LOGO Hits Up Gaylaxicon Sci-Fi Convention in Atlanta!

-- by Marc Leonard, Sr. VP of Multi-Platform programming at Logo

It’s no secret that there are legions of big, homo sci-fi/fantasy/horror and gaming fans out there. And as evidence, this past weekend saw the 19th annual Gaylaxicon—the three-day international LGBT sci-fi, fantasy, horror and gaming convention—take over the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel in downtown Atlanta. Hundreds of gays were on hand to meet up (and dress up!) for panels, dances, films, live music, and gaming.

Some of the queer and queer-friendly celebs appearing as guests this year included David Gerrold, a veteran sci-fi writer whose initial claim to fame was scribing the famous “Trouble With Tribbles” episode of Star Trek. (John and Joan Cusack will star in an already buzzworthy film based on Gerrold's book about his own adopted son, called The Martian Child.)

Gay Buffy fans will recognize this year's Artist Guest of Honor, Georges Jeanty, the artist on the Season 8 Buffy The Vampire Slayer comic series. Also on hand were members of the casts of the fan-generated (and gay-inclusive!) online Star Trek series.

Gays in-the-know at Gaylaxicon were abuzz about TV's biggest sci-fi season ever. Thanks to the success of series like Lost and Heroes, there was a ton to buzz about. While everyone agreed that returning series Lost, Heroes, Battlestar Galactica and the new Doctor Who are definite wins, the jury was still out on some of the new series. Both men and women expressed cautious optimism about NBC's new Bionic Woman, and while nobody seemed to be digging Sci-Fi Channel's remake of Flash Gordon, the guys seemed to enjoy sexy lead Eric Johnson. Women were all about Katee Sackhoff, known to Galactica fans as Starbuck, and apparently unanimously determined to be the best thing about Bionic Woman.

The honor of biggest hit at Gaylaxicon this year though went to BBC America's Torchwood with sexy bisexual lead Jack Harkness (played by out actor John Barrowman).

When asked about what's up and coming the most common answer was The Golden Compass, the new Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig film out this December.

Galactica fans were also hotly anticipating the new made-for-TV film Razor, the final season of Battlestar Galactica, and the possibility of the new prequel series, Caprica. And of course everyone had an opinion about the upcoming Star Trek prequel film from J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias) and starring Zachary Quinto (Heroes).

In video games everyone seemed to be playing Bioshock and gushing about the stunning visuals and unique design. Quite a few gamers were still playing Guitar Hero 2, some during the con, and there was anticipation for the upcoming Rock Band which adds a bass, drum kit, and vocals to the mix. And for the record when asked who's going to win the console wars, this crowd unanimously went with the Wii. A number of authors and publishers of LGBT sci-fi were present to represent their works and speak on panels.

Toastmistress Selina Rosen of Yard Dog Press was the life of the con at the panels, in the halls and working her booth along with her lovely wife of 16 years. Selina's bio describes her as writer, farmer, gardener, carpenter, rock mason, electrician, Torah scholar and sword-fighter.

Next door we met Kiernan Kelly, writer of gay men's erotica, who was working the booth with her out gay son Leo and her husband and daughter.

Gaylaxicon also saw a preview of the exciting upcoming LGBT sci-fi Web site DoorQ, an online community for fans of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror launching this Halloween.

We met the pansexual folks from Frolicon who were on hand to host some fun events and promote their upcoming March event in Atlanta, an annual adult oriented (21+) sci-fi convention.

Timothy Caswell, film maker and Program Director for OUTer Film Fest was also on hand to promote the Gay and Lesbian Science Fiction / Fantasy Film Festival, held annually in Austin, Texas.

And we save the shameless self-promotion for last! Check out interviews with all the above people, and for more on everything going on in sci-fi, animation, horror, comics, and video games, check out Logo's upcoming new series Alien Boot Camp, premiering Friday October 26th at 10pm and airing Fridays at 10pm this fall on Logo. The series is a collection of short and long-form animation covering everything from queer superheroes to gay anime to inexplicable weird stuff we love and wrapped with interviews with sci-fi power gays from Comic Con and Gaylaxicon.

Comments

[Bob S. Laquer]

It was great exposure for future Gaylaxicons, for Gaylaxicon 2007, and for the Atlanta Outworlders who made this con happen.

Correction: Gaylaxicon 2007 was a four day event. Frolicon is NOT a sci-fi convention. The adult part is correct though.

[Bruce Berryhill]

This con was cool. I loved meeting all the fans and guests as they came through registration. If you've never had the opportunity to meet or attend one of Selina Rosen's panels then you're missing out on the best damn humor I've heard or seen in ages.

I'm certainly considering going to next year's Gaylaxicon in D.C. But if I can't then I'll wait until it swings our way again.

Bruce

[Alan Siler]

Hey Marc! Thanks so much for posting this review of our convention! It was a real pleasure to meet you and the LOGO staff and have you at our con this weekend. I'm glad you all had a good time. I hope that we get to work together again in the future.

Best wishes,
~Alan

[Kris Harter]

Gaylaxicon was so full of events and premieres this weekend that it was hard to get to them all. I loved the Rick and Steve episodes and the behind the scenes look at them.

Many thanks to Logo for coming down to Gaylaxicon 2007. I can't wait to see the footage!

[JD Harvill]

It was great having you guys visit gaming, and it was amazing how many of the boys came out of their shells to talk with Y'all.

Can't wait to hear some of those interviews...

Thanks, JD

[Kiernan Kelly]

Hugs and thanks to Mark, Jaeson, and Alicia and the rest of the LOGO crew!

Gaylaxicon was one of the most friendly, fun events I've had the pleasure of attending in quite a while!

Kiernan Kelly

[Jody]

Thanks Marc. We loved meeting you guys too.
James and Ty loved being photographed in their togas. We're so excited about the launch of doorQ.com on the 31st as well as the airing of Alien Bootcamp!

[Peter Knapp]

Information about next year's Gaylaxicon in Washington, DC can be found at the following website:

www.gaylaxicon2008.org

[Marlin May]

I'm so very glad that LOGO covered Gaylaxicon 2007. I wasn't able to attend this year, and I've been scouring the web looking for reviews and photos. Thank you Mark! This was a great review and I eagerly await more video on Alien Bootcamp!

[John Nunn]

As one of the ones who was gushing about Bioshock, it was great to see y'all at the convention! I certainly enjoyed my first G'con, and look forward to seeing the interviews during ABC. Thanks for the review!

As a side note, since I noticed that the blog references "casts of ... online Star Trek series," but only links one, the other series represented was Star Trek: Odyssey, at http://www.stodyssey.com.

[Alan Lutton]

It was so great seeing LOGO at Gaylaxicon! It's always fun getting recognized for our queer geekiness, and especially by the premiere LGBT channel.

I encourage all you science fiction, fantasy, horror, comics and gaming fans to check out next year's Gaylaxicon in Washington, DC, and in Minneapolis in 2009!

[Kayelle Allen]

This was my first G'Con and I had a blast. My book Wulf had been nominated for a Gaylactic Spectrum Award, which was exciting all by itself. The whole con was wonderful, from the terrific organizers, to Atlanta's Outworlders, to dealers, to attendees. Thanks for being there to showcase the fun.

[Selina Rosen]

Damn! I can never wear that shirt again, obviously it makes me look fat!
But seriously, I really enjoyed talking with you guys and I hope you make me rich and famous because there ain't a damn thing I can do about my face.