C2E2 2020. Photo: Marielle Bokor So, did you pull up a nice slice of couch and learn some things yesterday? We sure hope so, as the goals and messages of some of the panels we covered in Wednesday’s kickoff to our guides to Comic-Con@Home are the kind of thing that could actually save the world. Today’s schedule reflects a sort of opening of the floodgates to all types of content with panels beginning at 10 am PDT or noon our time here in Chicago, and it’s full to the brim with fun, informative, even inspiring stuff as well as celebrity appearances and exciting announcements, so let’s not waste too much time before we get down to it, eh? C2E2 2020. Photo: Marielle Bokor

Thursday, July 23rd:

Like we mentioned, things kick off earlier today and there’s even more paths to take, and all the action begins at 10:00 AM PDT (12:00 PM CDT). Let’s peruse our con life choices then.  C2E2 2020. Photo: Marielle Bokor At 10:00 AM PDT (12:00 PM CDT): If you’re an artist and/or a social activist you will want to tune in for Art and the Holocaust, which looks at a sampling of the art and propaganda during WWII in the states and in Nazi Germany, as well as works of art created by survivors of the Holocaust after the war. The panel is put on by Stephen D Smith of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute and features Miriam Katin, a graphic novelist and artist who is also a Holocaust survivor as well as author Sandra Scheller, also the Holocaust educator and creator of the RUTH (Remember Us, the Holocaust) exhibit and founder of the Generations of the Shoah International and WWII historian Matt Dunford, who is also the chairman of San Diego Comic Fest.  OR If you’re a fan of anime, you’ll want to be tuning in for the Crunchyroll Industry Panel with Crunchyroll’s director of events Adam Sheehan and events manager Lauren Stevens. These panels never fail to deliver exciting new announcements to fans and this panel will also include special prize giveaways and “virtual goodies” so if you love anime you shouldn’t miss out.  OR If you’re a nerd about video games or a gamer who wants to learn more,  you should check out P.S. NPC: Storytelling in Video Games, which features a full panel of game devs discussing how they create immersive stories. Guests are Sam Maggs of Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, Jill Scharr of Destiny 2, Shayna Moon of God of War 2018, Charles Beacham of Blankos Block Party as well as Milo Smiley of Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Megan Fausti of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. This panel represents a ton of amazing talent from some of the best of multiple genres and whether you’re a fan of these games or not you will likely find something to love here.  OR Gamers can check out the Transforming Together Time: Family Gaming and the Future of Play which looks at the influence of video games on our culture and creativity over the decades and the way that families are playing together now more than ever before. That panel will feature Tommy Tallarico, the president and CEO of Intellivision as well as Tommy Palm, the CEO of Resolution Games and connected experiences innovator Valerie Vacante of LiveArea//Collabsco and center on how creators are making new experiences for families to enjoy and what to expect in the future for families who love to game together. BUT  If your loyalties fall squarely with Starfleet, you’ll want to beam into the Star Trek Universe Virtual Panel which also represents the most star studded (no pun intended) panel yet, with scheduled appearances by Star Trek: Discovery cast members Sonequa Martin-Green, Michelle Yeoh, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, Wilson Cruz, Mary Chieffo, Tig Notaro, Alan Van Sprang, Jayne Brook, Emily Coutts, Oyin Oladejo, Patrick Kwok-Choon, Ronnie Rowe Jr., and Sarah Mittich, as well as upcoming Star Trek: Strange New World cast members Anson Mount, Rebecca Romijn, and Ethan Peck as well as executive producers Michelle Paradise and Olatunde Osunsanmi But the panel doesn’t stop with the Discovery and Strange New Worlds cast, instead going warp speed to include upcoming Star Trek IP Star Trek: Lower Decks’ cast of voice actors to include Tawny Newsome, Jack Quaid, Noel Wells, Eugene Cordero, Dawnn Lewis, Fred Tatasciore and Gillian Vigman. Finally, they “make it so” good with the cherry on top--the cast of Star Trek: Picard to discuss the first season for the first time post-finale. Guests include the man himself, Patrick Stewart, as well as leads Alison Pill, Isa Briones, Evan Evagora, Michelle Hurd, Santiago Cabrera, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Del Arco, Jonathan Frakes, Jeri Ryan and Marina Sirtis.  