Even though the weather is still playing strange tricks, it’s time to get out to some science fiction-related gatherings.
During the next few months, that includes Indiana Comic Con, Indy Pop Con, InConJunction and, yes, even a few presentations I’ll be giving.
One of the first of the upcoming events is Indiana Comic Con, which is April 29 to 31 at the Indianapolis Convention Center. That gathering will include celebrity presentations (and signings), music, a film festival, improvisation, cosplay, lots of exhibitors and more.
Among the actors and other celebrities attending will be Brent Spiner,
Brent Spiner as Data
best known for his role as Data on Star Trek: the Next Generation; John Rhys-Daviess, the Lord of the Rings films; Ian McDiarmid, Star Wars; Jack Gleeson, Game of Thrones; Ray Park, Heroes and Star Wars; and Lea Thompson, from Back to the Future; and more.
For more information about Indiana Comic Con, visit indianacomiccon.com/
Indy Popcon is June 17 to 19, also at the Indianapolis Convention Center. Its guests will include Michael Hogan, Battlestar Galactica; Karen Gillan, Doctor Who and Guardians of the Galaxy; Jennifer Hale, Avatar and Star Wars; Nolan North, Deadpool; and Catherine Mary Stewart, The Last Starfighter. Multiple other actors, cosplayers, game players, scientists, critics, and artists will be in the convention center for the event.
Karen Gillan. Photo by Ronald Hawkins.
In addition to the guests, Indy Popcon will include panels, anime, films and interactive opportunities. For more information about PopCon, go to indypopcon.com/
For those of you wondering if I’ll be giving another “Science Fiction: Imagination, Fun and Intellect” presentation, the answer is yes. The next event will be at 1:30 p.m. April 23 in the Waverly branch of the Morgan County Public Library, 9410 Ind. 144 near the Ind. 37 intersection. The presentation will include a couple of my homemade videos, an exhibit and a trivia contest with prizes. The prizes will include a Doctor Who audio adventure from Big Finish, courtesy of Who North America, several DVDs, a Star Wars jigsaw puzzle and more. The library phone number is 317-422-9915.
I’m planning a similar presentation for Oct. 8 in the Mooresville Public Library.
But before October, I will be making presentations at InConJunction on our changing views of Mars in SF literature and films as well as moderating a session on utopia/dystopias in science fiction.
Matt Damon pondering the Martian landscape.
Getting off the self-promotion bandwagon now, there will be much bigger names in SF than me at InConJunction.
Rockne S. O’Bannon will be this year’s media guests of honor. A screenwriter, director and showrunner, O’Bannon’s credits include creating Defiance, Farscape, Alien Nation, Revolution and Constantine.
Simon Morden will be this year’s author guest of honor. He is an actual rocket scientist with degrees in geology and planetary geophysics. His writing credits include winning the Philip K. Dick Award for the first three Petrovitch books, Another War, the Lost Art, and Bell Book and Candle.
Morden also has been an editor of the British Science Fiction Association’s writers’ magazine Focus, a judge for the Arthur C. Clarke award and a regular speaker at the Greenbelt Arts Festival on matters of faith and fiction.
Former guests of honor Arlan K. Andrews Sr. and Keith R. A. DeCandido will be among the multiple other fascinating guests.
For more information about the wide variety of activities and other guests, visit inconjunction.org.
