Tarts Heart GeekGirlCon

By Sheena McNeil
December 2, 2013

GeekGirlCon is a convention "dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the contribution of women in all aspects of geek culture," and 2013 is its third year. This year was bigger, better, and included a panel by Sequential Tart.

Friday October 18, 2013

I arrived in Seattle around noon the day before the con actually started. This year there were some pre-con options for the evening. One was the official kick-off party, which I skipped as the bar / club scene (where it was hosted) is not my scene. The second was a burlesque show that had showings at 8 PM and 11 PM I wanted to attend it, but the 8 PM sold out before I could buy my ticket, and the 11 PM was too late since that would be 2 AM my time and I'd been up since 5 AM. my time for flights. I chose sleep so that I would be well rested to enjoy the actual convention. I am thrilled that there were Friday night options this year, and I hope that trend continues.

As it was, I met former Tart (and current Geek Mom and author) Corrina Lawson at the airport, took the light rail, and took a slightly longer route than necessary through downtown to get to our hotel. There were some interesting mishaps with our hotel getting our room ready, so we got a bite to eat at The Cheesecake Factory before getting a chance to unwind from traveling. That evening was not without our own pre-con fun, though, as Corrina and I had dinner with Tarts Suzette Chan and Stephanie Chan and a friend of theirs, Kristen Hutchinson. It was wonderful to get to meet some more of my fellow Tarts in person! Plus, we had good food and conversation. On our way to dinner that evening, Corrina and I also stopped by the Seattle Conference Center to pick up our panelist passes and GeekGirlCon swag bags to avoid the morning rush. The swag bag didn't really have much in the way of swag, but it was still fun to look through, and it was one less thing to carry at the con itself.

Saturday October 19, 2013

Saturday morning started bright and early since my body was on a three-ihour time difference. Thankfully, the hotel offered a free breakfast starting around the time I got up. While I waited till after breakfast to get into my own cosplay, there were definitely costumes and unique forms of dress among the hotels "muggle" guests in the dining area. After breakfast it was back to my room to get into my Daring Do (from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic) cosplay and prepare for the first day of GeekGirlCon. This was GGC's third year and my second year. It also moved from August to October, which is more of a challenge (my October's are crazy-busy) and colder. While there was really thick fog, I was glad that there was no rain and it was not so cold that I couldn't walk to the Conference Center in just my cosplay outfit.

Corrina and I arrived at 9 AM just as the doors were opening, though we didn't have to stand in line since we had panelist passes (and had already picked them up -- from what I saw, most of the line had not taken advantage of the Friday night pick-up). We headed up to the third / top floor where the vendors area is and did a once-through in the first hour before panels got started. There were some familiar faces and booths and some new ones as well. This year there was also a separate Artists' Alley, but more on what I found there later. Corrina and I then split ways.

The first panel I attended was "Turning Your Art Into an Online Business." It was not as helpful or informative as I was hoping it would be. If you already use Etsy or something similar or are selling through your own website and using social media then it didn't have much to offer. If you've never sold online before, then, yes, it was informative. Mainly, the panelists told a little about what they themselves do for their art and it really ranged from trial and error to jumping in the deep end to research. I would also say that only one of them is successfully doing art as business through the Internet. One needs to travel to dozens of conventions through the year, one is sort of just existing, and one is doing it as a side product for their alpaca (or something similar) farm. The successful one makes and sells jewelry using Lego pieces, and she started with a foot in the door since she began making them (for herself) while working for Lego. So yeah, not really helpful to the average artist trying to sell online. They did however mention some alternatives or additions to Etsy (Bigcommerce and Storenvy and Expensify) that I plan on at least checking out, and they suggested not trying to do all types of social media as you'll spend too much time promoting and not enough creating.

