Archive for the Events Category


Free Comic Book Day Report

May 7th, 2008

Probably should have written this up Sunday, but was too tired from having fun on Saturday with the folks at Comic Fusion in Flemington, NJ. :-)

My deep and sincere thanks to Bill and Stacy, for being genuinely fabulous comic book store owners. In all seriousness, I’ve never been in a store that is so welcoming of men, women, kids and families. Everyone who walks through the door is treated like a friend – and there’s very little of the clubhouse atmosphere (I mean that figuratively and literally) one finds in many other stores.

There were three indie artists at the store, cheerfully drawing pictures of anything or anyone for anyone who asked. (Thanks Glenn for my spiffy picture of Yuriko!) Kids got figurines as extra gifts and there were free posters, so most people ended up with a pretty good pile of get. :-) I was pleased to note that the number of kids who came in and were polite and interested (and interesting) significantly outweighed the number who had issues and made me want to slap their parents. lol

The folks who helped out for the day, Dave, Beth and John, were also really nice and Beth and John were fetching in their costumes. The kids who came in in costume were adorable…of course. One little Wonder Woman gleefully told me that her father said that if she didn’t wear the costume, he would. We all giggled at how silly Daddy was. He would have looked *terrible* as Wonder Woman. Stacy told me that her favorite moment was when John’s two kids (all dressed up as various iterations of Iron Man) were asked by his wife ” Okay kids, blast Mommy!” so she could get a picture. lol

There was a lot of camraderie and fun, and Bill and Stacy were consummate hosts (as I know, because Stacy has been the consummate host in our Dealer’s Room for Yuricon events, as well) and really – it was a lovely day.

Comic Fusion is pretty much the nicest, friendliest comic and collectible store I have ever been in. Which is totally due to Bill and Stacy being two of the nicest, friendliest people around. (Stacy’s from California, she can’t help herself. lol)

Here’s what I always say – if you’re going to buy stuff anyway, why not do it from friends? Comic Fusion will order pretty much anything, and if you can’t find your fave manga, games or figurines at the book store, or you’d rather support a great local store than a monolithic corporation, visit Comic Fusion online or in person, and buy from friends.

Thanks again Stacy and Bill – I had a blast!





Yuri News This Week – April 25, 2008

April 26th, 2008

The top story this weekend – ALC Publishing is teaming up with award-winning lesbian novelist J.D. Glass for a special American Goth side story in Yuri Monogatari 6! We’re very excited to have J.D. joining Eriko Tadeno, Rica Takashima and Circle UKOZ as part of our next 100% Yuri anthology.

New titles to watch out for – Sasamekikoto, Volume 2 (review of Volume 1 coming shortly, promise!) and the third Hayate x Blade Drama CD – along with a host of other great Yuri – are now available on the Yuricon Shop.

We’ve also got some new Yuri Events up! Although it’s not Yuri, I will be doing a lecture at the Brooklyn Museum of Art on June 14, as part of their Japanese art programming. Along with their heavily promoted Murakami and Utagawa exhibits, they’ll be showing Oshii’s Ghost in the Shell: Innoncence, and I’ll be talking about, erm, something related to that. LOL Should be interesting, anyway. :-)

Speaking of related events, Afterellen.com has asked their NYC-area lesbian readership to hold May 18 for a get-together. I’m going to try and be there, so if any of you women need a reason to get off the couch and meet people, this seems like a darn good one.

And in the “series to keep an eye out for” file, Okazu reader Gareas reminds us that Young Gun Carnaval aka YGC, the Light Novel, Drama CD and manga series, has lesbians in it. :-) I know a few folks have pointed me in the direction of this series, so i promise to take a look and report back. :-)

As always, if you know of any Yuri-related news, please feel free to drop me a line at anilesbocon01 at hotmail dot com. It’s always appreciated!





From the Floor of the Hynes Convention Center

March 21st, 2008

Seriously. I’m sitting on the floor here in the DR, typing this. :-)

First – the Fanfiction Panel is tonight at 7:00 PM, not 9. Room 209

Secondly, the fabulous folks at Media Blasters gave me a copy of Strawberry Panic! anime, Volume 1, which we watched last night. Full review to come, but overall it’s good. There’s still room for improvement…which I am going to walk over and talk to them about right now.

Oh, and don’t watch anime with Sean Gaffney. He makes up extra BGM and foley effects. ;)

Got to run, much to do before we open, see you all later !





