NYCC 2024: Adding The Frosting On The (Kirby) Cake

As exciting as it is at times, New York Comic Con is usually about consistency. The Marvel booth is always going to be a big draw. Manga fans are always looking to see what Crunchyroll has in store for them. Artist Alley is going to have many of the same artists trying to sell pages, prints and commissions year after year.

That’s what makes a humble booth relegated near the back of the con’s show floor so remarkable. It’s a marriage of two passions: comics and cakes. And it is stunning con-goers who are in disbelief that the pieces, which look like statues, are actually made of cake.

“Is it edible?” is the top question asked of cake designer and booth organizer Jean A. Schapowal.

(The answer is yes, by the way.)

Schapowal recruited a number of international artists to contribute to the displays. Many of the pieces are being raffled off at NYCC, and an elaborate of Jack Kirby himself at his desk will be donated to the Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center. Schapowal crafted that piece from modeling chocolate, so if it’s kept cold, it will last a long time.

Other pieces include Sue Storm, Lockjaw, and the New Gods. They are made with a mixture of cake, rice cereal, fondant, and modeling chocolate.

“We have such a wide variety of character that showcase the genius of Kirby,” said Schapowal, who studied cartooning at the New York’s School of Visual Arts under such teachers as Will Eisner, Joe Orlando, and Harvey Kurtzman.

With her many connections in the industry, Schapowal was able to recruit other cake artists who love comics. That includes Jesse Lesser, who is currently appearing on Amazon Prime’s Killer Cakes. She crafted a vintage Loki cake and painted a classic Kirby Thor.

“Loki is my favorite character, so I didn’t even ask Jean if I could do it. I just called dibs very aggressively and she was gracious enough to let me do it,” Lesser said. “But how cool to be able to do something like that at comic con?”

Fellow artist Lisa Pak, who met Schapowal on Food Network’s Halloween Wars, designed a Doctor Doom.

“There’s just something about that green that’s so sexy,” she said of her cake. “I just love him. I feel like he’s a bad guy, but he’s also a good guy deep inside.”

None of the artists are making money from their creations, though they are selling calendars to offset the cost of the booth.

If Schapowal has her way, the group will return in future years to broaden the collaboration – and hopefully to get a more prominent booth.

“The goal was to keep this small,” she said. “To let people see the concept.”