That panel was on the lower level (the Conference Center has floors L, 1, 2, and 3). This year the lower level had all the gaming areas and rooms for panels. This was a much better use of space than last year which only had the gaming, and it encouraged more people to check out the gaming opportunities at the con. After that panel I talked to someone at the games for sale booth about two games that looked interesting. I walked through the whole gaming area, taking in the games people were playing. One couple was playing one of the games I'd inquired about, and they confirmed that while it's two person playable, it would really work better with more people. Then I chatted with Keith Baker, creator of Gloom, about the latest expansion and how it's one of the only card games the hubby and I play (partially because it can be played with two players and partially because we love the whole concept and the gothic theme). He's really nice and very personable!

Heading back upstairs, I swung into the Artists' Alley on the second floor for a quick peak before grabbing lunch on the first floor at The Wild Rye Café that's part of the Conference Center. I ate my lunches there last year as well, and it was just as good as I remembered. While at lunch I bumped into Mike Madrid, whose panel I was planning to attend right after eating. I had to point out who I was since I'm in cosplay at this point, but that spurred a bit of cosplay talk then and the next day. He brought me a copy of the final version of Divas, Dames & Daredevils that I reviewed in August, which he had kindly signed for me (and wrapped in awesome comic book wrapping paper).

Standing in the line for Madrid's panel on Divas, Dames & Daredevils I chatted briefly with a girl in an awesome Captain America cosplay about why she chose him. Corrina had brought up her curiosity regarding this, so I took the opportunity to quench my own piqued curiosity. The lady said there were two reasons: 1) she admired that Captain America was good, and she wants to aim to be like that herself, and 2) she enjoyed the challenge of adapting his costume into the dress-uniform she had created. It's always interesting to learn why people select certain cosplays. For instance, I chose Daring Do (my fourth cosplay and my first non-villain character) partially because she's the Indiana Jones of the Ponyverse, so it's kind of like cosplaying two fandoms at once. I was pleasantly surprised with how many people recognized that I was Daring Do specifically (along with the people that realized I was a My Little Pony). I carried a Rainbow Dash plush (that I made) with me as a further play on the show (since Rainbow Dash idolizes Daring Do), which also got some nice complements.

While standing in line I was also able to look over at the new DIY Science Zone. Kids of all ages were able to do fun science-y things like making your own slime, genetic taste tests, coffee ground fossils, and much more. It looked like a lot of fun, but I didn't have a chance to actually try any of it. From what I could tell, some of it was things I'd done in the past, and everything was at a level that young kids could do it with a little supervision and / or help. I was glad to see older participants trying it out, and it seemed quite popular. Another great addition to the con!

Madrid's panel was wonderful. There was a slideshow with images of these vintage supergals. The panel was informative about the book itself, the women in it, and a little on how Madrid was inspired and went about compiling this selection. There was a nice crowd between 50 and 100 people, and it was obvious from reactions to the slides and Madrid's comments that many were intrigued by some of these characters. I'm so glad this book got spotlighted during this con as it really does have some interesting females in it, including some that definitely fall under the "geek girl" umbrella in that they are smart, creative women (scientists, detectives, etc.).

I then had a 30-minute break between panels, which I used to quickly look at more stuff in the vendor's area and Artists' Alley. In hindsight, I should have hurried to my next one and gotten in line (knowing that it had Anita Sarkeesian on the panel), but thankfully there were still a couple seats open when I got down there. All 100 or seats filled before the panel began. The panel was "Female Characters in Game Design," and, along with Sarkeesian, other panelists included Elsa Sjunneson-Henry, Kimbery Voll, Shoshana Kessock, and a moderator. The panel had a lot of good discussion about female characters and minority characters (race, body type, and characters with disabilities). While I don't agree with absolutely everything that was said, it was insightful and interesting. Sarkeesian suggested right off the bat that game designers should "make human beings because women are human beings," which garnered applause and cheering from the room. Sjunneson-Henry, being disabled herself, only contributed that topic to the conversation; to every question she would suggest that they need to make a disabled character. The panel did suggest a number of titles including: Gone Home, Mirrors Edge, Beyond Good and Evil, Portal, Dragon Age, and Mass Effect.

