San Diego Comic Con Panel Round-Up: The Diverse Voices of Sunday

We’re rounding out our Weekly Round Up: SDCC Edition with a look at the diverse panel programming for Sunday at San Diego Comic Con and sharing with you our must see panel picks that focus on representation, inclusion, and diversity in entertainment, pop culture, and fandom.

How is the final day of the Con shaping up? Let’s take a look!

GeekEd: Esports, Gaming, and Playing with Gender | 10:00am – 11:00am Shiley Special Events Suite, San Diego Central Library

For generations, subcultures of gamers have fostered community and learning on college campuses and at Comic-Con. As esports, board games, LARP, and video games gain more mainstream attention, how can college campuses maximize the power of play to address issues of gender inside and outside the classroom? Panelists include Brian MacDonald (UCLA), Sarah Harker (UCSC), Aaron Trammell (UC Irvine), Cherie Lin (UC Berkeley), and David Surratt (University of Oklahoma).

Rescuing the Princess | 10:00am – 11:00am Grand 12 & 13, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina)

An all-star panel of modern princess experts, including Trina Robbins (Wonder Woman), Jeremy Whitley (Princeless), Sarah Graley (Glitch), and feminist writer Joanna Schroeder, will discuss how the concept of “princess” has been subverted and repurposed in the modern era to empower girls, rather than limiting their horizons. Moderated by John Marcotte (Heroic Girls).

Source: Heroic Girls

GeekEd: Caring for the Nerd Mind | 12:00pm – 1:00pm Shiley Special Events Suite, San Diego Central Library

Teachers, education administrators, and student affairs professionals are being called to respond to a wide variety of mental health concerns across the education landscape, with students today managing greater educational debt, digital identities, and high expectations for academic performance. This panel of educators and mental health experts share how they have applied their passion for fandom and the lessons they’ve learned from superheroes to develop new best practices for promoting mental health in schools and on campuses. Panelists include Alfred Day (UC Berkeley), Andrea Letamendi (UCLA), and Brent Crandal (Chadwick Center).

How Global Storytellers Are Celebrating Our Humanity | 12:00pm – 1:00pm Grand 12 & 13, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina

In an increasingly polarized world, myth-makers are in a unique position to bring fans together. Sohaib Awan (creator of IDW Publishing’s Jinnrise) leads a discussion with leaders in international multimedia about building bridges through storytelling. Authors Hafsah Faizal (We Hunt the Flame), Daniel José Older (Dactyl Hill Squad), Rebecca Roanhorse (Trail of Lightning), and Axie Oh (Rebel Seoul), along with IDW President Chris Ryall, will give their take on where genre entertainment is today and the opportunities/responsibilities global creators have.

LGBTQ, Mental Health, and Comics | 12:30pm – 1:30pm Room 2

Moderated by Lorran Garrison, the panel will talk about how comics, cosplay, video gaming, and other forms of pop culture foster mental health wellness of teens and young adults. More specifically, the panel will dive deep into the impact of comics and pop culture within the LGBTQIA community. Bullying and suicide ideation are two of the many issues the LGBTQIA community combats, and panelists will give advice and resources about coping with unsupportive families, finding/creating community, and ways family members can show up for their queer loved one. Lorran Garrison is a school psychologist student (San Diego, CA) with an early childhood development background. She has also been trained in parent education with Resources for Infant Educarers. Other panelists: Anthony E. Zuiker is the creator of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and co-founder and publisher of Zuiker Press. Tara Madison Avery is a publisher, cartoonist, and illustrator of Stacked Deck Press, specializing in LGBTQAIU interests. Dr. Janina Scarlet is a licensed clinical psychologist and founder/developer of Superhero Therapy, recipient of Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award from the United Nations. Justine Mastin is a licensed marriage and family therapist and founder of Blue Box Counseling, which specializes in LGBTQIA interests and co-host of Starship Therapise podcast. Lara Taylor Kester is a licensed marriage and family therapist, co-creator of the Geek Therapy Library, and podcast co-host for Geek Therapy Radio.

Diversely Geek Discusses Representation in Media|1:00pm – 2:00pm Artists’ Loft, BarrioHaus

Neisha T Mulchan (Diversely Geek CEO) sits down with Kevin Wood (DC and Warner Bros. artist) and Terri Lubaroff (Legion M COO) to discuss the importance of embracing diversity and changing the narrative.

How to Ignite Conversations of Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice in the World of Comics|1:30pm – 2:30pm Room 2

Panelists with a variety of backgrounds will share their stories of working on comics, films, television series, and games with a look at social justice and diversity, giving their thoughts on this topic and how current commentary on social justice and diversity have affected the comic book industry. Seeing ourselves in our superheroes shows us how we can be the best versions of ourselves in our own lives, and panelists will discuss if and how they see that reflection and how we can ignite more conversations about these topics in the minds of all who work and create in our industry. Moderated by Heather Newman (co-founder/CEO Creative Maven; host of Mavend Do It Better podcast), the panel features voice artists Mela Lee (Fallout, Fate/Stay Night), Jason Lewis (Superman in Justice League Action), James Mathis III (T’Challa in Marvel’s Avengers: Black Panther’s Quest), and Kellen Goff (Funtime Freddy and Fredbear from Five Nights at Freddy’s).

