Spider-Man has become the exemplar for how the multiverse can reinvigorate the superhero genre, thanks to the Spider-Verse films, the Ultimate Spider-Man books, and now Disney’s Friendly Neighborhood revamp. James Thompson (People’s History of Comics), Patrick A. Reed (co-curator, Spider-Man: Beyond Amazing), and Peter Coogan (Institute of Comics Studies) explore this new landscape where continuity is no longer king, but canon events carry over, no matter the Spider iteration—Peter Parker, Peter B. Parker, or Peter Porker.
Friday March 28, 2025 1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT
Room 207
Billy San Juan (TCG writer) hosts a panel of experts who discuss how they've made a career out of playing, selling, creating, and streaming trading card games. Panelists include Frank Lepore (Magic: The Gathering, game designer), Tim Shields (owner, Cascade Games), Damyan Brunson (owner, Tier1 Games), and others.
Friday March 28, 2025 2:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
Room 207
From kicking off The Superior Spider-Man saga in Amazing Spider-Man #698-#700 from a story development seeded a hundred issues earlier in ASM #600 to paying off a clue set up in the first issue of Silver Surfer Vol.3 in the last issue of Silver Surfer Vol.4. Marvel & DC writer Dan Slott looks at all the pitfalls, pitfalls, rewards, and . . . mostly pitfalls of long-form storytelling in a shared comic book universe.
Dan Slott has worked with Marvel for many years, giving fans an action-packed 10-year run on The Amazing Spider-Man! His writing credits include She-Hulk, Avengers, Batman, and The Silver Surfer. He recently finished working on a run of The Fantastic Four and Iron Man. Currently... Read More →
Friday March 28, 2025 3:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
Room 207
Star Wars has had nearly 50 years of piracy, from child endangerment and property rights in Skeleton Crew to plundering Kyber Crystals in Clone Wars, smuggling puffer pigs in Star Wars Rebels, employment opportunities for the Bad Batch, and an open threat in Resistance. The Legal Geeks offer an all-hands-on-deck adventure of the law of the high seas as they search for lawful treasures of the pirates of Star Wars in live action and animation. Featuring Judge Carol Najera, Katrina Wraight, and Stephen Tollafield. Moderated by Joshua Gilliland.
Friday March 28, 2025 4:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
Room 207
What is it like to work on a Star Wars show on Disney+? Key droid technician and puppeteer Mike Senna, droid assistant and puppeteer Victor Franco, and puppeteers William Miyamoto and Rob Wight discuss their experiences working on Skeleton Crew and Kenobi.
Friday March 28, 2025 5:00pm - 6:00pm PDT
Room 207
TheOneRing.net (TORn) is the longest-running Tolkien fan website based on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien Reading Day is usually celebrated on March 25th (the day the One Ring was destroyed), or as close to that date as we can get. The Tolkien Society started this tradition in 2003 to encourage new fans of the LOTR films to discover more works by Tolkien. TORn staffers Clifford Broadway (host of TORn Tuesday), Kristi Fojtik (founder of Tolkien Forever), Josh Rubinstein (former host of TORn Book Club), Nicole Roberts (TORn outreach coordinator), and friend Rhonda Morgan (Tolkien Forever founding member) will share select passages from several of Tolkien's books, including many you may never have heard of. Moderated by Cathy Udovch (TORn special events coordinator).
Friday March 28, 2025 6:00pm - 7:00pm PDT
Room 207
Moderator Matt Ryan talks with Star Wars: The Force Awakens editor Maryann Brandon about bringing back the Star Wars saga to the big screen. Ms. Brandon will discuss the editing challenges, tribulations, and her perseverance in overcoming production notes from Sith lords. Celebrate the 10th anniversary of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and take a look back at Ms. Brandon’s career, which includes Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and the J. J. Abrams Star Trek reboot.
Friday March 28, 2025 7:00pm - 8:00pm PDT
Room 207
Reysuka (The Cosplaying Paleontologist) shares her expertise on the realism of dinosaurs, from stop-motion B movies to CGI blockbusters like Jurassic Park. Reysuka studies dinosaurs and has been on expeditions to collect dinosaurs in China, Denmark, and South America. She shares her knowledge of paleontology on social media while combining it with cosplay and comedy.
Friday March 28, 2025 8:00pm - 9:00pm PDT
Room 207
Musical theater, once an accessible entertainment medium, at one point became out of reach for the regular consumer—until film brought musicals onto the big screen. With animated music features, traditional musicals, and music-based storytelling becoming more and more accessible again, why are musical remakes so important to the pop culture zeitgeist? The hosts of Nothing New: A Remake Podcast (Andrew Linde and Justin Quizon) are joined by panelists Bethany Brinton (film composer, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Logan), Joy Regullano (actress; creator of the Supportive White Parents musical), and Alix Catherine (host, The Welcome Party) address the renaissance of musical remakes, how retelling a story with song brings new life to the plot, and why so many films’ trailers hide the fact that they are secretly musicals.
Friday March 28, 2025 9:00pm - 10:00pm PDT
Room 207
