If You’re Going to Denver Comic Con, You Need to See These Queer Creatives
Comic Con, once again, falls on the same weekend of PrideFest. So, if you find yourself in the air conditioned convention center, make sure to celebrate Pride by showing love to these queer artists.
Kat Leyh
Leyh is a freelance comic book artist and writer currently living in Chicago, Illinois. She’s done two series previously, Supercakes and Bird Witch, but her credits also include BOOM! and KaBOOM! comics such as Adventure Time, Bravest Warriors, Munchkin, Steven Universe and the Crystal Gems, Goldie Vance, Coady and the Creepies, and, recently, Lumberjanes.
Lumberjanes takes place at Miss Quinzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types, and follows five “lumberjane scouts”—Mal, Molly, Jo, April, and Ripley—through their fantastic adventures. The series has a supernatural vibe reminiscent of Disney’s Gravity Falls but creates its own style and mood through the personalities of the girls and their exasperated counselor, Jen. On Lumberjanes, Leyh has been a co-writer since issue 18, and the cover artist since issue 24. Leyh says that one of her favorite things about Lumberjanes is “the unlimited scope of the world. These girls learn to roll with the weirdest situations and have fun doing it!”
Leyh has been attending Comic Cons in some capacity since 2012, but this year will be her first time in Denver. “I’m excited to see what makes it unique,” she said, “and it’s a chance to meet a whole group of fans I maybe haven’t encountered before.” With all the great work she’s been doing, Denver fans should definitely be excited to meet her.
Annalee Newitz
Newitz is a writer of many talents. She was the founding editor of io9, editor-in-chief of Gizmodo, and is now editor-at-large for Ars Technica. She also has two published books: Scatter, Adapt, and Remember: How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction, and a debut novel, Autonomous, and is currently working on another novel and another nonfiction book. She has also worked as a freelancer for magazines and newspapers, a policy analyst, and a lecturer at UC Berkeley.
Autonomous, set on Earth in 2144, is about military agent Eliasz, and his robot partner, Paladin, during their pursuit of Jack, a rogue anti-patent scientist whose latest drug has left behind a string of people who have become addicted to their work, to the point of madness or harm. On the way, Eliasz and Paladin develop a relationship neither really understands, and the question of freedom is uncertain in a society where anything and anyone can be a possession.
“I just love talking about queer robot sex,” Newitz said when asked about her favorite part of touring Autonomous. “Now I have an excuse to do it!”
What is Newitz excited for this DCC? “My favorite part of any convention is always Artist’s Alley, because I find incredible artists and crafters whose work I’ve never seen before.” She’s looking forward to some of the other guest authors who will be appearing at the con. “I’m also excited that Christopher Priest is a guest; I’m hoping I get to see him speak, as I’ve read his work and think he’s crazy amazing,” she said. “Another writer I’m hoping to see is R.F. Kuang, whose new novel, The Poppy War, is informed by her scholarly work on Chinese military history. I love authors who work in fiction and nonfiction.”
If you like Newitz’s work, here’s what she wants you to know: “Tor and Tor.com publish a ton of great authors whose books you should check out when they visit the booth!” Be sure to swing by her booth to talk about robot sex and the other great work she and others have coming out soon.
Anders is the very accomplished, award-winning writer of several novels and pieces of short fiction. She has won a Lambda Literary Award, an Emperor Norton award, a Crawford, a Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel, a Hugo, and a Nebula. Beyond fiction, Anders is also the former editor-in-chief of io9, and has had her journalism published at outlets such as Salon, The Wall Street Journal, and Mother Jones.
Anders’ latest novel, All the Birds in the Sky, is set in a near-future San Francisco where war is breaking out between an established coven of witches and a trendy tech start up, all in the name of saving the world. Trapped between the factions are lovers Patricia, a witch, and Laurence, a genius engineer. They both must choose sides, but those choices will have more impact than either can anticipate.
Not only will Anders be at a booth, she’ll also be speaking about her upcoming collection, Six Months, Three Days, Five Others, at DCC this year. There will be plenty of ways to catch this great writer at the con, so don’t miss out!
