CXC will be presenting much of its usual material online, as many other conventions have done. There's creator discussions, comic making demos, a trivia challenge... They'll be streaming a film by the Brothers Quay. They've got guests like Roz Chast, Faith Erin Hicks, Amy Hwang, Box Brown, Mark Waid, and many others. Lots of good stuff. But one thing they have that they almost certainly have ONLY because this is online: Bill Watterson.
Like, THE Bill Watterson. The guy who did Calvin & Hobbes for ten years and then all but vanished. The guy who hasn't made a public appearance in... ever? He's done, I think, exactly one interview in the past 25 years. (For the Stripped documentary. And I'll save you the trouble if you haven't seen it: no, he doesn't appear on camera. It's just a voice-over.)
But, yes, THAT Bill Watterson will be making a "cameo" during the keynote reception tomorrow night. I'm sure he'll remain off-camera, but the prospect of him being "live" at a comics event in any capacity is literally (and I do mean literally here) unheard of. I don't know if he'll simply be giving prepared remarks, or addressing questions, or perhaps particpating in the paper charades game, but regardless... BILL WATTERSON! I'm almost 100% certain that he's only doing this BECAUSE it's online. Were CXC an in-person event this year, I'm guessing he'd be perfectly happy sitting it out at home. So we have at least one silver lining out of this pandemic!
But if a Bill Watterson cameo is not good enough for you (although I can't imagine how!) other guests for the reception include Art Spiegleman, Garry Trudeau, Raina Telgemeier, Hilary Price, Barbara Brandon-Croft, Laura Park, Mo Willems, and Gene Luen Yang! I'm always amazed -- the talent the CXC people always manage to bring in is absolutely phenomenal!
So be sure to check Ohio's Cartoon Crossroads Columbus without having to deal with, you know, actually being in Ohio!
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