plus entry is something they utilize to the fullest.
Walking around The Radisson Hotel Denver Southeast with drinks in hand was a lot of fun. The encouragement to let loose, be yourself, and have a good time just feels dialed up here. Only the hardcore convention goers are tapped in to the know about this convention, and with a good word of mouth from the attendees, this experience will be much bigger as the years go on. The crowd is everything, and they just have great attendees there.
The staff was also extremely helpful and in plentiful amount. I found a helpful staff member in almost every area of the convention and that made finding rooms and asking questions extremely easy. You want to be able to easily navigate a convention and ensure you can see everything you set out to experience, and Daku Con makes that very simple. Schedules are in plentiful amount and the attractions they have really learn into the 18 plus portion of the convention’s identity.
Sit down and experience some Yaou X-Mas Songs, panels on relationships, talks on hentai, panels on sex-positive living, or have a nice interactive discussion on waifus/hubandos. 18 plus means no kids underfoot as well, so crafters can get away with quite a bit more in the cosplay realm. It was not uncommon to see attendees running around in themed underwear or banana hammocks, so keeping the kids out of this experience is a no brainer.
The dealer rooms are filled with phallic shaped objects and sex toys. The sexual jokes and inappropriate but hilarious antics run wild in this den of debauchery. Thankfully, the tenants of consent and ensuring everybody is comfortable kept negative experiences at bay. Daku Con staff went out of their way to create a safe and accepting space. The registration table had free gender identifying buttons so you did not have to worry about pronouns all night.
The Raddison itself seemed newly renovated with a very accepting staff. The interior was nice, and the rooms were great, but as this con grows, it will surely have to move to a bigger venue. However this year, the Raddison was perfect for the amount of attendees and attractions that occupied the building. The amount of con goers end up working in the convention’s favor, because you keep running into the same friendly faces which creates a much more intimate experience.
The acceptance of drinking hotel wide was quite the treat. Everybody respected the hotel and the rules, and in turn the staff members gave us plenty of freedom to have fun. Wristbands would allow you to drink while walking around and there was never a moment of hassle or explaining. It all worked out quite well!
There was a lot of great cosplay this year but My Hero Academia truly was the most represented. Persona 5 and Final Fantasy XV was also in plentiful amount but the variety was still great! The best parts of a con is dressing us as Kazuma Kiru from Yakuza and Todoroki from My Hero, and running into Guts from Berserk, and Chie from Persona. You wont get an experience like that anywhere else…and throw in an adult crowd and a few drinks and you have endless possibilities of fun!
Daku Con offers plenty of ways to spend time, from the arcade with free games, to the plentiful amount of workshops and panels. You’ll be hard pressed to find a boring moment. The real star of the con was Yokubou Lounge, an 18+ host club that cosplays. The girls and guys there hosted some very memorable panels with plenty of audience interaction, and hosted a game night that was just a real highlight of the whole weekend. Hope you are not easily embarrassed by things such as lubed dildo tug-of-war, and hentai based trivia games!
Friday night they held a wizard ball, like a Harry Potter themed type of affair. It is always interesting getting a bunch of nerdy folk together, but it is the only place a room filled with some of your favorite characters from anime and games belt out Seal’s Kiss From a Rose at 100%. Dancing, drinking, singing, and all costumed up, it was quite the Friday night. Saturday night had the Not-Rave, so there was plenty of opportunities to bust your moves.
Saturday was the cosplay contest, and there were some great entries. A real stand out for me was BB Wolf from The Wolf Among Us. As we awaited the winner of the contest, the contestants called for music and gave us a bit of a dance party to help us through the wait. Everybody was always stepping up to start some fun, and you could find that in every corner of Daku Con.
I highly suggest hitting up Daku Con in 2019. It is something we will surely return to visit, and its something we hope to see more people at. It is an experience worth sharing, and it is easily the most unique and accepting convention in the Denver area.
Don’t forget to check out our photo coverage of the event!
