Presentations

The heck is a production pipeline!? Join The Evil Nae (creator of the webcomic "The Fantasy Book Club") and learn how to how to leverage some corporate-speak word-salad to help you manage your productivity as a solo indie comic creator. Stay motivated, establish reasonable expectations, and make your project come to life!

The Silver Age brought forth many wonderful and sometimes strange features and characters. There was a sense of wonder and experimentation. Anything was possible. In the first half of the 1960s many publishers experimented with series featuring “real life” medical personnel in life and death situations. Many of these series were based on popular television shows such as Ben Casey and Dr. Kildare. On the newsstands medical drama and romance rubbed elbows with the burgeoning genre of superheroes. Alas, after a short boom, they faded away, but nonetheless remain an interesting piece of the history of the comic book. This promises to be an educational and fun exploration of a forgotten aspect of comic books.

A  love letter, a call to action, and a deep dive into the worlds we love. From epic space operas to sprawling superhero sagas, we will center the voices, visions, and stories of Black nerds with a joyful reminder that we’ve always been here.

Want to know what it’s like to work in the animation industry? Join Omaha local, Benjamin Lane, for a behind-the-scenes conversation about his 25 year career in the animation industry working on productions such as The Simpsons, Family Guy and Disney’s Zootopia. Whether you're interested in animation as a career or just love animated shows, this is a chance to ask questions and get an insider’s perspective on the craft.

A roundtable discussion for aspiring creators. Join an all-star group of creators, including Christopher Priest (Black Panther), Doug Wagner (Legends of the Dark Knight), Ale Garza (Deadpool), and Kevin Maguire (Justice League International) as they discuss careers in comics, behind-the-scenes chatter, and practical Q&A.

One of the founders of Image Comics, Whilce Portacio, is joined by Brian Haberlin, co-creator of Witchblade, as they discuss what the early days of Image was like, the excitement of creator-owned comics, how Image changed the landscape of comics, and much more!

Kevin Mellon is a Director and Storyboard Artist/Director based out of Kansas City. He most recently directed season 2 of Hit-Monkey for Hulu and has worked on 10 seasons of the Emmy Award-winning Archer. Join him as he discusses the ins-and-outs of the animation world, how he started down his career path, and insights into the creative process of hit animated shows!

What truly defines a Creature Feature? James Sabata and Michael Bettendorf discuss. Is it the practical magic, the scales, or something much darker beneath the surface? We're pulling back the curtain on cinema's most iconic entities to explore the blurred lines between beast and man. Get ready to debate the rules of the genre and challenge your assumptions about who the real monster is when the lights go down

When people say, “I don’t like horror,” they usually mean they don’t like blood, gore, and nonstop screams. This panel explores some Horror-Lite films and television shows to use to work your way into enjoying the horror genre more. Come take a nostalgic look at some of the horror that opened the gateways for our panelists and find a new appreciation for a genre you might think you’re scared of but find you’ve enjoyed for years. James Sabata and Michael Bettendorf take you through the gateway.

Some of the most popular comics are based on animated series, movies, TV, and more. Andy Price (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic), Kyle Starks (Rick and Morty) and Georges Jeanty (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)have navigated the waters of working on Intellectual Properties (IPs) and are ready to discuss creating comics based on those enormous properties!

Thirteen years ago, writer/creator Michael Kingston set out to bring his groundbreaking wrestling comic book Headlocked to the world...and was summarily shot down by everyone! Today, Headlocked is a thriving comic book brand that is on pace for another year of record growth! Kingston will take you through his successes and failures as he illustrates multiple paths to bring your comic idea to life! Come with your comic book dreams and we'll help show you the path to make them a reality!

Movies used to be made for the big screen or IMAX. But some movies feel scarier if you watch them at home or even on your phone with headphones. James Sabata and Michael Bettendorf discuss HOW we watch movies, how it’s changing, and where we think the viewing experience might be heading.