UPDATED: Thu, Mar 30, 09:42PM Authors Sam Sykes (Pathfinder Tales:Shy Knives), Ashley Poston (Geekerella), Sarah Kuhn (Heroine Complex), and Cecil Castellucci (Shade, the Changing Girl) talk about celebrating fandom in shared worlds and original fiction, with moderator Maryelizabeth Yutrralde (Mysterious Galaxy).
Friday March 31, 2017 12:00pm - 1:00pm PDT
Room 209
UPDATED: Tue, Mar 28, 09:07PM Explore the worlds of fan-favorite projects through the eyes of the creatives who shape them. Get the perspectives of several behind-the-camera talents whose work is crucial to defining the way that the story is told. Learn from these unsung heroes as they take you from script to screen and show you the process in between. Panelists include: Tony Solomons (editor, The Vampire Diaries, Freakish), Elaine Montalvo (costume designer, The Walking Dead S7), Philip Harrison (editor, Mr. Robot, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Gary Kordan (production designer, Key & Peele, Workaholics), Marc Pattavina (editor, Lucifer), and Maggie Fung (makeup department, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull & Matrix Reloaded), with celebrity moderators Tom Payne (The Walking Dead) and Chris Villain (social media influencer) and introduction by Maureen Toth, principal agent at Eastern Talent Agency.
Friday March 31, 2017 12:15pm - 1:15pm PDT
Room 300AB
Delilah S. Dawson (Star Wars: The Perfect Weapon) and Chuck Wendig (Star Wars: Aftermath) have been friends since their writing careers began. In this Q&A, Chuck will interview Delilah about querying, book deals, writing Star Wars, writing comics, and how to level up.
Friday March 31, 2017 12:30pm - 1:30pm PDT
Room 213
The folks who bring you Groo the Wanderer tell you how (and maybe why) they bring you Groo the Wanderer and maybe other things, as well. They are Mark Evanier,Sergio Aragonés,Stan Sakai, and maybe the hardest-working man in comics, Tom Luth. Learn what it is that compels these men to, month after month and year after year, tell their tales of the stupidest character ever in comics.
Friday March 31, 2017 12:30pm - 1:30pm PDT
Room 208
UPDATED: Fri, Mar 24, 11:57PM WonderCon Anaheim welcomes comics for dangerous humans! Catch the latest news from DC's Young Animal, a new pop-up imprint curated by a bestselling comic writer and My Chemical Romance frontman GerardWay (Doom Patrol, Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye). Joing him are many of his talented collaborators including Jon Rivera (Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye), Jody Houser (Mother Panic), Cecil Castellucci (Shade, the Changing Girl) and others.
Friday March 31, 2017 1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT
Room 300DE
Award-winning writer and New York Times bestseller Mark Waid talks about his 33 years in the industry, giving insight as to how to craft stories, how to work within the confines of a 20-page comic, and almost certainly vent about something political! Come prepared for questions, preferably ones about Superman!
Friday March 31, 2017 1:30pm - 2:30pm PDT
Room 213
Strong female protagonists provide inspiration in resistance and persistence to readers of all genders. Authors Mercedes Lackey (Hunter,Elite), E.K. Johnston (Spindle), Sarah Kuhn (Heroine Complex), Connie Willis (Crosstalk), and C. B. Lee (Not Your Sidekick) discuss the ordinary and extraordinary accomplishments of fictional women with moderator Maryelizabeth Yturralde (Mysterious Galaxy).
Friday March 31, 2017 2:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
Room 207
Sometimes a hero has to make a bad decision and sometimes a villain falls onto the side of good. What makes a hero or a villain as these lines become blurrier? Find out with WonderCon Anaheim special guests Michael Cho (Shoplifter), Chad Hardin (Harley Quinn), Chris Roberson (iZombie), Genevieve Valentine (Catwoman), and moderator Mark Waid (Archie) as they seek the balance that keeps readers rooting for and against their favorite comic characters.
Friday March 31, 2017 2:30pm - 3:30pm PDT
Room 213
James Dashner's The Maze Runner series has become a breakout hit, with the books ranking on bestseller lists and a thriving film franchise. Entertainment Weekly's Anthony Breznican presents a one-on-one interview with James, covering his writing career, inspiration, and the book-to-film process, and concluding with a Q&A session.
Friday March 31, 2017 3:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
Room 207
Award-winning artist Marguerite Sauvage weaves vivid imagery in DC's Bombshells, Faith (Valiant), Thor (Marvel), Scarlet Witch (Marvel), Adventure Time (BOOM! Studios), and more titles along with numerous stunning variant covers. Join Nina Taylor Kester (Cartoon Art Museum) in conversation with Sauvage to learn about her path from law and communications graduate to internationally acclaimed illustrator and cartoonist. Plus, learn about her upcoming work in Femme Magnifique, an anthology of stories about women who crack ceilings, take names, and change the game.
Friday March 31, 2017 3:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
Room 209
When faced with real-life adversity, people sometimes wish for magical solutions. However, as these authors remind us, life in a magical fantasy world-epic, urban, or otherwise-comes with its own kinds of challenges and conflicts. Mercedes Lackey (Elite,Closer to the Chest), Larry Dixon (Black Gryphon,Chrome Born), Jessica Cluess (A Shadow Bright and Burning), Audrey Coulthurst (Of Fire and Stars), Erika Lewis (Game of Shadows), and Fran Wilde (Cloudbound) discuss the topic with moderator Maryelizabeth Yturralde (Mysterious Galaxy).
Friday March 31, 2017 3:30pm - 4:30pm PDT
Room 213
Cartoonist Judd Winick leads a multimedia presentation (meaning, he will talk and show pictures at the same time) where he will discuss the creation of his bestselling graphic novel series, Hilo. Stop by for cartoons, stories, tales of writing superhero books, The Real World, and much discussion of cats and giant apes. Q&A to follow.
Friday March 31, 2017 4:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
Room 211
With his distinctively dynamic style, Sanford Greene has made a name for himself working on such titles as Power Man and Iron Fist, Runaways, and the popular Kulipari novels. Greene and moderator David F. Walker (Power Man and Iron Fist, Occupy Avengers, Nighthawk) discuss his career and argue over hip-hop.
Friday March 31, 2017 4:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
Room 209
Eisner Hall of Fame winner Marv Wolfman brings his annual writing panel back to WonderCon Anaheim. Marv discusses creating characters, plots, themes, and much, much more. This is an invaluable seminar for those who want to become writers or who simply want a reminder what to think about before you do. Come early to guarantee getting a seat.
Friday March 31, 2017 4:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
Room 210
Creative passion and keen business sense don't always go hand in hand, and that's one of the reasons why so many creators will often put off taking steps to protect their rights. But with an ever-growing appetite for new content and rapid-fire advancements in technology for delivering that content to customers, it has never been more important for creators to "get their ducks in a row" as soon as they can to protect themselves and their creations. But luckily, creators have their own Defenders they can turn to—and not just Jennifer Walters and Matt Murdock—as noted IP attorney Michael Lovitz, author of The Trademark and Copyright Book comic book, returns to WonderCon Anaheim with the information you need to protect yourself and your creative capital. Comic Book Law School® tackles the basics of protection and ownership of ideas, works of authorship, characters, names, and branding, giving creators information to help them protect their creative works from conception through publication and beyond. Attendees will participate in an interactive discussion about rights available to authors and creators under U.S. copyright and trademark laws, as well as some of the problems and pitfalls they may face, some important contract dos and don'ts, and (time permitting) digital and social media cautions and concerns. Please note: The Comic Book Law School seminars are designed to provide relevant information and practice tips to practicing attorneys, as well as practical tips to creators and other professionals who may wish to attend. However, the seminar is presented for information and entertainment purposes only, and the information presented and opinions expressed at the seminars do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. (This program is approved for one credit of California MCLE.)
