It's that time of year again: Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) hits McCormick Place once again! It's the biggest geekend in Chicago and thought I look forward to it every year, this particular C2E2 is especially exciting for me! First, it'll be the first one where I get to officially play Peter Parker for GoPride with press pass in tow. Second, it's the first C2E2 with a Geeks OUT presence! Geeks OUT is a national LGBT-geek organization of which I am the Chicago Event Coordinator. If you're a queer geek visiting C2E2 for the first time, definitely visit Geeks OUT at Booth 1180. We'll have a lot of friendly local faces there to direct you to all the must-see queer sights outside of the convention, especially our epic C2E2 party Mutant High Prom!
There's lots to see and do, so I decided to highlight the panels that would most likely be of interest to the readers of this column:
GEEK ON
The Queer Guide to C2E2 2013
Thu. April 25, 2013 12:00 AM
by Danny Bernardo
Friday
BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER MUSICAL SHADOWCAST
12:45 pm - 1:45 pm, Variant Stage
>The Pineapple-Shaped Lamps comedy troupe will be performing a live shadowcast of Joss Whedon's hit musical episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer , "Once More With Feeling!" Enjoy this spectacular moment in pre-Glee television history in all it's Whedon-y glory! The viewing of the episode will be accompanied by live reenactments, singing and dancing! So come join in on all the vampy, undead action and slay the night away with Pineapple-Shaped Lamps! Grrr! Argh!
KILL SHAKESPEARE: DRAMATIC STAGE READING
3:15 pm - 4:15 pm, Variant Stage
A comic book comes to life in this unique theatre production of the acclaimed IDW series Kill Shakespeare . The stage show tells the story of this mash-up adventure using projections of the images from the comic combined with actors reading out the dialogue, creating sound effects and the music live. Now touring worldwide to packed crowds, this show is being presented by Chicago's award-winning Strawdog Theatre Company.
Saturday
SPEED DATING (GLBT SESSION ONLY)
11 am - 1 pm, W183a
Looking for love in all the wrong Cantinas? Back again by popular demand is C2E2 Speed Dating, brought to you by our friends at Sci-Fi Speed Dating. Come join us for a round filled with good music, great company and the thrilling potential to meet your own superhero or shinobi! Speed Dating's blind dates last three minutes, but if sparks fly, you're set for a lifetime of love. Five sessions will be held at C2E2 and they're all free for C2E2 Fans. GLBT Session Only!
CBLDF PRESENTS A HISTORY OF CENSORSHIP IN COMICS
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm, W475b
Alex Cox (Comic Book Legal Defense Fund) takes you on a walk through the history of censorship and moral panic in comics, from Fredric Wertham, to the bust at Friendly Frank's, to continuing challenges today. Topics will include why comics are censored, who has attacked them, and how they have survived through the years.
I HAVE NO SEWING MACHINE, BUT I MUST COSPLAY!
2:45 pm - 3:45 pm, W473
Be it helping Internet new sites get hits or upsetting the Internet at large, Cosplay has grown in popularity over the years and you probably want in on the action by now. But not everyone can sew, so what do you newbie, WHAT DO YOU DO? Join our panelists as they throw out several vague suggestions at you at the hopes that sound good! Marvel as they point out who not to throw your money at on the Internet! Shrug as they suggest what soon-to-be irrelevant social media platform to use to show off your "work." Laugh because you feel bad for them and their frail egos need the attention. Warning - may contain humor and a less than serious look at some aspects of the hobby.
FIERCE FEMALES OF TELEVISION
2:45 pm - 3:45 pm, W470a
Join some of the industry's top Writers and Actresses for some candid conversation on what it's like to be a woman working in the TV biz today. Spend an hour with Jane Espenson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Husbands), Ashley Eckstein (Star Wars: The Clone Wars) and Janina Gavankar (True Blood, Arrow) as they discuss their own careers and the strong female characters they have created along the way.
MARVEL: FROM NOW! TO INFINITY
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm, W474
The next wave of exciting new Marvel NOW! titles have arrived! But that's not all! This summer, the cosmic threat known as Thanos strikes in the epic Infinity crossover event! Executive Editor Tom Brevoort, Editors Ellie Pyle and Jordan D. White, Kieron Gillen (IRON MAN), Rick Remender (UNCANNY AVENGERS), Charles Soule (THUNDERBOLTS) and Nick Spencer (SECRET AVENGERS) will be joined by Arune Singh (Director of Communications) to answer your questions about the future of the multiverse!