At this point it's 3 PM and I have a full hour to actually do some shopping. I pick up some art and comics and enjoy chatting with creators. I still have not had a chance to read everything I picked up at GGC, but they are sitting out for easy access. I discovered an artist in Artists' Alley whose art I fell in love with: Chelsea Hemphill. I commissioned her for a quick sketch ($3 for 3 minutes) where she drew some spider and spider-dragon art for me with a hilarious caption. It's my favorite piece from the whole con. I vowed to return the next day (more on that later).

At 4 PM, I attended a panel called "Let's Make a Game Right Now," hosted by gamer developers from Ubisoft. They explained that games have three aspects: mechanics (what does the player do?), a goal (how does the player win?), and the experience (what does the player get out of it?). The mechanics is one of the most difficult parts to come up with and make interesting, challenging, and fair. To illustrate this, they had us pair up in the room with pencils and paper to reinvent the game of Tic-Tac-Toe. Simple, right? Not exactly. We tried half-a-dozen suggestions from the audience, including one of mine, to change the rules and board size. I had a very nice gentleman as my partner, and we had fun and found it intriguing. Most of the panel was spent this way. At the end, the panelists told us that if we want to work in the game industry we should make games and focus on the mechanics first, so it can meet in the middle with the story (which is easy to come up with). The panel was not what I expected, but it was well done and enjoyable. I like that it had the audience actively participating and stimulating our brains.

I was originally planning to attend a panel called "Girl Power: When the Ladies Team Up" next, but it was cancelled last minute. While I was disappointed, this hour opening in my schedule did allow me to get dinner -- something that otherwise would not have fit in my schedule for this particular day. It was back to The Wild Rye for dinner, then once more through the vendor's area before attending a panel called "Crowdfunding Without Losing Your Mind."

Not knowing anything about crowdfunding, but being curious about it, I found this panel quite informative. There was a ton of good advice for newbies and those who have crowdfunded before. Here are some highlights that I jotted down. Crowdfunding is a lot of work (basically a full-time job itself), and you're either working on product or crowdfunding. There's lots of interaction with backers, and it's a good idea to have someone with no emotional connection to the project be the contact person that handles all that (budget that person into the overall funding goal). Don't check on it 24/7, set specific times / days to check it, don't over-promise, be careful with stretch goals, and plan, plan, plan! It was suggested to take a budget for time and money that is realistic and double it, especially with stretch goals as more backers means more upgrades, which means more time needed to get things done. Include shipping and packing and a team to help with fulfillment in your goals, and be upfront with backers about any delays. Backers are buying into the creative process and interaction with the creator as well as the product. This panel was well done and highly informative. It fit with GGC in that so many creators are turning to crowdfunding to get their creations made and out into the world.

Next, I sat through most of "The New Female Fantasy Hero," supposedly discussing female fantasy heroes in YA books. I felt very out of the loop in the small, intimate crowd of 20 or so audience members, and authors that were on the panel mentioned I had never heard of, but I was obviously the only one in the room. It was all going over my head since I didn't know who they were talking about and the panelists wanted a discussion with the audience rather than being up there and talking. So, I left about halfway through or a little more.

Leaving early allowed me to get a good seat for the parody / improv act, "Where No Man Has Gone Before." The doors to the room where open and a couple people in there while the actors were warming up, so I went right in. I overheard a staff member later make a comment about letting people in (who I guess were in a line I didn't see -- there was no line outside the room or a sign for a line) since people were already in the room. The audience filled about half the room -- a good showing of 50 to 100 people at 8 PM.

The show was hilarious! The ensign came out first for suggestions from the audience to fit into the overall plot. The planet: Spaghetti. What the inhabitants worship: table tennis. Spock has a problem with: holding his liquor (though this one didn't really get used in the skit). The actors played Captain Kirk (complete with stilted speech), Spock, an ensign (a red shirt who died of course), and two natives, one of which is a beautiful girl that Kirk kisses several times (resulting in laughter because of the perfect timing and how it fits his character). The actors were part of the Seattle Experimental Theater, which had its own panel on Sunday (that I did not attend). Last year's con included an improv show as well, and this is another trend I hope continues.

