Romance Recap: San Diego Comic-Con 2024
This past week I completed my annual mecca to San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). After the pandemic and the simultaneous writers & actors’ strike, 2024 felt like the first convention to return to normalcy.
While you can argue that SDCC is less relevant in a world where studios, entertainment companies, and creatives can connect directly with fans online, it’s still a fantastic event where fans can celebrate the popular arts.
And, of course, it’s not Comic-Con without dressing up as our favorite characters. For my sixth visit, my husband and I cosplayed as Tina Belcher and Jimmy Jr. from Bob’s Burgers. We even met a Louise in line giving out free slaps!
There were three romance-related panels I attended at SDCC 2024, so keep reading for my recap—and stay tuned because Steamy Lit Con is right around the corner!
Sapphic Romance
Featuring Allison Saft (A Dark and Drowning Tide), Heather Walter (The Crimson Crown), Kiersten White (Lucy Undying: A Dracula Story)
In this panel, authors discussed their upcoming sapphic romantasy novels, sharing their influences and inspirations, as well as the joy of imagining fresh fantastical stories that celebrate F/F relationships and love.
The panelists were all drawn to retelling fairy tales, which are steeped in oral tradition but usually exclusionary to queer people. Adapting these stories is a way to reclaim them and make them more relevant for today’s audiences—or in Kiersten White’s words, to “take stories that make me mad and change them to make them mine.”
For these authors, queerness is not the “other” in their books, which instead is embodied by other ways their characters don’t belong, whether they’re an ethnic or religious minority or a magical being.
In fact, Heather Walter added that internalized otherness can be even more impactful if your world is accepting of you, but you still feel like you don’t belong. This is especially true for villainous characters who must conquer their own self-loathing.
All of the panelists addressed fundamental themes, like the healing power of love. They wanted to lean into the joy of finding a partner and focus on their characters’ bodily autonomy, as classic tales like Dracula inherently lack consent.
The authors agreed that, ultimately, they want their readers to feel seen in their work. As for what’s missing in romance novels, Allison Saft said, “We need more butch lesbians!”
Fun factoids:
Author inspirations: The Jasmine Throne by Tashi Suri, Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst, Annie on My Mind by Nancy Garden
Favorite tropes: Grumpy/sunshine, academic rivals, enemies to lovers, and “oops, there’s only one mausoleum!” (Kiersten)
Most sincere quote: “Things are done to you, but you get to decide what you’re changed into” ~ Kiersten on what she wants readers to take away from her books
Funniest quote: “Two weirdos who fall in love is my M.O.” ~ Allison on how she describes her characters
Romantic Retellings
Featuring Alexene Farol Follmuth (Twelfth Knight), Christina Lauren (Tangled Up in You), Nikki Payne (Sex, Lies, and Sensibility), and Scarlett St. Clair (A Touch of Chaos)
The conversation on adaptations continued with this panel on romantic retellings. The authors discussed modernizing everything from Jane Austen and Shakespeare to folklore and Disney films.
Nikki Payne kicked things off by explaining that romance is compelling because “human connection is the most foundational reason a story begins.” The authors enjoy critically analyzing a text like a puzzle and finding fresh ways to retell classic characters.
I especially appreciated the panelists’ staunch defense of the romance genre. They grew up in the era of Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey when romance novels were often declared smut, trash, or fluff—by men who are typically the problem.
Alexene Farol Fullmuth observed the “AO3-ification of publishing,” in which readers return to romance for its safety, since it’s common for authors raised on fanfiction to divulge what to expect regarding tropes and triggers.
Not only are stories of joy and connection just as intellectual as their non-romantic counterparts, but they also hold great economic power. Lauren Billings of the co-author duo Christina Lauren pointed out that romance outsells the next most popular genre by hundreds of millions of dollars, so “no one should belittle it in front of me.”
Fun factoids:
Most formative year for Austen retellings: 1995 with Clueless, the Sense and Sensibility movie with Emma Thompson, and the Pride and Prejudice TV series with Colin Firth
Tips on retelling a story: Identify the soul of the work, start with the non-negotiable elements, ask what-if questions to create cool riffs, and leave Easter eggs for diehard fans
Most sincere quote: “Romance gives us hope” ~ Scarlett on why we keep returning to the genre
Funniest quote: “I like that I don’t have to shoulder the horny energy today” ~ Alexene on promoting her book for children
Endless Love: Romance in Media and Books
Moderated by Lauren Billings (The Paradise Problem) and featuring Ali Hazelwood (Not in Love), Yulin Kuang (How to End a Love Story), Susan Lee (The Name Drop), Tracey Livesay (American Royalty), Nikki Payne (Sex, Lies, and Sensibility), and Julie Soto (Not Another Love Song)
This panel with bestselling contemporary romance authors was unhinged in the best way possible. Even on a Sunday afternoon, the room was fully packed, and you could tell everyone felt like a part of a tight-knit sorority.
The panelists started off celebrating the rise of queer and BIPOC love stories, as well as popular subgenres, like monster romance and Why Choose / polyamorous pairings.
It was cool to see how unique everyone’s paths to the romance genre were, whether through AO3 fanfiction like Ali Hazelwood and Julie Soto, K-dramas like Susan Lee, or YouTube like Yulin Kuang.
The conversation quickly devolved into a series of running jokes, and according to my husband waiting outside to pick me up, the laughter was booming beyond the room’s four walls. Romance fans know how to bring the fun!
Fun factoids:
Favorite ship right now: Oshamir, aka Osha and Qimir from Star Wars’ The Acolyte
Romance tropes they’d get rid of: miscommunication, threesomes, brother’s best friend, secret baby, and bully romance
Most sincere quote: “It’s the book of my heart” ~ Julie on the YA thriller she spent 15 years writing before finally getting a book deal
Funniest quote: “I’m in a room full of cowards ” ~ Nikki on being the only panelist who thinks clowns are sexy
What’s Next
I’m still in SoCal this week attending Steamy Lit Con, which I believe is the largest romance convention on the west coast. Can’t wait to meet some of my favorite authors and talk shop!
And make sure you’re subscribed, because I’ll be announcing the details of my upcoming book, LOVE ON THE ROCKS, very soon! You’ll be the first to see the cover, blurb, preorder info, and more.
In the meantime, have a wonderful week :)
Bob's Burgers! I lurve that show. I, too, would get rid of the miscommunication and brother’s best friend tropes. Since the book descriptions tend to include the brother's best friend listing--or if it's in book title--I tend to avoid those type of books. The whole miscommunication thing always seems to happen in books and is used as the conflict to separate the characters. Overdone, but there it is. Thanks for mentioning Steamy Lit Con! Never heard of it, but I signed up to get notifications for next time.