I’ll be at Philcon in Cherry Hill, NJ this weekend. My schedule is below.
Sat 11:00 AM, Plaza I
“The Legend of Korra”Victoria Janssen (moderator), Brandon Wright, Laura Kovalcin, Hakira D’Almah, Savan Gupta
While its prequel show “The Last Airbender” had strong appeal for both younger and older fans, Korra – with its older cast and more mature themes- was clearly not intended just for children. Set seventy years after the events of The Last Airbender in a world heavily influenced by both the jazz era and the steampunk aesthetic, our protagonist struggled not with a mere invading army, but with politics, ideological zealots, and the very nature of her world’s reality changing. Managing to explore relationship dynamics without being cliched, the writers of Korra ultimately wound up giving her a happy ending that few would expect to see in an American animated tv show. So what’s next for the Avatar?
Sat 3:00 PM, Crystal Ballroom Two
“Sherlock Holmes in the 21st Century”
Hildy Silverman (moderator), Melissa James, Anastasia Klimchynskaya, Victoria Janssen, Steve Vertlieb
There’s been a lot of activity centered around 221B Baker Street in the last few years. Which adaptations are trying to keep characterizations and plot elements as close to canon as possible, and which are just using the original stories as a jumping-off point? And perhaps most importantly, which ones have you enjoyed the most?
Sun 12:00 PM, Plaza IV
“Romance Novels with SF versus SF Novels with Romance”
Victoria Janssen (moderator), D. Renee Bagby, Michael L. Brachman, D.L. Carter, Maureen O. Betita
When is a romance a plot element, and when is it genre-defining?
Sun 1:00 PM, Plaza V
“Fans, Fiction, and the Formative Years”
Lynati (moderator), Tony Finan, Victoria Janssen, Joseph Berenato
What stories made you first realize something new about yourself? When mainstream media doesn’t depict the kind of person you are, where do you turn to find characters you identify with?
