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Another Queer Year at San Diego Comic-Con

This past week, I hopped into my increasingly dirty Prius and drove down to San Diego Comic-Con, aka the mecca of all things geek. I was excited to go, not just because of my major league nerdery, but because I was speaking on a panel Thursday night: the LGBTQ Year in Review. This was my second year speaking on the panel, and I was excited to dive into all the noteworthy geeky/gay events. My topic was Clexa and the rise of #LGBTFansDeserveBetter. Check out my ramblings on video!

Comic-Con can be a frustrating experience, especially if you set out to hit up all the queer panels and events. Spoiler alert: you won’t make it. Because the Con is so popular and overpacked, there is at least a two-hour wait for most panels. Unless you have a crack team of queers with walkie-talkies reserving you seats ahead of time, you’re pretty much shit out of luck.

But what an embarrassment of gay riches: There was a Steven Universe panel and sing-a-long, where creator Rebecca Sugar came out as bisexual! There was an entire panel on bisexuality and representation, a look back at queer history in comics, a spotlight on Love and Rockets, and several meet-ups for gaymers and LGBTQ cosplayers.

And that doesn’t include the panels for your favorite queer genre shows: Orphan Black, The 100, Wynonna Earp, and many more featured teasers for their upcoming seasons. Real life queer ladies like Cara Delevingne showed up to promote the upcoming Suicide Squad film. And the cosplay…sweet muppety Odin the cosplay! There were so many fans dressed as Waverly and Officer Haught from Wynonna Earp I could barely handle it.

Getting #WayHaught with @WafflesonFace and @aparadoxinflux

And look at this BB-8/Finn couple, how cute are they?

It’s 2016, and we have not just one, but multiple queer characters to cosplay as. Every time I saw a Holtzmann, a Lexa, or an Officer Haught, my little geek heart swelled with pride.

Finally, I went to the panel commemorating 75 years of Wonder Woman. I staked out my seat early, sat through panels I knew nothing about, and wore my plastic crown proudly, despite it leaving indent marks on my face that lasted for hours (I’m sure Wonder Woman doesn’t have this problem). I got to see the trailer for Wonder Woman, which stirred up all my baby gay feels. And I got to see Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot, speak about the movie. She looked into the audience, and we locked eyes, sharing a brief but powerful psychic connection. Here’s how it went down:

Gal Gadot: Shalom, Chelsea. I see your Jewish, queer nerdiness radiating off you like the light from my magic lasso.

Me: I love you, tall Amazonian Israeli princess. Please give us a good female-driven comic book film so the fanboys can shut the fuck up.

Gal Gadot: It is the will of Hippolyta that this movie will be fucking epic. Now please stop sweating profusely, you’re scaring the children.

Me: I CAN’T AND I WON’T.

And that’s Comic-Con in a nutshell: warrior princesses, geeked out fans, heavy sweating, and endless free tote bags. I arrived home exhausted, with a bagful of comics, a weekend full of memories, and a Jillian Holtzmann Funko Pop figure. Stay nerdy, San Diego.

Thanks to @LindseySalls for filming the panel, and for giving me LaCroix and talking nerdy with me!

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