From there, myself and many others in the room went across the hall to the other large room on the third floor for "Show Me How to Nerdlesque." IDs were checked because of the adult nature, though nothing beyond pictures in the slideshow showed skin. The panelists included familiar faces from the Nerdlesque scene, especially for those that attended the Friday night burlesque show: Jo Jo Stiletto, Rebecca Mm Davis, Sailor St. Claire, and Scarlet O'Hairdye. A little history on burlesque and Nerdlesque was provided, then began some tips, demonstrations, and encouragement of the audience to try some things. It was quite informative and a lot of fun. At one point they asked the audience members to partner up and, while looking each other in the eye, playfully remove something you yourself are wearing to reveal something else. A young woman sitting behind me really wanted to try, so I partnered with her so she could remove one of her gloves (from her Poison Ivy cosplay). It's a really personal experience, even for such a small "reveal," to open yourself like that to someone else, looking them in the eyes, and doing something you're not used to doing. They didn't give us much time to try this out before moving on, so I did no reveal myself, but I'm glad to have participated in one role.

That concluded GGC day one for me, ending at 10:20 PM. There was one other panel that got out that late and one that finished at 10:50 PM. Back to the hotel to hang up the cosplay and get some sleep before another busy day.

Sunday October 20, 2013

Sunday began with the same early breakfast but no cosplay for me as I didn't want to be in cosplay for the Sequential Tart panel. Doors opened again at 9 AM, and I arrived shortly thereafter with just under an hour to go through the vendors area again before the first panel of the day: "Romance is a Feminist Genre." Corrina Lawson was one of the panelists and Tart Suzette was the moderator. I've always kind of turned my nose up at the romance genre, but talking with Corrina had intrigued me enough to attend this panel. I learned that there's much more to the genre than I realized. The panelists pointed out that the romance genre suffers from many misconceptions. In romance, women often rescue themselves, everybody wins (unless you're really bad), and there are many subgenres like fantasy, paranormal, regency, and historical. It seems that most romance writers are women themselves, and Corrina pointed out that "when women write books, they don't forget to put more than one woman in it." That's a very important and true point, and a story with more than one strong female in it is something most (if not all) attendees of GGC clamor for. While I may not be rushing out to try a whole bunch of romance, I'm definitely more open to it and willing to give it a try.

After this panel, I had an hour to get a bite to eat, and I went back to artist Chelsea Hemphill for two more quick sketches. Then I prepared myself for the ST panel, "Women in Comics: What's Left to Do?" The panelists comprised of former Tart Corrina, Tarts Suzette and Stephanie, and me. I acted as the moderator as well. We posed five questions to ourselves then opened the floor for questions from the audience. Our prepared questions were:

When we talk about gender and comics, are the particulars the same as they were 5, 10, 15 years ago?
How can the current state of Women in Comics be improved (both characters and creators)?
What's changed in terms of the material we cover? (the content and accessibility of comics, manga, etc.)
Why is it important to do reviews?
What do we see as positive comics / trends?

Our responses covered some of the good and bad we see in comics today, including that a lot of the positive stuff we see is in indie comics, small publishers, and self-publishers. Those same indie comics are often easy to obtain online and in forms other than hardcopies, though word of mouth is really what spreads them. Reviews are important if done correctly because they are constructive criticism that explains why something is good or not. That's something we at Sequential Tart strive for in our reviews, and it's a point that seemed to hit home with the audience. So often at conventions the only feedback we hear for questions like "how do we get something changed in the industry?" (like female character representation) is to go forth and create. Later this day, Mike Madrid and I spoke on this topic, concluding that not everyone can create … nor should they. Doing constructive reviews is a great way to provide a catalyst for change in the industry no matter your own skill level as a creator.

