A unique thing about Phxcc is the amount of panels and which a lot of them you wouldn’t find at any other comic convention. We asked two of our Twitter friends to chime in with what they are excited for plus our own panel picks. More panels and guests will be announced with the short time left until the con.
Our guests in the article will be at Phxcc at various days and times so make sure to follow them on twitter for their tweets and thoughts on the biggest convention in the southwest!
We’ll be driving in from Orange County, California starting late Friday afternoon, so it’s doubtful that we’ll be able to make it on time for any panels on Friday. However, one panel that piqued our interest on Friday night is “Future Exploration” with the description “What missions does NASA have planned for the near and far future?” We would be interested to know what is going on with NASA, and find out what is the current state of space exploration. This is not a panel you would find at a typical comic convention, though it is a topic that most nerds would be interested in, so this one kind of stood out to us.
Having read and enjoyed Charlaine Harris’s Aurora Teagarden, Lily Bard, and Sookie Stackhouse novels, I (Violet) was delighted to see Charlaine Harris on the guest list. As I mentioned, we won’t be able to make it in until late Friday night, so we’ll be missing the Spotlight on Charlaine Harris that takes place early Friday afternoon. She is on a few other panels, so I might check out either “Constructing a Mystery Plot” or “SF Squeecast Panel” on Saturday, just so I can see at least see her on a panel, even if it’s not specifically about her or her books.
Although they haven’t been placed on the schedule yet, what we’re both most looking forward to are the Nathan Fillion and John Barrowman panels, because we are huge Firefly/Serenity and Doctor Who/Torchwood fans! Hopefully they’ll both be on Saturday or Sunday so we won’t have to miss out.
As I mentioned above, we’re huge Doctor Who fans… but admittedly, we’ve only really watched starting from the Ninth Doctor. Therefore “The Best Doctor: Reboot Edition” is right up our alley. It’ll be enlightening to see others debate about the merits of the Ninth vs. the Tenth vs. the Eleventh Doctor!
Anabel’s
MAGIC’S IN THE MAKEUP FRIDAY, 1:30PM – 2:30PM
Costuming Location: North 232a
Why? Local professional hair and make-up artists answer questions on how to do anything from horror to Disney-style makeup for cosplay!
What is a Gaymer? Discussing LGBT Gaming Communities
Sunday June 8 10:30 AM North 121BC
Why? The Phoenix Gaymers are a local community gaming group (open to all) whose members do a variety of amazing things like create safe gaming environments and meet-ups to do wide-spread advocacy of gay issues in games. The #Miiquality movement, for example, was started by a local gaymer!
COSPLAY LIKE A PRO: LESS STRESS, MORE FUN! THURSDAY, 6:00PM – 7:00PM
Location: North 231bc
Why? I’m teaming up with some talented dudes to share more info on getting into cosplay and learning how to deal with instances of stress by focusing on how dang fun the hobby is and creative ways to promote yourself as a cosplayer.
STEAMPUNK ON A BUDGET: TIPS & TRICKS FROM THE EXPERTS THURSDAY, 9:00PM – 10:00PM
Costuming Science Fiction Steampunk Location: North 232bc
Why? Steampunk is a ton of fun, and some of the greatest local Steampunk professionals share their best tips on suiting up on a budget. What more can you ask for?
PROP BUILDING USING 3D PRINTING TECHNIQUES FRIDAY, 12:00PM – 1:00PM
Costuming Location: North 232a
Why? Getting into 3D printing is hard for first-timers! This is an awesome way to get introduced to it by cosplayers with a ton of experience. One of the panelists, Cory Alexander, even made his Vera (Jayne’s gun in Firefly) via 3D printing!
Allen’s
Affordable Costuming 101 Presented by Todd Cook and Thomas Boyer
6/05 Thursday 6-7pm
Why? Everybody is on a budget for costuming and they want to have fun without breaking the bank. Todd and thomas are local artisans who know where to source the cheaper materials and are experts on kit bashing props and costumes.
Be a Predator Presented by Kurt Colin and crew
6/05 Thursday 7:30pm-8:30pm
Why? Building a movie quality Predator is hard enough and very expensive. Kurt has built many predator suits and has done so cheaply while keeping quality high thus making it more affordable for the average fan
Cosplay Prop Crafting Presented by Holy Conrad and Bill Doran
6/06 Friday 10:30am – 11:30am
Why? Learn from hugely popular Bill and Holy on how the help accessorize their costumes with amazing props. Learn the extra techniques that are not readily shared that can help you bring your costume to the next level.
Creating the Jurrasic Park T-rex Presented by Michael Tric, key sculptor of the T-Rex
6/05 Thursday 6:30-7:30pm
Why? Who doesn’t love the T-Rex from Jurasic Park? See how this amazing creature was brought to life from a clay sculpt to being filmed on site.
Costume Armor Painting and weathering Presented by Allen Amis
6/07 Saturday 12pm-1pm
Why? You just finished your amazing build on your costume and/or prop and now want to paint it. Paint jobs and weathering can make a prop or armor piece pop and look even more incredible and help bring that extra wow factor to your costume.
Celebrating 50 Years of G.I. Joe Action Figures
I was a child of the late 80s/early 90s and G.I. Joes were a staple of my toy collection. Nothing brings back my childhood like toys, so this panel could be a nice trip down memory lane.
Chrono Trigger: Til the End of Time
Chrono Trigger is a classic jrpg that brought together an allstar team of creators that put together one of the finest SNES games and a game that is on my top 10 of all time. Expect to the panel to retell the most memorable moments from this timeless tale.
Hulk Smash Puny Human
Comic legends Len Weuin and Herb Trimpe, writer and artist respectively, talk about their Incredible Hulk run. Not many chances to have two of the best talk about their experiences with an iconic character.
Batman 75: Justice League Sketchoff
Various comic artists sketch Batman and other Justice League characters on stage for charity. I’m a big fan of original comic inspired art so this is right down my alley.
Legion of Sand 