What to Do at Comic-Con

Comic-Con International: San Diego kicked off today, bringing a weekend’s worth of star-studded panels, sneak peeks and previews of upcoming films and TV shows and, of course, a cadre of costumed conventioneers ready for action. To help navigate the mayhem, we’ve assembled a brief guide of gay-friendly things to check out:

Prism Comics is a nonprofit organization that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) comics, creators, and readers. Not only do they have a booth at Comic-Con, they’ve created the Gay Agenda that breaks down the convention's panels of interest to LGBT convention-goers, many of which they also host.

Thursday, July 9
5 - 6pm: "Writing Transgender Characters", Room 28DE (Prism Comics)
6 - 7pm: "LGBTQ Geek Year in Review", Room 28DE (Prism Comics)

Off-site:
The Brass Rail will host The Nerdy Dirty Party with hostess Kickxy Vixen, geeky gogos, and a Cosplay costume contest. Cover is $5, $3 with Comic-Con badge or in costume. The event starts at 8pm. 3796 Fifth Avenue, San Diego, Calif.

WET Thursday at Numbers gets a special Comic-Con edition of its weekly wet underwear contest with an additional $200 prize package up for grabs for the contestant with the best superhero outfit. Doors open at 10pm. 3811 Park Blvd. San Diego, Calif.

Friday, July 10
10 - 11am: "Pushing Boundaries Forward: Gender, Diversity and Representation in Comic Books", Room 4
2 - 3pm: “Diversity and Queer Gaming”, Room 28DE (Prism Comics)
7 - 8pm: “The Gay Agenda in Horror: Terrifying Subtext”, Room 28DE (Prism Comics)

Off-site:
Rich’s San Diego, the popular Hillcrest dance club will host a Comic-Con party starting at 10pm with DJ Dirty Kurty & DJ Moody Rudy, go-go villains and heroes, a costume contest and more. Admission is free until 11pm with a Comic-Con badge or for those in costume. 1051 University Avenue, San Diego, Calif.

Saturday, July 11
6 - 7pm: “Gays in Comics 28: At the Intersection of Comics and Life”, Room 29AB (Prism Comics)

Sunday, July 12
10 - 11am: “End Bullying! Responding to Cruelty in Our Culture”, Room 24ABC

All Weekend
Hillcrest is also home toTabletop Commons, where diners can chow down on lamb meat balls or house made pork belly, and imbibe specialty cocktails with names like the Jigglypuff Lullaby all while playing board games. On hand: classics like Jenga, Life, Cards Against Humanity and Battleship plus quite a few more esoteric games like Zombie Dice, Robo Rally, Chez Geek and Fluxx Oz. 1263 University Avenue, San Diego, Calif.

Comic-Con International: San Diego 2015 runs from July 9–12, 2015 and takes place at 111 W. Harbor Drive, San Diego, Calif. For more information, visit comic-con.org.