WE ARE ALL STORIES IN THE END
Day three of Dragon Con begins with a round of guest interviews that quickly becomes the highlight of my con. Ashley Pauls and I first speak to Timothy Zahn who writes for the Stars Wars universe among many other projects. He is engaging and thoughtful and clearly loves what he does.
Tom Bancroft is equally passionate about animation and character design. His description of creating Mushu the dragon in Mulan is fascinating and we listen with delight as he gives great insight into how animated characters come to life.
Robert Hendrickson is an illustrator known for his depiction of Star Wars and other characters. His gorgeous compositions and distinctive way of handling light and shadow lend his work an epic feel that brings back the fading art of hand painted movie posters.
Kim Steadman is a Tactical Uplink Lead and Systems engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She worked on the Cassini mission to Saturn, the Mars Opportunity and Curiosity rovers, and is currently working on the Mars 2020 rover. She is eager to share her love of space exploration with the public and passionate about encouraging girls to enter the STEM fields.
The defining characteristic of every one of our interviewees is they not only love what they do they want to share that joy and excitement with the world. They weren’t just at the convention as guests they were living it. They all had stories about their own con adventures and meeting their own heroes. They are fans too.
Day Four is filled with panels on everything from Big Finish audios to Sherlock and a hilarious puppet show by Felt Nerdy. Earth Station Who led a lively discussion on the Twelfth Doctor and a bit of speculation on what Thirteen may bring. The audience was filled with enthusiastic Whovians and we all had a great time debating the merits of our favorite Time Lords.
As my time in Atlanta draws to a close I’m left with an immense sense of gratitude that things like this still exist in the world. Dragon Con is a beacon of light in a time of encroaching darkness. We need to be reminded that beauty and creativity still exist when so many voices are trying to convince us otherwise. I’m exhausted but in the best possible way. I feel a renewed sense of determination to embrace the unknown rather than fear it and continue to honor and celebrate all the stories not just my own.