During our panel, I made sure to plug titles I felt were doing a good job at providing the change and growth to comics that people are wanting. These include PrinceLess, Man of Tango, Huntress (the six-issue release that came out at the same time as the New 52), and Dungeons & Dragons (and IDW in general). I also brought up Greg Rucka's advice from his panel last year: to vote with our dollars (buy comics doing stuff you like and don't buy comics that aren't -- even if that means not buying a comic with a character you like) and sending actual letters in the mail to publishers and editors. The audience of 20 to 30 people latched onto the concept of voting with your dollars, and had a few questions relating to it.

After the panel, I took a few minutes to speak with a few people further before hurrying from the lower level to the third floor for "Spotlight on Kelly Sue DeConnick," which was a room of a couple hundred people. There was talk of her upcoming works Pretty Deadly (which sounds awesome) and Captain Marvel. DeConnick gave some advice for writers as well. She suggested reverse-engineering a comic you like -- trying to make a script from a finished comic. She also said "If you can take a woman in your comic and replace her with a sexy lamp and the plot still functions then fuck you." Her strong feelings were often colored by the f-bomb throughout the panel, but she goes on to explain that if the you apply the sexy lamp test and find that you can replace a woman then you need to rewrite.

I was originally planning to attend some additional panels that afternoon, but I was paneled out. It didn't help that DeConnick gave the same advice I was hearing at several panels, the aforementioned "create." It was after this panel that I ran into Madrid and we had a little chat on the "create" advice, cosplay, and GGC in general. I took one last run through the vendor's area spending a few minutes chatting with Matt Youngmark (confirming that his third Chooseomatic book is due out hopefully in December) and Rebecca Hicks of Little Vampires, whose stuff is very cute and funny (I had to get the print and book this year that I had no budget for last year).

Then, I took a small break to just sit down, relax, and call my hubby (imaging that -- a break!). I told my hubby about my love for Chelsea Hemphill's artwork and he, knowing how I love to support artists and small businesses, said if I still had money in my spending budget to go back. And that's exactly what I did. I spent an hour or so chatting with Hemphill while she finished some sketches for a couple of people ahead of me and then did several more for me, this time with a bit more color and time spent on them. I plan to put all of the pieces into one frame like a collage as they are all different sizes cut from standard 8.5" by 11" paper. She has a new fan for life!

The closing celebration was set for 5:30 PM to 7 PM. Shortly before that Suzette, Stephanie, Corrina, and I got a group picture in front of the "GGC" photo backdrop. Corrina and I then headed into the room where the closing celebration was scheduled, catching the last two songs of the "Ladies of the 80's Sing Along" where the audience was singing and dancing to music videos of classic 80's music. The last song was Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart," and if you've never seen the music video in all it's hilarious strangeness, go find it on YouTube and watch it. Last year's closing celebration lasted the full time and included a preview screening of Wonder Women, so I expected something equally as awesome this year. However, this year's was a surprisingly quick and uneventful closing. The Doubleclicks performed their geek girl-inspired song "Nothing to Prove," a quick thank you was said for the staff and volunteers, and next year's date was announced. That was it. I was a bit let down, and honestly a little annoyed that the official schedule had an hour and a half for something that took less than 30 minutes. I had planned my departure from Seattle based on not finishing the con till later, and if I had known it was going to be that quick I would have picked an earlier flight out. As it was Corrina and I spent the extra time enjoying a yummy pastry and warm drinks before picking up our luggage at the hotel and catching the light rail to the airport.

Overall, this year's GeekGirlCon was a raving success. It was bigger with a better use of the same space, included new things (like the DIY Science Zone), and had familiar faces as well as new. There was a huge variety of panels; the ones I attended only scratched the surface of what was available. It celebrates women in all roles of geek culture and is largely attended by women, but is a convention open to all -- our geekdom brings us together. I had so much fun, just like last year, and I plan to attend next year on October 11 and 12, 2014.

GeekGirlCon Official Site