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Daku Con 2018 Photo Gallery
PAX South 2019: Splitgate Arena Warfare, World of Horror, JackQuest, and Disjunction
PAX South 2019: Jump Force, Skellboy, A Fold Apart
PAX South 2019: Devil May Cry 5, Young Souls, Magequit
Nan Desu Kan 2018 Photo Gallery
Devil May Cry 5
Ready for more of the stylish hack-n-slash action game that continues to captivate? Dante’s back again trying to track down the source of a rash of attacks after being hired by the mysterious “V”. Nero is also back, working out of a mobile Devil May Cry agency housed in a dope van. The game brings back its kinetic gun/sword gameplay style with the added wrinkle of being able to use different Devil Breaker abilities with Nero’s robotic arm. These strong attacks are limited, but you can refill from items you find along the way. It’s an interesting addition since there’s a sort of economy for how desperate you are to use these strong attacks. And of course the huge boss fights are back. The demo of Devil May Cry 5 has you fighting a Goliath and has very Devil May Cry entry sequence. Fans of the series should look forward to the latest entry in the series.
You can catch Devil May Cry 5 this March 8th on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Please enter the url to a YouTube video.Young Souls
Young Souls is the story of two teenagers abandoned by their parents. Not only do they feel outcast by their parents, but the townsfolk in their new home aren’t exactly welcoming. As long as they have each other though, everything should be fine. That is, of course, until they find a portal to another world and are the only ones who can save Earth. The game is a classic sidescroller beat-em-up where you start at the beginning of an area and beat enough bad guys to get to the treasure at the end. You can upgrade your gear with loot you find in each dungeon. The most remarkable thing about the game are the graphics — hand drawn 2D graphics and animations in a simple, but strong art style. It’s an absolute treat to look at. The gameplay is simple, but engaging and the only issues so far are lag spikes when in hectic combat. It’s not the greatest experience to try and pull off an attack, have the screen freeze for half a second, then be on the ground afterward. That being said, there’s not a release date for the game yet, so there’s still plenty of time to iron out the bugs. If you liked the Scott Pilgrim game or any classic beat-em-up, you’ll definitely love Young Souls.
Please enter the url to a YouTube video.
Magequit
Magequit is an arena brawler in which you and up to 9 of your friends face off as wizards trying to grow their beards the longest by eliminating competing wizards. Each round, wizards gain a new spell to use against their foes until every button has a spell mapped. When gaining a new spell, the wizard with the smallest beard gets to choose first, which has a rubberbanding effect, not allowing any player to get too far behind and have no hopes of catching up. The movement of the wizards is also relatively slow, adding tension and anxiousness to each match.
Magequit is a wonderful party game to add to any library, so much so that you should consider picking it up even if it’s just in early access right now.
Please enter the url to a YouTube video.Check out more of our coverage from PAX South 2019 or find additional convention coverage! Let us know what you think on Facebook or Twitter @SubCultured, and join in the conversation on our Discord channel!
Jump Force, Skellboy, A Fold Apart
Splitgate Arena Warfare, World of Horror, JackQuest, and Disjunction
Daku Con 2018 Photo Gallery
Daku Con 2018 Convention Recap!
PAX South 2019: Splitgate Arena Warfare, World of Horror, JackQuest, and Disjunction
PAX South 2019: Jump Force, Skellboy, A Fold Apart
Nan Desu Kan 2018 Photo Gallery
PAX South 2019 is drawing nearer, and Sub Cultured will once again be there, keeping you up to date with the latest news from one of the south’s biggest gaming cons!
In 2004, the folks at Penny Arcade decided they wanted a show exclusively for gaming. Sure, comics, anime, and other nerd hobbies were cool, and those activities all had their own shows, so what about games? From that idea spawned a small 4,500 person event in Bellevue, Washington, focused on the culture and community that is gaming.
