ECCC Part 2: Panels

Panels

The panels started at the top of each hour and were supposed to run for 50 minutes or so, but a lot of them ran over which screwed up the schedule.  And because many of the panelists were booked at back-to-back panels, they sometimes showed up late.  I think the whole show could have benefitted from running the panels on tighter schedule.  But regardless of that, all the panels we attended were fun and educational.  The first panel we went to we missed because it filled up before we could get there.  After that we learned to show up early.

The second panel was How to Edit Comics.  I've done film/tv editing and I know the role of a literary editor, but I didn't know the first thing of what it takes to edit a comic book.  Turns out the editor is like a ringmaster at a circus, coordinating between all the different artists (pencilers, inkers, colorists, etc.) to make sure that the book hits all its deadlines.

The third panel was Pint O' CB where fans got to ask any questions they had for Marvel Comics' Senior Vice President of Creative and Creator Development, C.B. Cebulski.  Since this was a Marvel panel and we were dressed as Kitty and Colossus, I decided to go up and ask a question in character.  The panel didn't release any groundbreaking news, but it was fun and we all had a some good laughs.

The fourth panel was Starting a Successful Kickstarter.  Kickstarter is a website where people can raise funding for their projects.  It was a very informative panel and I encourage any creative types with a good idea to go take a look.

The fifth panel was Oh My, It's George Takei.  This panel was held in a huge hall with probably a thousand seats.  We lined up 30 minutes early and still had to wait to get in because so many people had stayed in the hall after the previous panel.  It was worth the wait.  George Takei is very funny and he had the whole audience going with all of his funny stories.  However, the moderator was Danny Bonaduce.  He got a few laughs out of me, but I mostly just thought he was an ass.

The final panel we went to was the Star Wars Radio Play and it was my favorite.  The panel consisted of famous voice actors from Futurama, Pinky and the Brain, Finding Nemo, Teen Titans, etc.  Billy West, Tara Strong, Maurice LaMarche, John DiMaggio, Kevin Conroy, Jess Harnell, and Rob Paulsen did a reading of New Hope while there were randomly assigned different voices by the moderator.  My favorite combo was Futurama's Bender as Princess Leia performed by John DiMaggio and Power Puff Girls' Bubbles as Darth Vader performed by Tara Strong.  I love doing impersonations and voices, so I was enthralled and inspired by the talent on stage.

The panels were all very interesting and entertaining.  We would have liked to have gone to more, but we were also busy showing off our costumes.  Come back tomorrow and I'll tell you all about it.