PositiviTEA Tuesday with The Geekiary: The Comic-Con 2016 Edition!

Several members of The Geekiary, including myself, attended SDCC this year, and while we had an amazing time, it wasn’t just our experiences that made Comic-Con 2016 great…so we feel it more than deserves it’s own PositiviTEA Tuesday post!

The first PositiviTEA Tuesday shout-out from Comic-Con 2016 really must go to the Steven Universe presence. Admin Angel attended the press panel, which was of course amazing, but it’s hard to top the perfection of the production that was the Steven Universe singalong and panel, which lasted an hour and a half on Friday morning of SDCC!

Now, one of the very best things about attending a convention is the simple excitement of ARRIVING there, so that deserves a PositiviTEA Tuesday shoutout as well! Whether it’s being in the convention center and seeing the signs for the first time in about a year or simply stumbling on random SDCC preparations happening around the city, for so many people it’s just like coming home…

One thing I’ve noticed for the past couple of years is that Comic-Con is really stepping up their game in terms of panels about queer representation. I myself attended and thoroughly enjoyed the Bisexuality and Beyond panel on Sunday afternoon, so I want to shout out to BiNetUSA.org and all of the amazing panelists for putting together one of my best SDCC panel experiences yet. Additionally, the topic of queer representation was also discussed elsewhere, including by Steven Moffat at Nerd HQ‘s Sherlock Conversation for a Cause. Stay tuned for an article about that panel, including the quote that I noted down, because it was truly awesome. And here’s hoping that there will be even more discussion AND representation at Comic-Con 2017!

Of course there was plenty of cosplaying going on, and it’s really great to see celebrities get in on that action – not surprisingly, John Barrowman was a particular convention favorite. I love EW’s statement that he “let his fan flag fly” at SDCC, and I especially loved seeing all of the pictures of his Squirrel Girl. Sadly I didn’t get to see it in person, but if you did, let us know about your experience in the comments!

Obviously a lot of things premiered at Comic-Con (as per the usual), but the American Gods presence was pretty darn big. They had a panel, of course, but they also took the stage at Nerdist and Geek & Sundry‘s Camp Conival on Friday, as well as having an exhibit that featured the trailer and the chance to take a picture with a White Buffalo! This is an amazing book with a pretty big fandom (including many of us Geekiary authors), and I’m hoping that what we saw is just a shadow (ha, pun!) of the amazing things to come from the Starz show…

Last but not least, while you may run into one of the stars of your favorite TV show or almost trip over Elijah Wood at SDCC, there are plenty of other encounters to be had as well, including with amazingly talented writers, musicians, and more. I believe this deserves a special PositiviTEA Tuesday mention because many people, myself included, relish these encounters more than the ones with big-name actors. This year I was lucky enough to briefly meet Bear McCreary (composer known for Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead, etc.) at a bar on Saturday night and get a book signed by the amazing Pierce Brown (author of the Red Rising trilogy) on Sunday. Meanwhile, on Friday fellow Geekiary staff member Erin and I were hanging out with Ashley from A Podcast of Ice and Fire ended up having a lovely chat with a gentleman who works on American Gods! So needless to say, it was a whirlwind weekend.

Did you attend Comic-Con 2016 or see any fun news about it from afar? If so, what were YOUR positive highlights? Let us know in the comments!

Author: Tara Lynne

Tara Lynne is an author, fandom and geek culture expert, and public speaker. She founded Ice & Fire Con, the first ever Game of Thrones convention in the US, and now runs its parent company Saga Event Planning.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary