For the second year running I’ve worked as Coordinator of the Literary Track for Denver Comic Con. This means putting together the programming (mainly panels), scheduling it, and stocking it with speakers from our handful of invited guests (this year Terry Brooks) and our healthy pool of local authors. Overall, everything went great. Where there were flurries of frantic near-disaster, it was well-hidden from the panelists and the attendees. :) And honestly there was really only one such flurry this year, so we’re doing well! Some parts still need improvement, but every year we’re improving.
I moderated two panels this year, which you can listen to in their entirety.
Can’t We Get Along? Cultural Exchange vs Appropriation
I was nervous as hell going into this one, but it went really damn good! I hope I managed to push the discussion window back towards the direction of “Look, it’s ok to borrow from other cultures, remixing is all that creativity is” while still being respectful and considerate of other cultures.
The Writing Process of Best Sellers
This one was really fun to do! It was also cool as hell to get to interview Terry Brooks, who was formative to me in my early years (Jr High and early High School). I know it’s heresy to say, I still prefer his version of Lord of the Rings, because I really don’t need to hear about how everyone in the Shire is related to everyone else and their local politics for twenty freakin pages…
Anyway, he was super nice, as where Kevin and Carrie, and the whole panel was interesting.
Cosplay! This costume came to my attention during the Damsels Not In Distress panel, as she stood in the back the whole time. Later on I bumped into her and it turns out that the armor is nearly impossible to sit in, so she rarely does so. This was her second year cosplaying this, and she got special socks and arch-support in her boots this time, which made it easier. Apparently last year after cosplaying this costume in less-specialized boots for 1.5 days (again, almost never sitting down), eight of her toenails turned black and fell off! The things artists do for their art. :)
Mei! Woot!
LION!!
Looking forward to do it again next year. It’s a ton of work, but it’s totally worth it!