Comic-Con@Home 2021! Friday
July 24, 2021
It is time to enjoy the Friday programming of Comic-Con@Home 2021!
As I mentioned in the preview, the ComicCon@Home experience is largely about watching the panels. This affords me a chance to check out many more panels than I ever would during an actual con.
I am going to share the highlights of the Friday panels that I watched, and you can check out the full list of Friday Panels here.
Onwards, to the panel recaps!
Ducks All the Way Down: Metafiction in Comics
Marc Guggenheim (Legends of Tomorrow), Avery Kaplan (Comics Beat), Ann Nocenti (The Seeds, and many others), Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (PanelxPanel) are the panelists, and Metafiction is the topic. So, what is metafiction? It is when the fiction draws attention to the fact that it is a fictional creation. Think about Animal Man becoming aware of the reader and meeting Grant Morrison, or Daffy Duck fighting with the illustrator of the cartoon as the cartoon progresses.
In general, comics try to not bring attention to the fact that they are a creation, and avoid drawing attention to the creator. When this rule is broken, however, it can have very powerful results.
Each of the panelists talk about some of the things they have worked on, including Peter Cannon, Crisis on Infinite Earths on CW, the Marvel Comics character of Ann Nocenti, and describe the origins of the metafiction involved with each of these examples.
The panelists then discuss some of their favorite metafiction moments in comics. The examples are rather varied, and show off the many ways that metafiction appears.
This, to me, is a very interesting topic. This panel barely scratches the surface of this, I could have gone for a much more in-depth treatment of this topic.
The Incredible Impact of Dungeons & Dragons on Culture and Entertainment
Deborah Ann Woll, Andrew Cosby, and Luke Gygax take a look at the ways that Dungeons and Dragons has impacted entertainment and culture. Grab your D20 and join in. David Baxter is the moderator.
They start out with some discussion about how Dungeons and Dragons is a collaborative game, rather than an oppositional game. Some of the panelists describe how this has effected them personally.
Many of the panelists remember the “satanic panic” era from the 1980s, when Dungeons and Dragons was looked at as something that will open the door to satanism, and how that was overblown, and also the effect it had on the panelists, and on the game. It may have actually been counter-productive to the hater’s goals.
The panelists have a lot of interesting things to say about how D&D can help people to experiment and evolve their personality, and understand who they are.
The panel finished up with a few questions.
Overall, this isn’t quite what I expected. It wasn’t about D&D and culture as much as it was about how D&D influenced the panelist’s lives for the better.
Marvel Comics: X-Men
Jordan D. White (X-Men Editor), Gerry Duggan (X-Men, Mauraders), Vita Ayala (Children of the Atom, New Mutants), Benjamin Percy (Wolverine, X-Force), and Leah Williams (X-Factor, Trial of Magneto) are the panelists to catch up on what is going on with X-Men. They start with a spoileriffic recap of the events of the Hellfire Gala. I haven’t read this event yet, so I got all of the big exciting events spoiled. To be fair, the internet spoiled most everything already.
The panelists discuss who they voted for in the X-Men election. None of them made the correct choice. Which was Cannonball.
They discuss their favorite moment that has occurred since the Dawn of X started, and some off-the-rails stories come out of this, because they go to some of the behind the scenes stories, in addition to moments from the books.
Then each of the panelists talk a little about what is coming up in their books. If you have ever been to one of the traditional Marvel or DC panels that is mostly marketing for the books that are coming up, then you know what you are in for. Essentially, this part of the panel is just teases for stuff that is happening, and is going to happen in the books.
They discuss some interesting questions, like why Mr Sinister is allowed to stay on Krakoa, why the Shadow King is a good villain, and where are Firestar and Layla Miller?
They end up with some teases about Inferno. Mystique is really mad. It will go back all the way to House of X and Powers of X.
Stan Lee, Marvel, and Rolling Stone: 50th Anniversary
In September of 1971, Rolling Stone magazine published an inside look at Marvel Comics and Stan Lee. This panel looks back at that article and its historical significance. The panelists are Robin Green (The Sopranos), Roy Thomas (first Marvel EIC after Stan Lee), and former Marvel bullpenners Linda Fite (Claws of the Cat), Jean Thomas (Night Nurse), and Mimi Gold (Black Widow). Danny Fingeroth (A Marvelous Life: The Amazing Story of Stan Lee) is the moderator.
The beginning of this panel sets the scene of what was going on culturally, and in Rolling Stone magazine, around the time of this article.
More than anything, this panel is a trip down memory lane, and talks about what Marvel Comics was like in the late 1960s, what Stan Lee was like, and what Stan was doing.
There are stories about the Bullpen, and what that chaotic environment was like. And about people wanting to know what drugs Steve Ditko was on to come up with the Dr. Strange stories.
There are stories about writing Night Nurse, and the first credited female writer in comics. Stan Lee jumping off chairs, and always talking like every sentence ended with an exclamation point.
Along the way, they talk about Herbe Trimpe, John Romita, Jim Steranko, and other well-known creators from Marvel history.
If you want inside memories of Marvel from the late 1960s, check out this panel.
Neurotic Superheroes and the Writers Who Love Them
Dr. Travis Langley (Batman and Psychology; The Joker Psychology) moderates this panel, and is joined by authors Brian Michael Bendis (Ultimate Spider-Man), Bryan Q Miller (Smallville), Louise Simonson (X-Factor), and Marv Wolfman (Teen Titans) and Danny Fingeroth (A Marvelous Life: The Amazing Story of Stan Lee).
Who is the most neurotic superhero? And why do these authors like writing these neurotic characters?
They start with the original psychologically scarred superhero, Batman, and share their perspective on him. They have some interesting perspectives, and also some interesting contrasts with Superman, and how they ended up so different.
Peter Parker is the poster boy for neurotic superhero. The panelists explain why, and how it shows in the Spider-Man comics. Also, they discuss a little about what the origins of this may be.
Captain America, Iron Man, Daredevil, Teen Titans, X-Factor, and more get discussed.
If you like listening to comic book writers talk about superheroes, and what makes them tick, this is the panel for you.
Scott Shaw! Oddball Comics: The Batman Edition
Scott Shaw does something a little different, and talks just about Batman comics. There are quite a few oddball comics from the 1950s, where Batman visits other planets, wears rocket skates, and fights monsters.
This panel is a look at the wackiest Batman Comics from that strange era of Batman where he isn’t solving crimes anymore, and is instead Having very zany adventures geared towards children.
This panel is a slide show flips through dozens of old Batman comics and describes and comments on the oddball things that were shown in each of these comics.
For a quick, fun look at some ridiculous old Batman comics, tune in for this panel.
Friday Wrap!
There is a lot more to enjoy from Friday, this is just a few of the things that stood out to me. If you want to dig into your love of comics, then dig through the list of panels from Friday, pick one or two, and enjoy!
Remember to check out the rest of the coverage of Comic-Con@Home 2021 here on Overthinking Comics: