Event Recap & News: The Comics Part of Comic Con #SDCC

Crushed on by Christy Jane, on August 3, 2018, in Comics/Graphic Novels, Events, News / 0 Comments

Event Recap & News: The Comics Part of Comic Con #SDCC

With the pop culture focus, it’s easy to forget the role that COMICS play in comic con. Many people go to comic con for the big screen panels but I love going for books and comics! There’s infinite things you could do but here are some of the highlights of events, panels, and news from the comics side of the con!

Shazam Stole My Heart

Ok, how amazing is this trailer? I’m holding out hopes that the movie is as incredible. Fans have been waiting for Shazam to be given his due and it’s finally time. For those of you new to his world, Shazam is the adult alter ego of Billy Batson, who is a kid. Shazam was originally “Captain Marvel” but you can see how that could be confusing with Carol Danvers around now. I’m looking forward to future Shazam comic titles, too. Now we wait till April 2019…

Women of Marvel Remains a Favorite

“When a threat no one could have expected bears down on the Marvel Universe, this ragtag, untrained band of teens have no choice but to rise together and prove to the world that sometimes the difference between a ‘hero’ and ‘misfit’ is just in the name.”

This year’s Women of Marvel panel was all about MARVEL RISING, Marvel’s upcoming animated Disney movie featuring Squirrel Girl, Ms. Marvel, Spider-Gwen, and a ton of amazing female Marvel heroes. There will also be shorts leading up to the movie. I am so excited at seeing a younger girl-centered hero cast specifically for youth. The panel reminded us how far Marvel has come, with 20-30% of their titles being female characters written and/or drawn by female creators. This is hugely important to me – at one point, I read a lot of DC because they had women creators writing and drawing women characters. When Rebirth happened, I made the switch to Marvel for exactly this reason.

In case you’re like, who are these characters? Here’s a few. Look how cute Squirrel Girl is! pic.twitter.com/5qno5tasCr

— Christy Jane (@diamondxgirl) July 22, 2018

Kelly and I became fans of Mairghread Scott with The City on the Other Side to to have her writing within Marvel Rising is such a treat. She spoke about using this opportunity to put herself (as a woman and creator) on the page and claim the space. Kathreen Khavari, voice of Kamala/Ms. Marvel, shared how much this role means to her and how 10 years ago, the roles she and other Muslim women were offered revolved around terrorism. Milana Vayntrub, who you may know as Sloan from This is Us, voices Squirrel Girl and praised the creators for giving a girl thighs alongside being resourceful, kind, and confident (yay Doreen!).

Because we’ve never seen an on the page team up between Ms. Marvel and Squirrel Girl, Marvel brought together creators such as Ryan North (who currently writes Squirrel Girl) and G. Willow Wilson to bring them to the page in not one, but two comic series! Put Marvel Rising: Alpha and Marvel Rising: Squirrel Girl & Ms. Marvel on your pull list for fall.

Before Marvel Rising, Doreen & Kamala have never met. Really hard to believe, right? My pull list is ever growing. pic.twitter.com/QYx5uZfcl1

— Christy Jane (@diamondxgirl) July 22, 2018

The team gave one parting piece of advice for an audience question about breaking into the comics scene: Write comics and believe in yourself!

2018 Eisner Awards Full of Favorites

It’s no question that we read some of the best comics and graphic novels out there, but it’s always nice to see them receive awards that confirm that. Some of the comics in our collection that received awards this year are:

Monstress by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda for Best Continuing Series, Best Publication for Teens, Best Writer, Best Painter, and Best Cover Artist.

Spinning by Tillie Walden for Best Reality-Based Work.

My Favorite Thing is Monsters by Emil Ferris for Best Graphic Album, Best Writer/Artist and Best Coloring.

Kindred by Octavia Butler, adapted by Damian Duffy and John Jennings for Best Adaptation from Another Medium.

See all of the winners and watch your TBR grow here.

Scholastic Graphix Party

I am living for all the publishers bringing graphic novels into their fold. No surprise that Scholastic threw their hat in the ring a while ago and have an excellent lineup of stories for youth of all ages. I got to attend their party and see what’s in store! Some of the titles to put on your TBR:

The Witch Boy by Molly Ostertag
Hey Kiddo by Jarrett Krosoczka
The Amulet Series by Kazu Kibuishi

Plus, they also have Babysitter’s Club and Goosebumps graphic novels!

Signings!

This year I had less signings than I wanted but I did get some important things signed!

Scott Westerfeld and Alex Puvilland (a last minute addition) signed my Spill Zone: The Broken Vow. Should have gotten their addresses to send my therapy bills.

I met Mairghread Scott to have The City on the Other Side signed and talk about what other disasters could be caused by a disruption through the veil.

I know, I know…Most people were at SDCC to see Victoria Schwab sign her entire collection but I only needed my Darker Shades: Steel Prince ashcan signed! Plus a few others for friends and one for a giveaway for you all!

Kelly and I LOVED The Prince and the Dressmaker so of course I had to come see Jen Wang.

Not pictured, the 11 creator signing for WHERE WE LIVE, an anthology in tribute and honor of the victims of the recent gun violence tragedy. It’s a beautiful book and I was thrilled to see so many creators there. Also not pictured is finally getting my SUPERGIRL signed by Mariko Tamaki. Such a great series!