Friday March 31, 2017 5:00pm - 6:00pm PDT
Room 210
Bill Watters (Bleeding Cool), Mary Anne Butler (Aggressive Comix), Jeff Bond (Geek Monthly), Bill Hunt (The Digital Bits), Alexandra August (Comic Book Resources), and Thomas Parham (APU) discuss the expansion of journalism over the past decade, from the rise of citizen journalism to blogging to vloggers, podcasters, and online-only news sources. This panel of nationally known writers and hosts will talk about the roles new media play between their readers and the industries and communities they serve, varying levels of informality versus classic ideas of professionalism, show-specific outlets versus general news sites, moving from hobbyist to being a professional, and more.
Friday March 31, 2017 5:00pm - 6:00pm PDT
Room 207
Webcomics Advocates co-founder Phil Vecchio (Brax the Alien Rocker) and webcomic creators Patrick Scullin (Super Siblings), Eddie deAngelini (Collectors), and Madeleine Holly-Rosing (Boston Metaphysical Society) celebrate and discuss the exciting world of webcomics. They will also give any webcomic creators in the audience 30 seconds to promote their comics to the crowd. All creators and fans are welcome.
Ever think you might want to write cartoons? Well, Mark Evanier has written more than 500 half-hours of animated programming, including such programs as The Garfield Show, Garfield and Friends, Dungeons & Dragons, Scooby-Doo, Richie Rich, ABC Weekend Special, Superman Adventures, Thundarr the Barbarian, CBS Storybreak, and many more. He doesn't claim to know everything but thinks he can fill the hour telling you what he does know.
Friday March 31, 2017 5:30pm - 6:30pm PDT
Room 213
Award-winning bestselling authors and actors discuss romance in science fiction, fantasy, and horror, whether it be crushes, heart throbs, or love at first sight. Topics include attraction, compatibility, offspring, love, society, (extremely) long-distance relationships, close quarters, customs, rituals, religions, marriage, and more! Panelists include Gigi Edgley (Farscape, Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge), Rebekah R. Ganiere (the Fairelle series, president of Fantasy, Futuristic, and Paranormal RWA chapter), and Mark O'Bannon (The Dream Crystal, Pirates of the Imperium). Moderated by James Ganiere (chief editor at Fallen Angel Press, CEO at Rio Vista Universal).
Friday March 31, 2017 6:30pm - 7:30pm PDT
Room 208
How do you create and build a new universe from scratch? Where do you begin when developing a game for billions of people on a brand new platform? How do you ensure that your creation will be compelling, luring in gamers to your creation and also to the new platform that supports it? This panel brings together three successful gaming pioneers who have done all of this and more: Tom Kalinske (former CEO of Sega of America, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega Genesis), Ernestine Fu (partner at venture capital firm Alsop Louie Partners, co-founder of Blackstorm, creator of EverWing), and Jia Shen (founder of social gaming company RockYou and toy company PowerCore, lead of Studio Azuki at Blackstorm). These three visionaries will discuss the process by which they created new and unique IP universes that scale to billions of people. Moderated by Michael Piech (strategic consultant at Blackstorm Labs).
It's the dawn of VR and AR, so how do you create compelling TV series, films, and other stories that work in this new medium? Learn the dos, don'ts, and secrets of success from the trail blazers and get a sneak peek at what's next with Brett Thomason (COO, Mandt VR), moderator James Ganiere (WB, Rio Vista Universal VR producer DP, Disney), Tony Mugavero (LittlStar founder, VR distributor), Dekker Dreyer (Disney, Clever Fox VR writer director, WB), and David Nelson (MxR Lab, USC VR & AR head of creative technologies).
Friday March 31, 2017 7:00pm - 8:00pm PDT
Room 211
