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Our Panel Presentations and events are below as well as people and booths of LGBTQ+ interest around the Con. And our Talent Signing Schedule is in the next article.

Come join us in championing LGBTQ+ diversity and representation in comics, graphic novels and popular media. Our queer voices and our stories need to be heard now more than ever.

PRISM COMICS PANELS AND EVENTS AT COMIC-CON 2024

“Still Transgender, Still Here: Trans and Nonbinary Comics Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow“
Thursday, 7/25/24, 4:00PM – 5:00PM, Room: 9

In 2014 Tara Madison Avery (Stacked Deck Press, Prism Comics Board Member) moderated the first all-transgender comics panel at Comic-Con. Prism Comics celebrates the 10th anniversary of this groundbreaking annual panel with a talented and insightful group of trans and nonbinary panelists. How far has trans and nonbinary representation in comics come over the past decade? What are some of the obstacles transgender creators have faced? How can creators best represent trans and nonbinary characters in the future? Join Tilly Bridges (Begin Transmission, The Color of Always), Alex Combs (Trans History: From Ancient Times to the Present Day, Trans-Affirming Magical Care), Liam Coballes (The Out Side, dubbing producer Yu Yu Hakusho), Nicole Maines (Bad Dream; Supergirl), Sonya Saturday (The Greatest Thing You’ve Ever Seen In Your Life, J.K. Rowling and the Ungrateful Fans), Gaia WXYZ (Professor UC Berkeley, We Belong), and moderator, Tara Madison Avery (Stacked Deck Press, We’re Still Here) for a lively discussion of these topics and more!

“Hero Night” at Pecs Bar
Thursday, 7/25/24, 8:00PM – 12:00AM

PECS
2046 University Ave, San Diego, CA 92104
pecsbar.com

No cover charge! Celebrate Comic-Con at Pecs bar and support Prism Comics. Cosplay welcome! Show us what you got! Drink specials! Drawings for cool comics swag!

“Queer Horror”
Friday, 7/26/24, 2:00PM – 3:00PM, Room: 4

As a genre, horror has always attempted to bring us to the threshold of our fears and use a dark lens of the fantastic to force us to come face-to-face with issues the mainstream may otherwise dare not address head on. For those in the LGBTQIA+ community, this sense of otherness within the genre is not only terrifying and titillating, it’s quite often also relatable. The queer community has had a long history with the horror genre, from the lesbian vampires of Gothic literature to modern fare like They/Them and The Boulet Brothers Dragula. Does a queer horror genre exist, and if so what makes it different from mainstream horror?  Furthermore, how does the current political climate alter the lens through which we celebrate and connect to the macabre? Join Prism Comics and moderator/screenwriter Michael Varrati (There’s a Zombie Outside, The Midnight Mass Podcast) and an array of panelists including Sean Abley (Queer Horror: A Film Guide, Fangoria’s Gay of the Dead), Casey Gilly (Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer, Ravenloft), Angel Melanson (Queer For Fear, Into The Darkness: Part III), Armando Munoz (Silent Night, Deadly Night and Happy Birthday to Me novelizations), Heather O. Petrocelli (Queer for Fear: Horror Film and the Queer Spectator), and William O. Tyler (Theater of Terror: Revenge of the Queers, We Belong). 

