GEEK N GAME Cosplayer of the Week

Issue #1: Hellspawned Cosplay/Demetrius Holt

By: Charley Greywood

When I was looking for the first cosplayer to highlight, Laszlo suggested I check out Hellspawned Cosplay. Before I had a chance to do that, I found Demetrius Holt. I was extremely impressed by his creativity. It didn’t take me long to realize they were one in the same. I just happened to discover his secret identity first. He has garnered a lot of attention from his cosplay, and the spirit behind it shows a man driven by his passion for this art. 

He has cosplayed as a variety of characters including, Spawn, Omni-Man, Kratos, Sub-Zero, He-Man, Black Panther, Spider-Man, and a hybrid of The Mandalorian and Spawn. He is also an animator, actor, writer, and producer. He has turned his He-Man cosplay into much more than a hobby. He is using it to reach out to underrepresented youth in order to give them the opportunity to see themselves in their heroes. 

Holt created a Kickstarter, and with the support of Oliver Banks of Art Monkey Animation and Traveus Lawson of Always Press Record Productions, he is creating a series of animated public service announcements as He-Man. The purpose is to inspire and educate children and allow Black children to see a He-Man who looks like them. The PSA’s he created will be streaming on Roku TV and Amazon Fire TV devices. 

Holt’s He-Man cosplay is featured in a DC Comics mini-series by Tim Seely called He-Man and the Masters of the Multiverse. He appears as a character named He-Sol. Holt also has his own action figure and Funko POP! He and his supporters are now working towards the next steps. They are advocating for Mattel to work with them to help spread his message to an even broader audience, so that more children can see themselves in this iconic character. Once they have reached their current goal, they  are also planning to work on at least ten more Black animated projects to create an animated block of television for kids who are underrepresented. 

Holt is a Black Heroes Matter advocate. He frequently cosplays with his son Kauai, who can be seen as an animated version of Orko in the He-Man PSA’s. He is also involved in community service and outreach events. For instance, he recently appeared at Free Comic Day in Greenbelt, MD. It was an event where kids were able to hangout with their favorite heroes via cosplay, attend a workshop on drawing, and receive a free comic to encourage a love of reading. 

This summer he will be appearing at several cons around the country including, HNICon (Head Nerds In Charge Con) at Temple University in Philadelphia on June 18th for the 2nd Annual Juneteenth Cosplay Photoshoot. He will also be at Black Label Comic-Con on July 30th at the Clarion Hotel near the Philadelphia International Airport. 

Demetrius Holt/Hellspawned Cosplay has been an active member of the GEEK N GAME Community since 2020. For more information check out his links below.

https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdbFu8wL/
https://instagram.com/hellspawned_cosplay?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
https://www.facebook.com/HellspawnedCosplay