In lieue of a string of celebrity guests, the events at PAX conventions center around the gamers, with an exhibition hall full of publishers, developers, and table tops to be found at every turn of your head! Large booths include Sony, Bandai Namco, Discord, Mixer, Astro, and Tinybuild. While the large booths tend to dominate, the majority of the show floor is dedicated to representing smaller companies so be sure to support booths like Gunnar Optiks, Level 99 Games, and the PAX South Indie Showcase!
Beyond the huge expo hall full of games, tabletop, and console gaming rooms, there’s also a number of tournaments from console to PC, handhelds, and tabletop games. And of course there’s the PAX staples of the Omegathon, Penny Arcade Q&A, and Penny Arcade Make-A-Strip.
The panels this year also have a lot of really interesting topics. Notable events include, PAX 102: You’ve PAXed, But Maybe You Missed Some Things on Friday at 4PM in the Bobcat Theatre, Build Your Kingdom – Managing a Career in the Game Industry on Saturday at 2:30PM in the Cactus Theatre, and a quite a few panels to be found that put a larger focus on Dungeons and Dragons. You can print the full schedule of PAX South 2019’s programming here!
PAX South will be held Friday January 18th, 2019 – Sunday January 20th, 2019 and takes place at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, which is conveniently located in the heart of San Antonio, Texas! Tickets are still available online, so come soak up some of the panels and programming, and be sure to say hi! Follow us on Twitter @SubCultured for live updates from the show floor or keep an eye on our convention coverage! Anything in particular we didn’t mention? Come join in the conversation and let us know on our Discord channel!
Aquaman is the Embodiment of “Fine”
REVIEW | The Punisher Season 2
REVIEW | The Batman Who Laughs – #1
Sub Cultured is Heading to DakuCon 2018!
REVIEW | Spider-Man PS4
Warner Brothers announced a slew of films yesterday morning, essentially challenging Marvel with their upcoming movies. So what’s all on the table? Aside from the previously slated Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them (now to be a trilogy), here’s what we can expect through 2020 from WB.
2016
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice
We’ve been privy to several released photos and plot lines from Zack Snyder’s gritty, filtered upcoming movie featuring a grizzly, buff, Batfleck and the chiseled jaw of Henry Cavill for some months now, yet I’m not alone in feeling blah toward the upcoming flick, even with the addition of Gal Gadot (whom I adore) as Diana of Themyscira. Inspired by Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight, we can probably expect something a bit darker than what we’re used to!
Comic Recommendation: Frank Miller’s Dark Knight books, or maybe Kingdom Come for a slighter older take on the Trinity
Suicide Squad
Again, gritty seems to to be the word of the year over at the studio, so who makes up the roster of this flick of bad guys directed by David Ayer? Deadshot seems to be the obvious choice, but my money is on Harley Quinn making her first ever movie appearance, as well as Black Manta, and the Wall herself, Amanda Waller. I’m all up for bad guys tearing shit up, but as long as there’s some FUN to it!
Comic Recommendation: Keith Giffen’s or Adam Glass’s Suicide Squad
2017
Wonder Woman
FINALLY. It’s been an unforgivable amount of years, but thank the old gods and the new, that our warrior is finally getting her own movie. Sure, it’s two years away, but it’s HAPPENING. Gal Gadot will again be donning the tiara as she battles her way through who knows what, but with the rumors swirling around that Diana’s origins will be in line with her New52 ones, we can except some amazing battles. Hopefully Brian Azzarello or Gail Simone will be on hand to assist with the script, so we can get the Wonder Woman we deserve. PLEASE DO NOT FUCK THIS UP, WARNER BROTHERS.
Comic Recommendation: Brian Azzarello’s Wonder Woman
C’mon, guys. A whole movie of this? Solid gold.
Justice League
There’s not much to be said about this ensemble film. Will it rival the Avengers? Who knows. Will Martian Manhunter make his appearance? I fucking hope so. Will it be along the lines of the Justice League: War animated film, so our team spends the film sputtering insults at each other? Pass.