“Out In Comics: Year 37“
Saturday, 7/27/24, 6:00PM – 8:00PM, Room: 4

The comic world’s longest-running panel is back for its 37th record breaking year. The Comic Book world has become a celebrated part of the Pop Culture world. LGBTQ comics and graphic novels for all ages are being produced and acclaimed in incredible numbers, and queer characters are finally starting to show up in genre movies and TV shows like Star Trek Discovery and X-Men ’97. And yet, in our politicized and polarized world, LGBTQ comics and graphic novels and LGBTQ characters in popular media are facing more banning and opposition than in previous years. This means that telling stories of queer characters of diverse backgrounds and identities is more important than ever before. Join Prism Comics, moderator Andy Mangels [he/him] (founder of the “Out In Comics” panel; bestselling author of Wonder Woman ‘77 Meets The Bionic Woman, Star Trek and Star Wars books and comics) and special guest panelists as they discuss what being “Out In Comics” means now and in the future. Panelists include Roberta Gregory [she/her] (CCI Special Guest, award-winning creator of Naughty Bits, underground comix pioneer); Soizick Jaffre [she/her] (A Good Sport; Drawing Power); JP Karliak [he/him] (voice-over actor from X-Men ’97, Spidey & His Amazing Friends, and Boss Baby; founder/president of Queer Vox, a non-profit training academy and community for LGBTQIA+ voice talent); Greg Lockard [he/him] (writer,Trick Pony and Libestrasse; ex-Vertigo editor); M.K. Palmer [she/her] (writer & publisher, Meraki); Erica Schultz [she/her] (writer for Daredevil, Blood Hunters, Rat City, Moon Knight); and Gaia WXYZ [she/her] (Professor, UC Berkeley, We Belong).

A short Prism Comics Meet-and-Greet and Auction of comics goodies will follow the panel discussion.

“We Belong: Black and Queer Sci-Fi Fantasy“
Sunday, 7/28/24, 10:30AM – 11:30AM, Room: 10

Join Stacked Deck Press and Prism Comics to hear how queer independent creators put together We Belong, the new all-Black, all-Queer sci-fi fantasy comics anthology. The panel will explore finding comics creators, editing and designing the book, organizing crowdfunding and marketing plans, gaining interest and support, and more. Editors William O. Tyler (Tannis Comix, Theater of Terror) and Viktor Kerney (StrangeLore) and queer creators from the anthology will share their personal stories and answer questions in the spirit of supporting creators to make queer comics for marginalized communities. Panelists Jordan Green (We Belong), Ajuan Mance (Gender Studies: True Adventures of an Accidental Outlaw and Living While Black: Portraits of Everyday Resistance); Sean Z. Maker (Myth, We Belong); Desmond Miller (We Belong, Between Here and the Lint Trap); Tulani Kiara (We Belong, WINC Magazine Noir Issue); and Gaia WXYZ (Professor, UC Berkeley, We Belong).

OTHER QUEER-CENTRIC AND QUEER-OWNED BOOTHS AT THE CON

Adalisa Zarate           CC-10 (Artist Alley)

Andrew Thompson      DD-21 (Artist Alley)

Art of Jessica Fong  AA-04 (Artist Alley)

Ashleigh Popplewell  FF-02 (Artist Alley)

Ave Rose Art & Disasterina   Booth #1617

Badali Jewelry          Booth #715

BethBeRad               EE-18 (Artist Alley)

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund  Booth #1918

Con Artist Comics   L-04

Con Rangers             Booth #1336

Dan Parent               F-12

David Haug Comics C-07-C-08

Doris Fish Forever/Toy Ventures   C-03

Fanbase Press O-03

Fandom Charities Inc   A-06

Flex Comics              Booth #1331

Hannah Hillam Illustration    BB-01 (Artist Alley)

Jacoby Salcedo        BB-10 (Artist Alley)

Jey Parks Art             Booth #708

Joe Phillips               BB-08 (Artist Alley)

Kayden Phoenix      FF-10 (Artist Alley)

KikiDoodle & Purrmaids /Christine Knopp       Booth #4819

KillerStella                CC-13 (Artist Alley)

Megan Lara Art       EE-15 (Artist Alley)

Meloria Maille        Booth #4816

Meraki                      G-02

Nir Levie                   FF-07 (Artist Alley)

Prism Comics           Booth #2144

Real Gone Girl Studios & Miriam Libicki          Booth #945              

Richard Fairgray      L-15

Roberta Gregory     HH-09 (Artist Alley)

Sofawolf Press         Booth #1236

Tim Sheridan            GG-06 (Artist Alley)

TokyoPop                  Booth #4037

Toma Vagner            EE-16 (Artist Alley)

Two Lumps               Booth #1230

Yaoi Revolution       K-06

Zoe Thorogood        II-13,II-14 (Artist Alley)

A big THANK YOU to Comic-Con International: San Diego for their continued support of diversity in comics! For all the info about Comic-Con please visit:

Comic-Con International: San Diego – link to https://www.comic-con.org/

Wednesday, July 24 – Sunday, July 28

San Diego Convention Center