ArmadilloCon coming soon!

As many of you know Armadillocon is August 10-12. Dark Forces regulars Paul Benjamin, Paul Miles, Alan Porter, and me are all programming participants.

Here's a schedule of our panels:

FRIDAY

Fr2000PR Meet the Pros

Fri 8:00 PM-10:00 PM Pre-Function Area

Readers and writers are encouraged to mingle here. Don't be afraid to tell your favorite writers that you like their stuff.

All of us will be here. This is not to be missed as all the pros comes to this one, drink, and shoot the shit with everyone. Great time to meet people.

Fr2100De Ever lost your work in the bit bucket?

Fri 9:00 PM-10:00 PM DeWitt

Osborne*, Archer, Cardin, Carl, Latner, Miles

For those who are too young, the bit bucket was the container that caught all of the chad from punch tape and punch cards in the old days of computers. When some data was lost, we said, "It's in the bit bucket." How does this compare to the art of writing?

Fr2300Dz Why are most comic books that are made into movies so friggin' bad?

Fri 11:00 PM-Midnight de Zavala

Roberson*, Nakashima-Brown, Porter, Wilson, Miles, Klaw

Every once in awhile, a comic book movie will be great, but for the most part, they are terrible. Is it the screenplay? The director? The acting? The comic book? Or something else?

SATURDAY

Sa1000PC Autographing

Sat 10:00 AM-11:00 AM Phoenix Central

Picacio*, Benjamin, Crider, Dayton

Sa1200De Revolution SF

Sat Noon-1:00 PM DeWitt

Klaw*, Finn, Bey, Wilson, Blaschke, Porter

Being an editor for a small SF site can be challenging.

Sa1600Dz What should you have read this year?

Sat 4:00 PM-5:00 PM de Zavala

Klaw*, Siros, Crider, Lansdale, Mills, Reisman

Our experts will give you the low-down on the best books in the genre that have come out in the past year.

Sa1700De Surprising Your Audience

Sat 5:00 PM-6:00 PM DeWitt

Orive*, Barrett, Miles, Benjamin, Oliver, Richerson, MWells

Fans of the fantasy/horror/sci-fi genres are so familiar with plots and characters and twists that it's hard to surprise them anymore. What new cliches have been created because of the glut of genre-related TV shows or movies?

Sa1930Dz Reading

Sat 7:30 PM-8:00 PM de Zavala

Rick Klaw

Sa2000PN Who would win in a fight?

Sat 8:00 PM-9:00 PM Phoenix North

Bey*, Klaw, Allston, Siros, Lansdale

Would Godzilla beat the Death Star? Would Chow Yun-Fat out-gun Hans solo? Is Q a bigger bad-ass than Cthulhu? Our panelists will discuss the pros and cons of each match-up's fighting prowess, while totally ignoring input from the audience. Audience participation to annoy the panelists is encouraged.

Sa2000De Hypotheticals

Sat 8:00 PM-9:00 PM DeWitt

Porter*, Roberson, Sturges, Wilson, Blaschke, Benjamin

A role playing panel wherein comics professionals take a set of interlinked and developing hypothetical scenarios regarding the comic book industry and play them out. Theres no audience participation, other than the audience getting a lot of enjoyment out of it.

Sa2300Dz Doing the Nasty in the Pasty

Sat 11:00 PM-Midnight de Zavala

Gibbons*, Hitchcock, Porter, Moore, Chester

Is it possible to go back in time and not affect the future? Which books portray time travel well? Can you actually be your own grandparent?

SUNDAY

Su1000PN Before and After Xena and Buffy

Sun 10:00 AM-11:00 AM Phoenix North

Andersson*, Benjamin, Dayton, Kenner, Kosatka, Wheeler

Where Did All These Sword-Wielding, Monster-Fighting Women in Modern Lit Come From?

Su1100Dz The Small Press Boom

Sun 11:00 AM-Noon de Zavala

Cupp*, Person, Klaw, Roberson, Waldrop, Burton, Lansdale

Small press has never been more popular than it is today.

Su1100De Mythic Journeys

Sun 11:00 AM-Noon DeWitt

Wheeler*, Benjamin, Kosatka, Leahy, McHugh, Stoddard

The mythic stories and how our genre makes them fresh again.

Su1300PC Autographing

Sun 1:00 PM-2:00 PM Phoenix Central

Cupp*, Klaw, Leahy, Lansdale

Su1500PN Harry Potter and the Sword of Puberty

Sun 3:00 PM-4:00 PM Phoenix North

Gibbons*, Miles, Ambrose, Webb, Rountree

Now that Potter-mania is done, we can look back at the phenomena. Was it worth all the hype? What will Rowling do next now that she is richer than the queen? Will it win a Nobel Prize? Did it have any effect on the world? Will it be forgotten in 10 years?

Stop by and say howdy... We'd all love to see ya.