Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, conventions, wizard, wizard world

Comic Panel Picks For Wizard World Chicago This Weekend

Published Tue, 06 Aug 2013 12:00:16 -0500

By Hannah Means-Shannon

Recently, Wizard World Cons have been stepping up their panel presence, and much to the surprise of some con-goers, the expansion has mainly been into informative comic discussions since TV, film, and other areas of pop culture were already pretty well represented. Don't believe us? Check out some of the genuinely interesting panels running this weekend in Chicago. We've picked out a few that are likely to make a difference for comics fans, but there are plenty more where these came from, so if you're going to be at the show, make sure to at least glance through their other offerings, too.

On Thursday, two particular events that might be quite an experience are the "Real Life Superheroes" panel running at 5:00 PM and the "Creating Dynamic Black Female Characters in Fiction" at 6:00 PM. Tea Krulos, author of the book Heroes in the Night: Inside the Real Life Superhero Movement, will host several members of the Real Life Superhero movement, something you might have heard about on the internet but never seen in person before. Hey, hearing what makes these guys dress up and take on charity events, or even crime, should be a unique experience, to say the least. "Creating Dynamic Black Female Characters in Fiction" will focus on prose as well as comics and address some of the reasons why there are so few black female heroes and how to address the dearth to generate some positive change.

On Friday, turn up to the "Wonder Women of the 21^st Century" panel at 3:00 PM, which actually is about the future of female characters in comics rather than about Wonder Woman per se. Three comics creators (Jenny Frison, Joe Linsner, and Chrissie Zullo) will hash it out with reflections from their own work and come up with some strategies for developing "relevant" female protagonists. Likewise on Friday, there's also a special panel on Roger Ebert at 5:00 PM looking at his involvement in comics criticism and hero film critiquing in "Roger Ebert, Chicago, and Comics". It's an opportunity that doesn't come often to hear such a specialized panel on Ebert, and especially one that highlights his own heavy involvement in fandom.

Saturday hosts the "Artist/Writer Breakout Seminar" with some big names in the evening, but before that check out the unusual panel on JFK in comics, "Comics Conspiracy: 50 Years of the JFK Assassination in Comics" at 2PM. The subject matter fits in with the anniversary of JFK's assassination coming up this autumn, and provides a welcome look at how we represent American history, and traumatic events in comics. Hosted by Danny Fingeroth, who's working on a graphic novel biography of Jack Ruby at the moment, comics creators and historians will also take part. It would also be an excellent idea to turn up to support the CBLDF auction taking place at 3:00PM not just to show your solidarity with their cause, but also because a wide range of comics all star art will be up for auction, as well as signed scripts from modern masters like Alan Moore and Garth Ennis.

But you really should finish off Saturday with the Breakout Seminar at 7PM which is hailed as the "Main Event" for the con, featuring Neal Adams and Chris Claremont. Together they'll be discussing what they think is most necessary for aspiring artists and writers to know right now in order to get a foothold in comics, and the discussion will be followed by the opening of a "Pitch Competition" from UCreate, a platform where fans vote for their "top 10" comics pitches to be granted up to $50,000 in startup fees.

Sunday has a few strong offerings as well, and we'd recommend a celebration of the "X-Men at 50" at 11:30 with Chris Claremont and Alan Davis (especially if you missed Claremont the previous evening) or the "Collaboration" panel with Greg Capullo and Scott Snyder at 12:00. X-Men have never been more relevant or more popular, with films breaking out left and right, so going back to the creative sources is a good way of keeping a handle on the original ideas behind the characters and the themes inherent in X-Men. If you've ever heard Capullo and Snyder in conversation before, you know that they put on quite a show in quips, insults, and mutual fannishness, so it'll be a high note on which to end con panel-going. You might also learn a thing or two about the real issues that come up in collaboration, and how Capullo and Snyder have managed to negotiate tensions and exploit mutual strengths to create winning comics.

Whatever you end up deciding to do at Wizard World Chicago, take the time if possible to support a couple of the comics panels since this is obviously a Wizard World initiative that needs to be encouraged. Comic panels should be a strong element in cons, and giving creators a chance to speak directly to fans, as well as provide pointers for those who are just starting out in the business, is bound to give back to comics in the long run.

Hannah Means-Shannon writes and blogs about comics for TRIP CITY and Sequart.org and is currently working on books about Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore for Sequart. She is @hannahmenzies on Twitter and hannahmenziesblog on WordPress. Find her bio here.

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