Are you starting to pick up the enormity of Comic-Con@Home? We sure are. Let’s take a second to collect ourselves and get ready for the 11 am fare! C2E2 2020. Photo: Marielle Bokor 11:00 AM PDT (1:00 PM CDT) If you think science rules and you’d love to blind some people with your knowledge and passion for it, you might want to check out Hollyweird Science: Creativity Correctness and Collaboration. This panel looks at the depiction of science and scientists in TV and film just like the Hollyweird Science series explore these same and how the science compares to the real life version, for good or for bad--even when “it’s wrong for the right reasons.” This panel features Ashley E Miller of Black Sails, Nicole Perlman of Guardians of the Galaxy and Captain Marvel, Deric A Hughes of The Flash, Helen Stringer of Spellbinder, Stephen Cass senior editor at IEEE Spectrum, Jessica Cail, Ph.D, of Agents of Shield and Zootopia and Kevin Grazier, Ph.D. of Gravity, with mod Jenna Busch of Cocktails with Stan and Psych Geeks. OTHERWISE If you’re feeling bookish and love to read, check out the very first spotlight panel which features Shannon Messenger of the insanely popular Keeper of the Lost Cities book series  in conversation with J.C. Cervantes of The Storm Runner series. Let’s keep up with it all and continue right on into the noon hour for our Pacific Coast friends and the after lunch lull for us here in Chicago. 12:00 PM PDT (2:00 CDT) If you’re a Trekkie you’ll want to settle in for All the Starfleet Ladies: Then and Now which celebrates all the women that have made Star Trek great, from Uhura to Janeway to Burnham and Seven of Nine. This panel will also look at how these women fit into the larger universe of the novels and guests include Una McCormack, author of Picard: The Last Best Hope, Swapna Krishna, a “space, tech and pop culture journalist,” author Cassandra Rose Clarke, and LJ Jackson the publicity manager at Saga Press with moderator and editor at StarTrek.com. OR It might be time for another cartoo-oo-oon and if so you’ll want to be watching the Cartoon Network Studios First Look panel. As the name implies, this is where cartoon fans can get the latest on what’s to come on Cartoon Network. This panel features voice actors Philip Solomon and Lucia Cunningham of Emmy nominated Craig of the Creek and promises special announcements and exclusive clips from favorites like Apple & Onion, Ben 10 vs. The Universe: The Movie, Craig of the Creek, Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart, Victor and Valentino, and We Bare Bears The Movie. BUT If you’re one of those TV lovers that has to constantly tell Netflix you’re still alive, you’re gonna want to try out the ol’ YouTube app on your Smart TV and go to the From Script to Screen: Behind the Scenes of Your Favorite Film & TV Shows panel which has Devin Burrows, composer from The Wretched, Chad Rehmann from Camp Cold Brook, Ian Chen of Green Door, makeup designer Burton LeBlanc of Handmaid’s Tale screenwriter/director/editor Tirsa Hackshaw of Jessica Jones and cinematographer Catherine Lutes of Anne with an E and moderated by Danielle Harris of the Halloween Franchise. Moving right along, it’s the 1:00 PM lineup.  At 1:00 PM PDT (3:00 PM CDT)  Anyone who’s a big Disney or Marvel Fan and who’s loving Disney+  you shouldn’t miss their panel, A Look Inside “Marvel’s 616” on Disney+ which aims to do just that and take a look at its stories, characters and creation and features directors Gillian Jacobs and Paul Scheer and executive producers Sarah Amos and Jason Sterman and will be moderated by Angelique Roche.  OR If you’re familiar with His Dark Materials and want to deep dive you can attend the His Dark Materials Virtual Panel and Q&A Session which features exec producers Jane Tranter and Jack Thorne and cast members Dafne Keen, Ruth Wilson, Ariyon Bakare, Amir Wilson, Andrew Scott and Lin-Manuel Miranda all moderated by Stacey Wilson Hunt. OR If you really love toys, especially action figures, don’t miss out on So you want to make an Action Figure, a Conversation with today’s Indie Toy Makers. It’ll feature industry giants like Chris Gawrych from Amazo Toys, Brian Flynn from Super7, JE Russell and Paul Mundheim from Chicken Fried Toys, Craig Owen from Zica Toys, and Paul Wolf from The Fwoosh/ Articulated Icons on toy tech, advances in technology and how to get started if you want to create toys. Are you tired yet? Well, freshen up because it’s time to keep the enthusiasm and snacks coming for the 2 pm