Here's my schedule for Boskone, Feb 9-11:
Erin Underwood, Gillian Daniels, Jack Cullen, James Bacon, Steven Dooner
For superheroes to seem heroic, we want them to fight evil while remaining above the moral fray. But in many cases—in comics and comic movies—superheroes cross moral lines. How do we ethically evaluate when heroes act immorally, like Batman torturing villains, Wanda holding an entire town hostage, or Wonder Woman sexually assaulting a mind-controlled bystander? How can we talk about these stories in a way that holds heroes accountable?
Saturday 11:30am Pre-Pulp Short SFFH Marina IV (60 mins)
Darrell Schweitzer, F. Brett Cox, Gillian Daniels, Michael Swanwick, Theodora Goss
Mary Shelley created one of the first science fiction novels in 1818, but for most of the 19th century and on into the early 20th century SFFH short stories were the dominant form for the genre. Authors as diverse as Ambrose Bierce, Mark Twain, and W.E.B. DuBois all wrote stories that could be classified as SFFH. We'll explore their works as well as the works of others that contributed to the genre and discuss how they laid the background for the explosion of science fiction in the early 20th century.
Saturday 2:30pm The Appeal of Unappealing Characters Marina III (60 mins)
Chris Panatier, Gillian Daniels, Mur Lafferty, Scott Lynch
What is it about those grim and gritty characters or those sly and mischievous people in fiction that satisfies our literary appetite? Why are these less-than-savory characters so compelling? Why are readers drawn to them, even as they are repelled? Our panelists share their favorite unpleasant characters to illustrate some unpleasant points.
Saturday 4pm Reading--Gillian Daniels--Galleria - Cabaret (25 mins)
