KC creator won’t stop at comic books. He’s building an anime platform for nerds like him

Kansas City entrepreneur Brandon Calloway is a “Blerd.”

What is a Blerd? According to Calloway, a Blerd is a Black nerd, a term that first gained mainstream recognition in 2006 when Dr. Christoper Turk of the popular sitcom “Scrubs” described his cousin as “the biggest Blerd.”

Now Calloway is trying to build a streaming platform for Blerds like him. Launched at the end of 2022, the site they’re pitching as a competitor to CrunchyRoll currently has five original anime shows.

Growing up, Calloway loved Japanese anime. He recalls watching “Dragon Ball Z” and seeing Mr. Popo. “I remember thinking that’s supposed to be me!” Calloway said in a 2021 interview. The character’s big red lips and pitch black skin left him feeling uncomfortable and awkward.

As part of the Blerd community, Calloway says he could see “a growing hunger” for Blerd content — media made by Black creators, featuring Black main characters and showing characters representative of the Black community, instead of minstrel-like caricatures.

“In digital spaces of the Blerd community, people are constantly asking for and questioning why there is not more anime, comic books, sci-fi content that is representative of this large group of people, of Black people who love this medium,” Calloway said. “That actually is what got me into Darkmoon Comics.”

Darkmoon Comics, now known as Blerd Comics, was Calloway’s first endeavor to create content for Black nerds and is now the comic publishing arm of the Blerd media organization. He launched his manga series, “Black Spartans,” in December 2020.

One sentiment became clear as he continued to grow the series and present it at comic conventions across the country: Many creators wanted to see their stories adapted into anime or live-action, but struggled to find a big enough following.

Making a space for Black comics and anime

Calloway points out that traditionally, comics get picked up to become anime shows as they sell and gain a following, but many fans are searching for anime to watch, not so much for comics to read. Seeing this as a problem in the industry, especially for Black creators who have fewer opportunities to promote their work, Calloway decided to take matters into his own hands.

In 2022, Calloway joined other Black anime creators to launch Blerd TV. Then in 2023 they took their first step into anime by making “Black Spartans” into a video series featuring a cast of voice actors.

Through this Blerd TV original, Calloway hoped to open a door for other creators to have a place to start in the anime industry, skipping the manga/comic pipeline.

Although Blerd TV is currently on YouTube and free for anyone to view, Calloway sees this as just the beginning. His goal is to turn Blerd TV into a full-fledged subscription streaming platform, competing with sites like Crunchyroll, Netflix and Hulu. He envisions it as more than just a hub for Blerd Comics adaptations; he envisions it as a licensing platform for other production studios.

Calloway cites Blerd TV’s live-action film “Sisters” as an example of this.

“’Sisters’ was created by Open Gate Studios and so they have no affiliation with Blerd TV,” Calloway said. “Just like Dragon Ball Z has no affiliation with Crunchyroll.”

Competing with billion-dollar companies is no small task. Calloway frequently travels nationwide seeking funding, support and partnerships to help Blerd TV expand its creator ecosystem.

While Calloway is focused on expanding Blerd TV, his work as a community leader in Kansas City is just as important. He is also the co-founder of Kansas City G.I.F.T., a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting Black-owned businesses in the area.

GIFT provides funding, education and resources to help Black entrepreneurs thrive, with the goal of building generational wealth within Kansas City’s Black community.

Calloway’s experience working with Black business owners through GIFT has reinforced his belief in the importance of creating opportunities for Black creatives in the anime industry, he said. By helping businesses grow in Kansas City, he’s seen firsthand how financial backing and visibility can change the trajectory of an entrepreneur’s success — something he hopes to replicate for Black artists through Blerd TV.

What’s next for Blerd TV?

As Calloway and his team continue to develop the Blerd TV brand, they are still full steam ahead on Blerd Comics, their primary revenue source. Anime lovers can buy individual comics on the Blerd Comics site or purchase them in a bundle. During an interview in February, Calloway said that their physical editions had been sold out and only digital versions were available at that moment.

Right now, Blerd TV is gearing up to push their original comics, as the more revenue they generate, the faster they can get to a competitive size. Comparatively, it is as if Netflix had started its brand with Netflix originals instead of licensing content.

Blerd TV isn’t just about the Black nerd community, said Calloway — it’s about breaking the stereotype of who an anime fan can be.

“Making it more inclusive not just for Black nerds, but just getting rid of or helping to do away with the idea of the anime fan is the nerdy guy in his mom’s basement that is socially awkward and can’t talk to anybody,” Calloway said.

Calloway says that as he and his team push to diversify the genre, they will inevitably face some pushback from audience members questioning why the anime has to specifically be Black. But he says that true anime fans love all sorts of anime and even anime fans who aren’t Black can enjoy characters that don’t look like them. After all, Calloway says, that’s what “the Blerd community has been doing this entire time.”

Through Blerd TV, Calloway says he isn’t just creating content—he’s building a new pipeline for Black creators in the anime industry.

“I think overall the end game will be an increased positive affiliation with anime all around. As we continue to grow, obviously, we’ll be producing original anime content,” Calloway said. “But there’s also the opportunity for us to find other Black comic creators and not just license their content, but to find other creators and help them actually fully develop it into a full-on anime, and that opens the door for a new wave of creatives that are creative in a different genre.”