hour, or, y’know, the last stretch before work’s over and you can admit you’re watching panels instead of doing your job. Shhh, we won’t tell. At 2:00 PM PDT (4:00 PM CDT) Long about 2 pm in sunny California and 4 our time it’s the hour for artists and tabletop gamers to rejoice and make some tough choices. Get your ducks in a row and your erasers too and jump into Artist Bootcamp by DeviantArt which features Artist Alley favorites Jeffrey “the CHAMBA” Cruz, Edwin “ironpinky” Huang, and John “Overlord_JC” Crayton and moderated by Matt “ggMattB” Buchholtz, DeviantArt’s social media head. MEANWHILE Tabletop gamers are going to have to pull off some epic feats and hope their stamina is high enough to get through this hour and make off with the loot because there are two pretty amazing panels to choose from, beginning with The Adventure Zone: Petals to the Metal Graphic Novel panel which will discuss the third graphic novel based on the incredibly awesome and also extremely popular RPG podcast from the McElroy brothers. The panel will feature Clint McElroy, Travis McElroy and Griffin McElroy as well as the co-adapter and illustrator for the graphic novel Carey Pietsch, and is moderated by Satine Phoenix of Gilding Light.  BUT  Over in another village, there’s an All Star Old School D&D Adventure with Legion M’s David Baxter hosting a 1E D&D run with legendary DM Stefan Pokorny of Dwarven Forge and featuring celebrity players like Luke Gygax, Joe Manganiello, Satine Phoenix, and Elisa Teague.  Then, rejoice because even though it’s only 3pm in California it’s 5:00 somewhere and that somewhere is right here. And what is it time for? THE LIGHTNING ROUND! At 3:00 PM PDT (5:00 PM CDT)  You can get some more science in your day with The Science of Back to the Future  OR  Educate yourself on the things that matter and check out Afro-Futurism and Black Religion: Connecting Imaginations At 4:00 PM PDT (6:00 PM CDT)  If you love Bugs Bunny--and really, who doesn’t, you should not miss Bugs Bunny’s 80th Anniversary Extravaganza  UNLESS You would rather delve into the bleeding edge of tech in games with ASC: Sketch to Screen: VR/AR/Gaming & Beyond. By this time it’s 5:00 there, and while that means quitting time to some, Comic-Con@Home cannot be stopped. At 5:00 PM PDT (7:00 CDT) LGBTQIA+ folks will find community and discussion with LGBTQ Characters on Television-What’s Next which will look at representation, goals and the future of LGBTQ representation with Jamie Chung of Once Upon A Time, Jamie Clayton from Roswell: New Mexico, Wilson Cruz from Star Trek: Discovery, Tatiana Maslany of Perry Mason, Anthony Rapp of Star Trek: Discovery, J. August Richards of Council of Dads and Harry Shum Jr. of Shadowhunters, Brian Michael Smith of 9-1-1: Lone Star and moderated by Jim Halterman of TV Guide magazine. Van Helsing fans will be treated to a Van Helsing Season 4 Comic-Con and runs the gamut of cast members: Kelly Overton, Jonathan Scarfe, Tricia Helfer, Jennifer Cheon Garcia, Aleks Paunovic, Keeya King, Nicole Munoz, Jonathan Lloyd Walker, Chad Oakes, Mike Frislev, Morris Chapdelaine.  OR  If you’re all about the comics, make sure to be in your easy chair for the Image Comics Spotlight where Comic-Con@Home teases giving viewers the scoop on an exciting new project “by a best-selling powerhouse creative team” so if you want to be the first to know, be there.  Rounding out the day (though there are panels til ten PDT you can check out here) we roll right on into the 6:00 hour At 6:00 PDT (8:00 CDT) here’s the scoop Everybody loves Kung Fu fighting and if you’re ready, you can be a part of the 23rd Annual San Diego Comic Con Superhero Kung Fu Extravaganza, which is a celebration of the most amazing action scenes and a tradition at the con. Look for Ric Meyers of Films of Fury, Frank Djent of Iron Fists, Eric Jacobus of God of War, Chris Mancini of Rise of the Kung Fu Dragon Master Jan Lucanus of Justice for Hire, with special guests Peter Pham and Scott Adkins.  OR  If you’re a dyed in the wool MSTie, it’s time for you to catch the Mystery Science Theater 3000: A Panel Panorama which features Erik Adams of The AV Club leading a discussion with Joel Hodgson, Bill Corbett and J. Elvis Weinstein.  That’ll do it for today’s guide. Don’t forget to check the full schedule for even more paths you can take and stay tuned for tomorrow’s guide, cuz we’re just gearing up. And by the way, while panels won't be available til their scheduled timeslot, they will be available after, so if there's anything you missed you want to see--check it out anyway! The virtual life does have its perks. See you tomorrow!