Queen
City Panel Room (Rooms 200-205)
Friday,
September 17
4:00pm
Spotlight on Sean Schemmel
5:00pm
Spotlight on Irene Bedard
6:30pm
Harp Twins Concert
Saturday,
September 18
11:00am
Spotlight on Matt Lanter and Sam Witwer
12:30pm
Harp Twins Concert
2:00pm
Spotlight on Jodi Benson
3:00pm
Spotlight on John Barrowman
4:00pm
Spotlight on Felicia Day
5:00pm
Spotlight on Tom Cavanagh
6:00pm
11th Annual Cincinnati Comic Expo Costume
Contest
Sunday,
September 19
11:00am
Spotlight on Ross Marquand
12:00pm
Spotlight on Katie Cassidy
1:30pm
Harp Twins Concert
3:00pm
Spotlight on G.I. Joe
with Morgan Lofting, Keone Young, and Francois Chau
Fandom
Forever (Rooms 230-232)
Friday,
September 17
4:00pm
Spotlight on Steven Costantino
5:00pm
Being an Indie Author
“Do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in
your life.”
Hear from current and up-and-coming indie authors if
this sentiment rings true. Is putting words on the page really all that’s
necessary to make a career as an indie author? Learn words of wisdom from indie
authors about running a business, a brand (and what the difference is), carving
out work time and family time, and what being “successful” really
means.
6:00pm
Moves Like Maxi! Nunchaku Workshop
Have you ever wanted to learn the exciting art of
spinning nunchaku? In this workshop you’ll learn a series of nunchaku moves and
techniques adapted from Maxi! A character from the hit fighting game series
Soul Calibur!
We will cover many basic patterns, grips, and stances.
As well as flashy combinations and moves pulled directly from the game!
No experience required.
Foam practice nunchaku will be provided.
This class will be taught by Gabriel Ford. A
twenty-five year nunchaku and martial arts instructor, Maxi cosplayer, lead
instructor and owner of Cincinnati Nunchaku Club.
Saturday,
September 18
11:00am
Designing and Developing Action Figures – Behind the
Scenes Look
Before dominating our man cave shelves, action figures
must leap tall hurdles and often unimaginable perils to stand beside other
heroes. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the daunting development path and how
many trials an action figure must survive to live on a shelf or perish in the
battle.
12:00pm
Spotlight on Austin St John
1:00pm
A Steven’s Guide to the Universe
Here we are in the future and it’s bright! The
critically acclaimed “Steven’s Guide” panel returns to the Cincinnati
Comic Expo. Join Steven as he catches you up on what happened in 2020, battle
for lip sync supremacy and prizes in the SU Li[p Sync Battle, and find out how
you can get your “Steven Universe” levels up after the series finale
with a special edition of “The Dr. Steven Show.”
Anything is possible when you let the Universe be your
guide!
2:00pm
History of Marvel Comics
with Jim Shooter
3:00pm
Travis McElroy Q&A
Join podcaster and four time New York Times
bestselling author, Travis McElroy, as he answers questions from YOU, the fans,
about all things The Adventure Zone; My Brother, My Brother, and Me; Shmanners;
his new podcasting book and more.
The Adventure Zone is a hit podcast on the Maximum Fun
Network. Real-life brothers Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy have recruited
their dad Clint for a campaign of high adventure. There are now FOUR New York
Times bestselling graphic novels based on it – The Adventure Zone: Here There
Be Gerblins; The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited; The Adventure
Zone: Petals to the Metal; and The Adventure Zone: The Crystal Kingdom. The
Adventure Zone has also been optioned for development as an animated series for
Peacock NBCUniversal.
My Brother, My Brother and Me is an advicecast for the
modern era featuring three real-life brothers: Justin, Travis, and Griffin
McElroy. It was also a live action tv show released on Seeso.
Shmanners is a podcast hosted by Travis and his wife
Teresa McElroy discussing extraordinary etiquette for ordinary occasions.
4:00pm
Spotlight on Alan Oppenheimer
Sunday,
September 19
11:00am
What Is a Fan-Scholar?
