Comic Con is upon us! I kept a diary in my phone notes and now am committing to sharing all of the cool things I was able to do during the con. I went a bit light on panels in favor of exploring the space and just doing general relaxation things. I was able to get in line and get a Funko Pop…a first in my convention going experience! Here are my favorite panels on Friday.
Friday
LOTR Panel by The One Ring – The internet’s longest-running Tolkien Community, TheOneRing.net staffers Kristi Fojtik (founder of Tolkien Forever), Justin Sewell (producer, TORn Tuesday), Nancy Steinman (artist and writer), and Alan Sisto (co-host of the Prancing Pony Podcast) discuss celebrating Lord of the Rings: past, present, and future. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Peter Jackson’s films, while this year sees the final Middle-earth book from the hand of JRR Tolkien. In the coming years, there will be an animated film featuring the early years of the Rohirrim, but it is the Amazon TV series that will take up the bulk of the discussion, with exclusive set photos, castings, rumors, and lore perspectives. Moderated by Cathy Udovch (TORn special events coordinator).
As someone who thoroughly enjoyed the Lord of the Rings movies and started reading the Silmarillion this year, I was intrigued about what a LOTR fandom panel would be like. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised at how welcoming it felt. Especially given the show is going to have a diverse cast, you know the fandom can get messy but the folks at The One Ring were great about calling to attention the themes of fellowship in his work. More than just that, this panel was a great primer for all of the Tolkien stuff coming out in the next couple of years from the War of the Rohirm movie to learning about new Youtube channels and podcasts.
Dark Speculative Fiction – New York Times bestselling authors Livia Blackburne (Feather and Flame), Kim Liggett (The Grace Year), and Mary Pearson (Dance of Thieves) along with Gretchen McNeil (#MurderTrending) share their insights about writing horror/dark fantasy/sci-fi for teens and about the publishing industry, including book-to-TV/film. Moderated by Henry Herz (The Hitherto Secret Experiments of Marie Curie).
This panel was really fascinating look at how writers approach horror and genre but for YA readers. Of the many things that resonated I was intrigued by how each of the writers approached writing characters that they know they have to do horrible things to. It was a good learning experience for me as someone who has done horror, that sometimes characters have to do things you don’t want them to do and it can hurt. So just like the characters in the stories, you have to stubbornly keep going.
Cool Costume of the Day
My Costume