Going Underground at Anime Boston

March 19th, 2008

I’ll be on the road tomorrow and at Anime Boston Friday – Sunday. (Table 419 in the Dealer’s Room! Fanfic Writing Workshop at 9PM Friday and Yuri Panel at 3PM on Saturday.)

I’ve got a lot to do to get ready still, then there’s that live-action tetris game that I play as I attempt to pack my car, so no review for a couple of days. Depending on how much fun I’m having, maybe no reviews or reports until I get back. Since I expect to be having a lot of fun, don’t hold your breath, ‘kay? :-) I will attempt to get a Yuri news report together this weekend, but I’m not promising that, either. :-)

Feel free to read back on the 900+ reviews I’ve already posted or, even better, join us up at Anime Boston for Yuricon fun in the flesh. :-)

When I return, we’ll have plenty more Yuri to talk about!





Event Report: Book Signing at Jim Hanley’s Universe and Comic: Dolltopia

January 20th, 2008

Here’s a quick report on the book signing I did the other night, and a little review, too!

Jim Hanley’s Universe, seen on the left, is immediately across the street from the Empire State Building. I took a picture looking up at it from below, but it didn’t really come out. Oh well. I like the ESB – so deco, so excessive, so phallic, so shiny.

I arrived early. I always arrive early. It’s my nature. And not only were we expected, with a table set out and all, it even had good placement right up near the front of the shop. The staff at Jim Hanley’s Universe were *fabulous*. Every last person we dealt with was as nice as can be and they really did a great job of making us feel welcome. Thanks Vito and Harry and everyone at JHU!

I sold a book or two before Abby or J.D. even arrived, which set my whole evening off on a good footing. :-) Then Abby came and got herself all set up. We chatted a bit until at about 6:30 when people started to arrive – except JD, who was stuck in traffic. :-) Patty and David from Prism Comics came and made sure we were all good to go.

I was so pleased that some friendly faces showed to provide support. Mari, John, Chet and Yuri Monogatari 5 artist Jess B. who made a stealth appearance! I made her sign books, but she sneaked out when I wasn’t looking. lol

J.D. finally made it and before she even got her coat off, I made us take pictures together, because I would have completely forgotten to, otherwise. :-) From the left, it’s J. D, me, and Abby.

We really had a terrific time. All three of us sold each other’s books, which was pretty funny. “Now that you’ve bought this book,” we’d say, you should buy one from these two.” And for the most part, people did! Since people came for each of us specifically, it was a very cool way to get our books in front of people who might not otherwise have learned about us. After it was all over, we decided that it was so much fun, we’d definitely try to do this again in the summer as a Pride event. Prism continues to be the least sucky GLBT group I’ve ever dealt with.

Abby quite generously gave me a copy of her Dolltopia comic and I absolutely wanted to tell you all about it immediately. You’ll love it. Run right out and get a few copies for yourself and friends – it would make a great “thinking about you” gift for someone. In fact, next time I see Abby, I’m buying a handful and giving it to friends. It’s like 2 bucks, so there’s really no excuse when you figure it’s cheaper than a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

Dolltopia is a mini comic series about doll interior lives and what they do when they break free from the constraints of their molded characteristics. Dolltopia is the world that dolls have constructed for themselves. Inhabiting this world are many dolls that have taken freedom into their own hands, including two modified “Darling Candy” dolls, Candy-O and her partner Candy-X. And yes, that’s parter, as in “life partner.” Abby says of the “Darling Candy” dolls, that they are based on a popular doll model that everyone would recognize. She told me that as a kid, she always used to hack their hair off, make her own clothes for them and drawn makeup and tattoos on them. This was, in part, the inspiration for Dolltopia.

The themes that permeate this comic, “who am I?” “what is my role?” “how can I be free?” are the same as in many an anime and manga relating to artificial intelligences. And they resonate with people because despite our apparent freedom, many of us find ourselves trapped in our bodies, our roles, the perceptions of what we can and cannot do – just like the dolls in Dolltopia. This is a mini-comic that packs a pretty solid punch. And it has non-creepy lesbian dolls, what more can you ask for? lol

Thanks to Abby for turning me on to this series, I now await the next volume impatiently. ;-) And thanks to everyone who came to the event, (I was told that we drew a bigger crowd than a well-known DC artist with the explanation, “But he’s an asshole and you guys aren’t.” LOL) Thanks again to the staff at JHU, and J.D. for setting this all up and Prism Comics for being in existence. It was a fantastic evening all around.