(and How to be One Too!)
For many, fandom and scholarship don’t overlap. Fans
are seen as the people who know how to enjoy their passions, while scholars are
painted as kill-joys who ask too many questions and suck enjoyment out of a
fandom. Of course such a generalization is wildly untrue. Fan-scholars exist in
every fandom, and whether they use the term “fan-scholar” or not, a huge number
of individuals reside in both worlds, challenging themselves to ask more
probing questions of their fandom and make interesting claims, all while retaining
their love for its content.
This session highlights two fan-scholars eager to
share how they pursue scholarship from inside their multiple fandoms. Dr.
Ashley Hinck, author of Politics for the Love of Fandom, writes about her love
of (and the political implications of) multiple fandoms, including Harry Potter
and Lego; Dr. Stephen Yandell has written scholarship looking at how narratives
function in the Disney theme parks as well as the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien.
Together the two also team-teach an honors course on fandom at Xavier
University.
The panel is organized in four main parts: 1) a
discussion of what fan-scholarship is, 2) a breakdown of how it’s done, 3) a
series of hands-on activities for participants to consider their own roles as
fan-scholars, and 4) a question-and-answer period. The session makes no
assumptions about participants’ levels of formal education and is designed to
spark greater interest in fan-scholarly work wherever a participant is
currently comfortable.
In Part One, we (the two panelists) offer a brief
survey of our fan interests and the kinds of research we have pursued inside
them. Fan scholarship exists in a lot of forms: published works, presentations,
discussion boards, artistic creations, and course design. We also provide a
quick overview of the team-taught course on fandom we have offered over
multiple years at Xavier University. We reinforce the value of this kind of
research in academia (making a case for its place alongside Chemistry and
Sociology) and make clear the ways that fan research looks different and is
handled differently in a range of academic departments. Dr. Hinck gathers
specific kinds of user data for her research in a department of Communication
Studies, for example. As a medievalist within an English department, Dr. Yandell
works primarily with texts and spaces as narratives and “signs”—how do they
shape our understanding of the world?
Part Two offers participants a handful of practical
strategies for what fan-scholarship entails in both formal and informal
settings. We emphasize ways that everyone in the room can pursue
fan-scholarship themselves, regardless of their specific fan interests, past
training, or current connections to the academic world. These strategies
include new kinds of questions to ask, aspects of a fandom not to take for
granted, and theoretical lenses to adopt while participating in a fandom
(gender, class, race, queer studies, and disability studies, for example).
Adopting these techniques have immediate, useful impact on how one interacts
with a fandom, including with its source texts, the fandom creators, fellow
fans, and non-fans. The panelists also propose a broader set of texts in
popular culture that warrant all of our attention—places where participants
might not be used to looking closely. Ultimately, these strategies encourage
participants to think about their fandoms in new ways, to consume popular
culture more critically, and to create richer responses, whether in artistic
fan creations (costume design, fiction writing, painting, sketching) or textual
scholarship (blog posts, conference presentations, article writing).
Part Three gets participants actively involved through
a handful of exercises—measuring one’s own “Fandom Quotient,” for example, and
mapping out one’s Fandom Profile by sketching the intersection of one’s various
fandoms. Participants will be given a series of handouts including a resource
list where they can see additional models of the work we’re discussing, as well
as more strategies for continuing those kinds of thinking (including key
podcasts, books, articles, fan sites). In this section, we also offer concrete
next steps for participants hoping to challenge themselves with the creation of
more formal scholarship—creating a podcast, offering a conference presentation,
taking a course, or pursuing a fan-focused degree.
Finally, Part Four offers participants an opportunity
to ask questions of the panelists, allowing attendees to pursue their specific
areas of interest and advice more deeply.
12:00pm
Gotta Catch’em All: 25 Years of Pokémon
Join us for a look back at over twenty-five years of
the world of Pokémon. From the video game to the animé, we’ll be sharing your
favorite moments and memories from your own personal journeys through the
amazing world of Pokémon.
