All The Creator Spotlight Panels To Check Out At San Diego Comic Con [SDCC 2016]

San Diego Comic Con is without a doubt the biggest event on the industry’s calendar, and people will be flying from around the world to attend panels, watch trailers, meet creators, and make friends. This year’s event is bigger than ever, with so much going on every single day that it can be difficult to sift through all that information and decide how to spend your time.

We've already rounded up the best events for Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and we've highlighted some of the best exclusive art prints to pick up, but there's so much more at SDCC. As the biggest convention of the year, it's a great way to interact with creators and this year's event has an amazing line-up of spotlight panels on some of the best writers and artists in the business.

THURSDAY

Spotlight on Kieron Gillen
Room 7AB - 10:00am
Kieron Gillen will talk about his career --- from Phonogram all the way through to Darth Vader and The Wicked and The Divine --- in a very special conversation with regular collaborator and "platonic life partner" Jamie McKelvie.

Spotlight on G. Willow Wilson
Room 4 - 11:30am
G. Willow Wilson will be talking about the creation and evolution of her smash-hit series Ms. Marvel, and will also read from some of her new work and take questions from the audience.

Spotlight on Howard Chaykin
Room 8 - 11:30am
Industry legend Howard Chaykin will tell stories from his decades in the comics industry in an unmoderated hour of down-to-earth and informal conversation with the audience.

Spotlight on Jim Lee
Room 6DE - 12:45am
Jim Lee went from being one of the hottest stars of the '90s to one of the most influential people in comics as co-publisher of DC Comics, and in this spotlight he'll be drawing some of your favorite characters projected on the big screen while giving insight into his creative process.

Spotlight on Jason Aaron
Room 25ABC - 04:00pm
Jason Aaron is at SDCC this year as a "special guest," and in this hour long chat he'll tell all about working on hit books such as Marvel's Star Wars and Image's Southern Bastards.

FRIDAY

Spotlight on Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Room 29AB - 10:00am
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is a modern day renaissance man with credits in stage productions, television, comics and more. As Archie Comics' chief creative officer, he's responsible for bringing the new Riverdale series to life, plus he's the writer on Afterlife With Archie and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. In a chat moderated by Archie's Alex Segura, Aguirre-Sacasa will talk about his entire career and the many different hats he's worn during it.

Spotlight on Chester Brown
Room 4 - 12:00pm
Chester Brown, the creator of critically acclaimed graphic novels such as Paying For It and I Never Liked You is back with another book from Drawn and Quarterly titled Mary Wept At The Feet of Jesus, which is a retelling of nine stories from The Bible that Brown believes portray a pro-sex work stance. At this panel Brown will read excerpts from his new book and also participate in a Q&A.

Spotlight on Ronald Wimberly
Room 4 - 02:00pm
Ronald Wimberly is one of the most outspoken creators of the moment when it comes to creator rights and fighting for what you're worth. In a conversation with moderator David Brothers, Wimberly will talk about his work both in and outside of comics, and why he'll likely never work for Marvel or DC ever again.

SATURDAY

Spotlight on Kate Beaton
Room 5AB - 10:30am
One of the most popular cartoonists in the world, Kate Beaton will discuss her webcomic series Hark! A Vagrant and the intense amount of research that goes into some of the strips, plus it wouldn't be surprising if some of her most recent work on children's books gets a mention in this conversation with editor Hillary Chute.

Spotlight on Jeff Smith
Room 8 - 12:30pm
Twenty-five years ago, Jeff Smith's Bone became an instant classic. To celebrate the anniversary, the legendary creator is going back to Boneville for Bone: Coda, and will be reading excerpts of the new tale in front of a live audience.

Spotlight on Stan Lee
Room 6A - 01:45pm
He's Stan Lee! He co-created all your favorite characters like Spider-Man, Fantastic Four and Ravage 2099! As he winds down his convention schedule, this may be one of the last occasions to see "The Man" himself before he retires from convention attendance all together.

Spotlight on Jamie McKelvie
Room 7AB - 02:00pm
In a delightful inverse of Thursday's panel, Jamie McKelvie will sit down with Kieron Gillen for a chat about the past ten years of his own career.

Spotlight on Noelle Stevenson
Room 23ABC - 04:00pm
Noelle Stevenson is one of the most exciting new creators to emerge in the past few years, and changed the game as part of the creative team that launched Lumberjanes. A star in both comics and animation, she'll sit down with Shannon Watters to talk about queer representation, first crushes, mountaineering and more.

Spotlight on Babs Tarr
Room 29AB - 05:00pm
Babs Tarr will be joined by her Batgirl co-creator Brenden Fletcher to talk about their collaborations, their new book Motor Crush, and breaking into the comics industry in the 21st century

SUNDAY

Spotlight on Matt Fraction
Room 7AB - 11:00am
Matt Fraction started out as a trailblazer in independent comics, made a name for himself at Marvel Comics, and then returned to the indies as a bona fide superstar. Interviewed by David Brothers, Fraction will talk about his work on Hawkeye, Sex Criminals, ODY-C and more, and will discuss creating a career for yourself in comics.

Spotlight on Ed McGuinness
Room 5AB - 01:45pm
No-one draws big, blockbuster action superhero comic books quite like Ed McGuinness, and in this chat with Marvel editor Devin Lewis, he'll lift the lid on his own unique creative process.

That's just a small sample of the amazing spotlight panels hosted at this year's San Diego Comic Con. Check out the full schedule for a more complete line-up.