HUSBANDS: TELEVISION AND BEYOND
7:45 pm - 8:45 pm, W471
Brad Bell and Jane Espenson created Husbands, a marriage equality sitcom with the simple hope of giving life to a show they believed in. Two years later, the show is a critical smash, a popular success and now, a comic book hard cover collection. With moderator Mathew Aaron, Bell and Espenson discuss the future of Husbands and the studio-free creative process. Includes a screening. Jane Espenson and Brad Bell are the creators of the award-winning newlywed comedy Husbands and are currently thrilled to be presenting the Husbands comic book collection that has grown out of the series. Espenson is known for her work as a veteran writer/producer of shows including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, The O.C., Gilmore Girls, Battlestar Galactica, Game of Thrones and ABC's Once Upon A Time among others. Brad Bell has worked in both TV and new media, serving as Consulting Producer on VH1's Pop-Up Video, appearing in Torchwood: Miracle Day on Starz, and as an independent producer of short form satire on YouTube.
GEEKS OUT: MUTANT HIGH PROM 2013
9 pm - close, Spin Nightclub in Boystown
The Chicago chapter of national LGBT geek organization Geeks OUT throws C2E2's most epic queer geek party, hosted by yours truly! Mix, mingle, and dance the night away, as you vote for our Cosplay Prom Court and take some hawt Prom Pictures, provided by a/s/l media. For more info, click here.
Sunday
EXORCISING THE SPECTRE OF THE FAKE GEEK GIRL: DISCUSSING GEEK CULTURE, GATE-KEEPING AND SEXISM
12:15 pm - 1:15 pm, W473
This moderated panel will demystify the spectre of the "fake geek girl" that's been haunting geek culture. Do "fake geek girls" really exist? If so, does it even really matter? Why is there the perception that they are invading geek spaces? Is it really about keeping geek culture "authentic" or about keeping certain people out? And who gets to define what makes one a "real geek" anyway? Six diverse and very opinionated Chicago panelists will tackle these questions and more by discussing some of the blog posts and videos that sparked debate over this topic last year. They will share their experience of what it's really like to be geeky women navigating their way through the gates of geek culture. A Q&A session will follow discussion with the panelists. The panel is sponsored in part by the Chicago Nerd Social Club.
MARVEL: X-MEN
12:45 pm - 1:45 pm, W474
As new mutants emerge around the world, the mutant race may just be able to bounce back! Or at least it COULD, without the looming threats of Apocalypse, the Sentinels, and Cyclops himself! Join us for an all-star panel featuring Executive Editor Tom Brevoort, Editor Jordan D. White, Rick Remender (UNCANNY AVENGERS), Brian Wood (X-MEN), Ramón Pérez (WOLVERINE & THE X-MEN), Declan Shalvey (VENOM) and Arune Singh (Director of Communications) to get all the details about what's coming next for Marvel's mutant heroes!
MARVEL: NEXT BIG THING
2:45 pm - 3:45 pm, W471
From New York City to the edge of the Milky Way and everywhere in between, we've got the top talent on hand to talk about all of your favorite heroes and villains as well as make a few surprise announcements! Panelists include Executive Editor Tom Brevoort, Editor Jordan D. White, Kieron Gillen (IRON MAN), Mark Waid (INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK), Josh Fialkov (ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES), Nick Spencer (SECRET AVENGERS), David Marquez (ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN) and Arune Singh (Director of Communications) as they take on all questions!
Home Base
Conventions can get pretty overwhelming so why not find some place you can chill out and call home while you're there? Geeks OUT will be having their first convention booth outside of New York City, so stop by and give the NYC team (and some of the Chicago community members) a warm welcome!
You can also stop by and see some awesome queer artists, including Tony Breed, Eric Johnson, Philip Bonneau, the Comic Book Queers, and Jay Fuller, who also designed the official Geeks OUT C2E2 t-shirt!
Whether you need a consistent meeting place for your friends or you wanna geek out with some fellow queers, stop by Booth 1180!