Anime Central 2011 Con Report

First off, the con went great!  We were happy to get our new collected editions, which look beautiful and will be up for sale in the next couple of days.  If you were at the con, you got them at the low, low con price of $10.  Also new at the table was Apprentice number 5 illustrated by the lovely Min, also to be available within the next couple of days.

Friday, sales got off to a brisk start with many of our return readers stopping by for our latest work.  Shout out to Elaina (hope we spelled that right, we only had her repeat it a few dozen times.) and the nice Acen Staff guy which we keep forgetting to get the name of!  Also, we had the good fortune to be seated next to our friend Darrick Chen and Panda Rage Press this year – said good luck being aided by a special request to the con (thanks Phil).  We had a good time with him and everybody should go check out his latest book, Once Upon A Time In Roughside, at www.onwardbound.net.  It’s really good, and Ishi plans on posting a review a little later when post-con recovery is complete.  We also made a friend in Blair of Star Crossd Destiny at the table on the other side of us and enjoyed a bonding moment when we helped her get her banner going.  Other happenings of note:  The Red Cross guy underwent huge culture shock and Stephanie counted 18 sets of butt cheeks.

Saturday, things slowed down.  Fuu had her annual anniversary date while Min left early for Josh and Jose’s wedding and Ishi had a lengthy MAPS meeting, which left our table lackey Bon in charge for about an hour.  Thanks Bon.  He was quite irked at the impromptu photoshoot that somebody set up directly in front of our table.  Bon defended us valiantly but gave them a refund on their life.  In the evening, we had the How Not to Starve as a Starving Artist panel back to back with the Acen Portfolio Review.  Both went extremely well.  At the Starving Artist panel, we were live blogged to Twitter by one of the attendees and another took roughly 6 pages of notes and gave us a nifty origami business card with her information on it!  We had a better than expected Portfolio and Concept Review turnout and actually went a touch over our time, which was until midnight.  Dirk Tiede, Stacy Arellano and a few others arrived for a last minute art jam, but alas, we were unable to stay. Due to the alley taking a while to clear and the sudden appearance of Alysia’s extended family, she was unable to get dinner and had to be hauled back to the room.  Fuu and Alysia got Rick Rolled on the way but eventually made it.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday.  The final day of the con.  A lot of our Starving Artists students stopped by to say hi and one insisted on purchasing not only the collected edition but also the back issues.  It’s nice to be so supported.  Also, we ran out of Apprentice Volume 1.  Towards the end of the day, Ishi gave Fuu a wad of cash and instructed her to wander the alley in search of books.  Apparently some of the artists attended the Starving Artist panel because two of the attendees worked very hard to give their elevator pitch.

Final reflections:

Mark is a curmudgeon who doesn’t like Rick Rolling in his gaming room when there’s serious role playing going on. Damn kids need to stay off his lawn!

Appa plushies make up for lack of Pirate’s Movie.

Fuu wants more cash for bargain Anime.

At least two of Min’s plushies ended up in cleavage.

Ishi is now the proud owner of a wall scroll with Miss Kitty on it and a Sailor Moon coffee cup.

We need to invest in an VGA cable for Ishi’s Mac.

Dear Video Game Room – You can’t kiss Bon and just walk away.

Bronchitis has no place at the con.  If you had any contact with Ishi or our friend Joey, soak yourself in bleach now.

Cute, young girls really do love Darrick’s work and people with bustles should stop at his table more often.

Shout out to anybody we forgot.

And finally, congratulations to Josh and Jose on their marriage.  We’re sorry we missed it but please enjoy the surprises.

 

Also, one quick note if you’re looking for the shop-it’s in progress, Alysia is a little to sick to do much work on it.  Please bear with us.

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