[ huh? ]

for the entire first day of the con, i didn't think i'd be going.

chris knows nothing about american comics, and so i have to explain a bit of the subculture. he ducked his head into a packed room and asked who was speaking. someone told him, 'kevin smith'. he looked blank, and, as we were walking away, asked me who kevin smith was. 'you know, kevin smith! silent bob! directed clerks, mallrats, chasing amy, and dogma? in that order? you don't know him? i said.

'um. . . no. you know i don't watch many american movies. he certainly seems popular,' said chris.

that was an understatement. the room was packed. sigh and move on.

comic fanboys are somewhat scarier than otaku, if such a thing can be believed. as evidence of this, we took a picture of card captor sakura's sakura standing next to a star trek klingon.

[ token anime ]

we watched some anime, but comicon didn't have very much. we saw an episode of jubei-chan, blue sub (dubbed, but quite well-dubbed, at least. . . ) , some urusei yatsura, and some maison ikkoku.

then the takahashi panel started. it was in a big room, and very popular. i watched an episode of the ranma season that they're currently releasing in the u.s. (needs help.) it was an interesting panel. takahashi was shy and soft-spoken as always, but the fans adored her. i think she enjoyed it.

then comes volunteering. . . one can tell a lot about a convention by how volunteers are treated. this was an easy shift, though. we work at the registration desk right near closing time, so very few people show up. after that we stuff bags for tomorrow's attendees, and clean up.

[ ruminations on con food ]

then. . . you know that comicon has a hospitality room that's open to all attendees? i didn't. it was a miracle, after scrounging food at ax. the food wasn't great, but i was really grateful to have it. my only complaint is that they served only pepsi products. no coke in sight. ( and, of course, the ed. staff's bias toward coke is well known. —ct )

then there was the dance. loud music, free food, and dancers i could watch seizuring around. bliss. i made several roast beef sandwiches, sampling the array of sauces avaliable. again, comicon's hospitality is first-rate.

and after the dance is over, i somehow am pulled into the rocky horror picture show. i sit. i watch. i heckle along. i kind of like it.

and then, after a while, it's off to the car to sleep. . .

[ stone that puts the stars to flight ]

the morning sun wakes me up two and a half hours later. for those of you who haven't had the displeasure of meeting it, it's a great big bright light that floats about in the sky following you around whether you want it to or not. it also wakes up pretty damn early.

since i can't sleep with all that light beating down on me, i wake up and head back into the fray. i have free snacks and sodas, courtesy of comicon, some stale chips. i try to seem as threatening as i can in 85 degree heat while wearing a duster.

at nine i find chris, who informs me that he slept in a nice, quiet little stairwell and, as if by magic, produces two cans of coke ( i'm sure it's better that i not ask where he got them. ) at ten they open the doors and we're in for a second day.

and who should be here but yasuhiro nightow of trigun fame. he's signing autographs, which means that i have a chance to make up for not having gotten takahashi's autograph. ( i didn't win the raffle for takahashi's autograph. i never do. this is why i hate such things. )

[ shirt device ]

in line to meet nightow, we run into a guy with a lain shirt we've never seen before. . . a unique and wonderful lain shirt. . . a picture of lain walking up a stairway that buttons up the center. we ask him about it, and it turns out that he made it out of a wall scroll, with a bit of fabric added to make a shirt. sugoi!! except of course that it requires us to do horrible things to a lain wall scroll. . .

it turns out the guy speaks spanish better than english. he informs me he works at an anime shop in mexico, close to the border city of tijuana, and that next time i'm there i should swing by and see what they have to offer. he also informs me that, at current exchange rates, the prices are very good, and if we remember each other he'd also tack on a bit of a discount. ^_^

he also explains to me the economics of anime shopping in mexico. they don't have to charge as much as certain american companies do, since the exchange rate allows for a decent profit with only about a 50% increase over the wholesale price, as opposed to the standard 100% increase stateside.

[ sketching with nightow ]

i knew exactly what i wanted. i wanted a sketch of vash the stampede, with his fingers in a crossed peace sign, shouting 'kono yo wa. . . love and peace da!' it's a pity i don't speak japanese. ^_^ i had to make big, expansive gestures, and cross my fingers, and confuse nightow mightily to get the sketch. but i did. ^_^ after me came chris, who felt some pity for nightow and just asked for kuroneko-sama. ( nightow said to me, 'kuroneko-sama [is] very easy. . . —ct )

and so we get our sketches, check out the art show, and head home.

happy.

—aldo