Comic Recommendation: Brad Meltzer’s Justice League of America
2018
The Flash
It’s not news to some that this cinematic Flash would be different from CW’s Flash, but for some it was quite the nasty shock that Ezra Miller (of Perks of Being a Wallflower fame) will be donning those red tights. No word yet on what sort of story we might see, but MAYBE we can get a different Flash instead of Barry Allen, since he’s basically covered in the television show. Mayhaps a twist on The Flash: Rebirth!
Comic Recommendation: Geoff John’s The Flash: Rebirth
Aquaman
I had tons to say about Aquaman, but when I found the photo above my wits left me. We know Jason Momoa will be outfitted in the green and gold of DC’s “lamest” superhero, and I personally wish to see the New52’s storyline on the big screen. It handles all the misconceptions about Aquaman, while rendering him a certified badass. This is definitely in my top two “must see” flicks on this list so far, simply because it was getting lonely being the only Aquaman fan!
Comic Recommendation: Geoff John’s Aquaman
2019
Shazam
We got confirmation that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson would be wearing that shiny, white cape of Billy Batson’s alter-ego, but this is the movie I’m least excited to see. It has potential for laughs, as Shazam gets the job done with a child-like wonder, but my main concern is how strong the story will be. There’s so many questions too, such as will the rest of the Marvel family appear? Will he just be called Shazam, or will we know him by Captain Marvel (not to be confused by Marvel’s Captain Marvel), if the copyright is still in place? Will Black Adam be the big bad?
Comic Recommendation: Jeff Smith’s Shazam! The Monster Society of Evil
Justice League 2
Again, there’s not much to go one, except rumors, but if rumors are all I have, so be it. Speculation places Darkseid as the blue-faced villain of the first Justice League movie (joining other blue faced nemeses like Apocalypse, from Fox’s X-Men, and Thanos, from Marvel’s cinematic universe), so I will use my tiny bit of internet to plead for Starro or Amazo or Vandal Savage! There’s so much out there, just waiting to see a tiny slice of the general population. So much. It’d be amazing as a comic fan to see some of it played out in all its glory.
Comic Recommendation: Mark Waid’s JLA: Tower of Babel
2020
Cyborg
Of all the people in the DC Universe, I was most surprised by this announcement. Victor Stone isn’t a character that you normally see solo (normally he’s on the Teen Titans roster), but a teenager with a genius level intellect will be a nice addition to all the burly men (and one woman) we will so far be seeing! Ray Fisher doesn’t have much under his belt aside from a handful of Broadway shows, but he’s set to make his first appearance in the Batman v. Superman movie, giving us a peek at what we can expect in 2020.
Comic Recommendation: Geoff John’s Teen Titans or Judd Winnick’s Titans
Green Lantern
As much as I would love this Green Lantern movie to feature John Stewart (cause let’s all admit, 90% of the Ryan Reynolds GL was trash), I think that would be hopeful to the point of foolishness, given DC’s track record of being wholly ignorant of what we, the fans, want. TWO blockbuster filmed led by black men in the SAME YEAR, would be absolutely mind blowing, and tons of people are already fans of John Stewart, having grown up on the animated Justice League series. Let’s make this happen, DC. Representation matters!
Comic Recommendation: Geoff John’s Green Lantern: Rebirth or John Starlin’s Cosmic Odyssey
Overall, this is exciting, and I’m very much cautiously optimistic of what the future holds. There’s still stand alone Batman, and Superman films that haven’t been announced yet, so with these PLUS all that Marvel is bringing to the screen…well, let’s just say my wallet is going to be a lot lighter, assuming I like what I see from trailers, and so forth. My only thing is…I hope both studios think of the younger people, and involve some of the teenager teams, like Teen Titans, and the Runaways or Young Avengers.
What movie are you most excited for?
Editor’s Note: Leia will be glad to help you find the comics referenced above, just tweet at her (@ladyvader99)!
REVIEW | The Batman Who Laughs – #1
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