Nancy Northcott is the Comics Track Director for ConTinual. She's also a lifelong fan of comics, science fiction, fantasy, and history. Her published works include the Boar King's Honor historical fantasy trilogy and the Arachnid Files romantic suspense series. Collaborating with Jeanne Adams, she also writes the Outcast Station science fiction mystery series.
At 1PM Sunday in Embassy AB, a panel of publishing industry professionals discussed the magical aspects of dragons and the efforts to explain them in fiction. The room was full, with some attendees standing throughout the panel. Moderator Jody Lynn Nye opened the program by asking Mark H. Wandrey, Robert E. Hampson, Jeffrey A. Carver, Patricia Briggs, and Steve Saffel… Read more →
On Saturday afternoon, Laura Mathews, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Tina Glasneck, Walter H. Hunt, Marie Brennan, and Leanne Renee Hieber discussed writing urban fantasy in historical settings. Moderator Mathews asked the other guests what periods they used as settings and what sources they use to create their worlds. Yarbro writes in numerous periods. She researches by reading as much as possible… Read more →
Friday afternoon in Westin Chastain DE, four military science fiction (MSF) authors discussed their work and took questions from the audience. The panel opened with moderator Karen Henson asking the authors, Amy J. Murphy, David Weber, Chris Kennedy, and Van Allen Plexico, to define MSF and explain how they came to write it. Weber quoted Baen editor Toni Weiskopf as… Read more →
On Friday afternoon in Hyatt International South, Jason Hughes and his martial arts students, Mari Baker, Tammy Cleaveland, and Don Roberts, presented the history and techniques of Jodo, a stickfighting discipline. Jodo differs from quarterstaff or bo staff fighting in that the stick is shorter than a conventional staff. Jo Jutsu is the art of the staff, the first weapon… Read more →
On Friday at 1PM in Hyatt International South, the Palmetto Knights busted a number of myths about medieval warfare. Laurence Lagnese moderated the program. Participants were Brant Hale, Chris Walters, Josh Waters, Kirk Curtis, and Jeff Bowers. The audience tremendously enjoyed the demonstration portions of the panel, which involved various grades of steel available in the medieval period. The group… Read more →
Author Chris A. Jackson has been a professional and scientist and is a lifelong gamer. He’s also a natural roamer. He and his wife split their time between the North Carolina mountains and the Caribbean. His Weapon of Flesh series about a magical assassin has made the Kindle bestseller list several times, but he also writes horror, satirical science fiction,… Read more →
On Saturday morning , cosplayers garbed as members of DC Comics’ Legion of Super-Heroes (known to fans as simply “the Legion” or “the LSH”) gathered for a photoshoot on the Hilton’s fifth-floor balcony. The Legion debuted in Adventure Comics #247 in 1958 with a story fittingly called “The Legion of Super-Heroes.” The group’s three founding members introduced Superboy to their… Read more →
On Thursday evening in the Hyatt Regency V Ballroom, Tony Barletta, Van Allen Plexico, and Michael R. Bailey discussed the Avengers’ development in media beyond comics. The pickings were slim for Avengers fans prior to the development of the current Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). As examples, the panelists offered a slide showing early live-action and animated television features. One of… Read more →
