Elayne’s views on NYCC panels
Here is the full list of NYCC panels — seven pages printed out, which I needed to do in order to actually see the panel times because they didn’t show up against the black background on screen unless I first selected all the text. (This appears to have been fixed.)
To tell you the truth, I found more of interest on Friday than on the weekend days. Friday’s where they seem to be sticking all the "women and comics" panels. But why are they putting "Capturing Female Readers" opposite "Comics Bloggers" (Friday at 2:30 PM)? What are female comics bloggers supposed to do about that, huh? Considering that, I’d warrant, most new female comics fans are coming to the hobby via blogging, it’s just a weird counterprogramming move. "Mothers and Daughters: Female Graphic Novelists and the Family" (Friday at 6:30 PM) also sounds interesting, and it’s opposite Vertigo, which is not family friendly, and Stan Lee, who is not female, so that’s perhaps a good move.
They have a trivia showdown at 1 PM on Saturday. The write-up reads, "Do you think you know your Marvel and DC trivia? Are you confident you can defeat anyone who dares to challenge your superhuman comic knowledge? If so then be first to attend in order to participate in the Comic Trivia Showdown." No pro panelists mentioned. Can it ever be like the beloved trivia contests of Chicago and San Diego featuring rec.arts.comics Usenet mavens versus the likes of Mark Waid and Len Wein and Kurt Busiek? Can you even have a proper trivia match without Waid and Tom Galloway?
I’m of mixed feelings about the African-American panel at 2 PM on Saturday. Cheryl Lynn observes by inference that, once again, it might as well be called the Black Male Panel. On the other hand, the moderator is a ComicMix columnist, so who knows whether there’s a chance there might be some last-minute additions (after all, only three panelists are listed) of the XX-chromosome variety? And hey, after Friday there aren’t any panels aimed at women.
The "Remembering Dave Cockrum" panel is Sunday at 2 PM. Panelists include Cliff Meth, Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson, Joe Rubinstein and Paul Levitz.