1:00pm
Spotlight on Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld
Cosplay Lair
(Room 233)
Friday,
September 17
4:00pm
Ins and Outs of Competitive Cosplay
What do cosplay judges look for? This panel will discuss competitive
craftsmanship cosplay: How to choose the right costume to compete in, tips for
building, choosing where to compete, prejudging, and more. As a competitor and cosplay judge I’ll share
my experiences and helpful hints to help you be successful in your competitions.
5:00pm
Cosplay 101
The ORCs will guide you into the starting steps of
cosplay with topics from picking a character to how to start your costume.
Everyone has to start somewhere, so why not start with us!
We will cover everything from cosplays on a budget to
your first big build!
6:00pm
Foam Smithing 101
Intro into working with foams to create props and
armor to up your cosplay to the next level!
Saturday,
September 18
11:00am
Cosplay for Beginners
Want to cosplay but don’t know where or how to start?
In this panel we breakdown the best tips and advice for starting cosplay
whether it be good places to buy, how to alter clothing, or how to start making
from scratch! We also will be covering safety tips and cosplay courtesy;
everything that you need to know for navigating the world of cosplay! Cosplay
is for everyone, let’s all learn together!
12:00pm
Cosplay 102
A more in depth dive into the world of cosplay along
with tips and tricks for your craft.
1:00pm
Genderbending a Cosplay/How to Make A Character Your
Own
Stop by to discuss and learn about how some of our
favorite characters can transcend their original creations and cross boundaries
of gender, race and age.
2:00pm
Foam Smithing 102
Take your understanding of working with foam to the
next level and come and learn some of our favorite techniques and tricks for
making realistic foam props for your cosplays.
3:00pm
Makeup Makes The Character
Whether it is beauty, gore, fantasy or natural your
makeup can make or break your character. Stop in and learn a few tips to help
master your makeup and bring your characters to life!
4:00pm
Cosplay with Anxieties, Autism, and Disabilities
Lots of people suffer from social anxiety, autism,
disabilities, ow self-esteem, and issues that beat us up mentally. This panel shares how cosplay has helped us deal
with and overcome some of these issues and how it might help you, from costume
tips, crowds, noise, and more.
Sunday,
September 19
11:00am
CosPositivity and Empowerment Through Cosplay
Cosplay is for everyone, we know that, you know that
lets talk about it!
We will cover everything from building your CosFam to
building your confidence.
1:00pm
Cosplaying Star Wars Royalty
Ever wanted to create one of the royal costumes in
Star Wars? We’ll give you our insights
on sourcing fabrics, supplies, patterning, and creation of some of the most
beautiful but complicated costumes in the Star Wars fandom.
Comic
Classroom (Room 236)
Friday,
September 17
4:00pm
Sketch Duel: Expo Bash
with Gavin Smith, Stuart Sayger, and Andy Bennett
6:00pm
Sketch Duel: Stick Fight
with Thom Zahler, Jeff Shultz, and Scott Beaderstadt
Saturday,
September 18
11:00am
Sketch Duel Surprise
12:00pm
Writer’s Panel: Comics, Prose, and Editing
with Paul Storrie, Timothy Zahn, and Renee
Witterstaetter
1:00pm
Sketch Duel: Roulette
with Jay Fosgitt, K Lynn Smith, and Dan Dougherty
3:00pm
Sketch Duel: Power Hour
with Chris Campana, Johnny Desjardins, and Uko Smith
4:00pm
Aw Yeah: All Ages Comics
with Art Baltazar, Scoot McMahon, and Alejandro Rosado
5:00pm
Sketch Duel Surprise
Sunday,
September 19
11:00am
Sketch Duel Surprise
12:00pm
Creator Owned Comics: What’s That All About?
with Jay Fosgitt, K Lynn Smith, Dan Dougherty, and
Thom Zahler
1:00pm
Sketch Duel: Rollout
with Scoot McMahon, Alejandro Rosado, Guy Gilchrist,
and Dave Aikins
2:00pm
Sketch Duel Surprise