Diversity in Comics: Indian Suprheroes Go Global! |2:00pm – 3:00pm Room 28DE

Graphic India co-founder and creator Sharad Devarajan (Chakra the Invincible, Shadow Tiger, Astra Force, Baahubali The Lost Legends) will address globalization, East meets West, the new diversity and culture in comics, and the renaissance of Indian superheroes who are taking on the world. Graphic India will also discuss the future of Indian superheroes and their projects, including the animated series Baahubali: The Lost Legends on Amazon Prime Video and their new animated series Immortal: The Legend of Hanuman, as well as comic book projects including 18 Days, Avatarex, Ramayan 3392AD, Shadow Tiger, Devi, Empire of Blood, and many more.

Source: Amazon Prime

Rebuilding and Reinventing the Modern Girl Through Stories |2:00pm – 3:00pm Grand 12 & 13, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina

We’re in a post–Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel world, well into a time where we all know that girls and women can kick ass and be strong protagonists. That girls can grow up to be president or walk on the moon, or be a queen or a superhero. But a lot of old stereotypes that still persist. How do we reinvent the new girl order to build new characters for the enlightened girl? How do we pay tribute to the heroines of the past while still looking toward the future? What’s the difference between writing established heroines and creating your own? What do creators and fans want out of a powerful female protagonist? PanelistsCecil Castellucci (Snow White), Sarah Kuhn (Batgirl), Nilah Macgruder (Marvel Rising), Seanan McGuire(Spider-Gwen), Danielle Paige (Mera), and moderator Jenn Fujikawa (Star Wars and Marvel.com) discuss the challenges of building modern heroines in a variety of mediums for the modern girl.

Diversity and Comics: Why Inclusion Matters |2:00pm – 3:00pm Room 4

John Semper, Jr. (Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Fox TV Animation), Kinitra Brooks (Searching for Sycorax: Black Women’s Hauntings of Contemporary Horror, 2017 Bram Stoker Award nominee), David Walker (Bitter Root, Image Comics and Legendary Pictures), Stanford Carpenter (Black & Brown Comix Arts Festival), and Jazmine Joyner (pop culture journalist, Rotten Tomatoes) discuss diversity, visibility, and inclusion in comics and popular culture, moderated by Aaron Grizzell (executive director of the NorcalMLK Foundation).

Super Asian America | 2:45pm – 3:45pm Room 5AB

Whether it’s tugging at heartstrings in Always Be My Maybe, battling Tongs in the drug-infested streets of Warrior, or hunting down serial killers in Killing Eve, never have Asian faces and voices been so prominent in Western media. Racebending’s 9th annual discussion of all things Super Asian American will be featuring Andrea Walter (Empty by Design), C. B. Lee (Not Your Sidekick), Wesley Chu (The Lives of Tao), and others.

Super-Abled: Disability Representation in Comics, Movies, Games, and More | 3:00pm – 4:00pm Room 4

Diversity is bigger than ever in the world of superheroes and fan culture but there’s one group that tends to be overlooked in the medium: people with disabilities. Travis Rivas (editor, Super-Abled Comics), Angel Giuffria (actress, Goliath, Green Lantern), Jay Justice (editor/co-founder of LGBT HQ), Trace Wilson (author, Uniquely Me), Sarah Tuberty (Disarming Disability podcast), and Jennifer Kretchmer (executive producer, cast member Monsters & Fables) take a look at how to accurately create fully realized characters while trying to avoid the stereotypes typically associated with disability while also discussing how to navigate the industry while having a disability, how disability can be a superpower, and about advocating for the disabled community at large.

Source: Kickstarter

Wonder Women CEOs – Female Owned and Operated Comic Publishers |3:00pm – 4:00pm Room 7AB

One day a female comic publisher will be standard-until then, we have Wonder Women! All panelists are female owned and operated comic publishers. These ladies lead by example: Sandy King Carpenter(Storm King Comics), Enrica Jang (Red Stylo Media), D. Lynn Smith (Kymera Press), and C. Spike Trotman (Iron Circus Comics).

“Crazy” Talk: Fifty Years of Mental Health, Pop Culture, and Comic-Con |4:00pm – 5:00pm Room 4

How has mental health representation in comics evolved over the past 50 years since the very first Comic-Con? Does mental health represent the next wave of diversity in comics, or is that just “crazy” talk? Russ Burlingame (ComicBook.com), Corrina Lawson (GeekDad.com), and others join forensic psychiatrists Vasilis K. Pozios, M.D. and Praveen Kambam, M.D. (Broadcast Thought) to discuss the state of mental health media representation and how a mental health/pop culture partnership can be a “win-win” for both the entertainment industry and people with mental illnesses. Moderated by attorney Jeff Trexler (The Beat, The Comics Journal).

Did we miss anything you think we absolutely need to share, post in the comments!