(THE COMIC CON IS OVER!!)
       (and I wasn't too happy with it!)
         (Wait, didn't I say that last year too?)

     RED KREWE NEWS

     Page 5 of Red Krewe issue 2 is on the main page, if you're not keeping up with our weekly updates... do so =^_^=

     GRAVITYWELL NEWS

     My lips are seal tight, stuff is going on but I can't say what =^_^=

     1999 Marks the fifth year that I've been the San Diego Comic Convention International. I've been with Gravitywell Productions all of those years so I've kept my eyes on the floor in a way that a general comic book fan would not. Over these last few years I've watched attendance drop, the content of the show in general weaken and the lack of new ideas and faces become more and more obvious. This year was no exception to the trend at all. I had a lot of fun, but I would not be surprised at all if the convention were to disappear in a few years, or be renamed once in again with a broder focus than just comic books.
     I did do one thing that I have not done for quite some time at the comic convention, and that was I tuned into a "new" American comic by the name of "Morning Glory." I picked up all 4 issues on the last day of the con since the art looked decent, and I had a massive amount of money burning a hole in my wallet. When I got home to read it I was surprised to learn that it is what I could loosely call a Pagan comic book, and because one of the gentlemen working on the comic is Wiccan... it shows in the quality of the work, meaning that the research has been done and the Wiccan character is not a Witch stereotype as we've seen blasted over the years through garbage like "The Craft" and "Charmed."
     This was my girlfriend's first San Diego Con, so she had a lot of fun and met some people that she'd been dying to meet since she was in High School. To me meeting "professionals" isn't a big deal at all, especially since most ignore you and rush you through their lines without glancing twice at you. Ben Dunn (Antarctic Press) did this to her and she wasn't too happy at all. For once though, I was EXTREMELY surprised by the friendliness of a professional, and this man was by no means an artist or writer or any big name with a big ego to match. This gentleman was the Art Director for Ironcat Studios, Stephen R. Bennet IV. Ironcat publishes a number of translated manga titles including the one my girlfriend and I follow and that's "Futaba Kun Change." When we stepped to his booth he greeted us (which for some reason we don't get greeted at other companies) and were treated like a customer should be treated. When my girl slipped in that we were fans of FKC he became ecstatic that we were the first Ironcat fans to visit their booth (it was Thursday). He took our picture (his camera) and drew a pretty cool little sketch complete with autograph on her FKC graphic novel. Over the course of the con he took a real congenial attitude when he ran into us and introduced us to some other people that he's working with. He gets an A+ as far as customer service goes from me. He also let us in on some of the upcoming "attitude" changes for Studio Ironcat, so we're looking forward to seeing a more fan orientated company... and hopefully that role of film developed okay =^_^=.
     The amount of anime items present this year were pretty good, though still not as good as the days when Kodansha had their own booth. I picked up several manga how to books from the Kinokunya bookstore, that right there ate up $200 of my spending cash. I only bought 4 anime CDs this year since I no longer buy SM Records, and was happy to find the "Saberback" Beast Wars toy I'd been after. I bought one katana, a short sword, a curved knife and a flipping blade from the arms dealer... you know I'm ready for Y2K mayhem =P
     I bought a number of other items but there's no need to blast you with my shopping list. I came with $1,500 in spending cash which also allowed for meals and a hotel... I only used $1,000 of it, which says something about this year's convention.
     My girlfriend and I watched a lot of the anime upstairs and I of course have a few recommendations for and against certain pieces. On my must see list there's "Cowboy BeBop", "Trigun" and the "Orginal Dirty Pair" stuff A.D. Vision is putting out. On my "okay rental" list there's "Legend Of Crystania", "Revolutionarry Girl Utena" and "Compiler." Be advised that "Compiler" is terribly inconsistent with it's moods, sometimes it's hilarious, sometimes it's boring. On my blah list is "Eatman" and "Knights Of Ramune" a formerly cute and bouncy series that's been turned into a near porno in this boring and unamusing sequel.
     That's all for this year's review. I will be attending next year's convention and most likely be in the Gravitywell Productions booth for at least a couple of those days (HEY! I've got to shop too!). I'll also be attending the summer 1999 Anime Expo in LA and possibly the Fanime convention in Santa Clara next February.

Morning Glory The Faerie website
Ironcat Studios

Until next time,
Tlalocelotl Tlatoani aka Brandon K. Montoya