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Convention Report: Sakura-Con 2012: Sakura-Con is a three-day event that unofficially lasts four days, since so … http://t.co/QvHO7mW0

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Convention Report: Sakura-Con 2012

Bronte and Jill arrive at the convention center

Sakura-Con is a three-day event that unofficially lasts four days, since so many people arrive on Thursday, the day before the convention starts. For some of us it lasted five days, because I drove from Portland to Seattle with two cosplayer friends on Thursday (Day 0), and we returned on Monday (Day 4, or Day +1 perhaps). Every bit of that trip felt like it was part of Sakura-Con, even the parts that occurred outside Seattle on days before or after the convention. For example, we continued taking photos and talking about anime, manga, art, food, video games, and music, even when we were in Tacoma on Monday afternoon. Sakura-Con is more than an annual event on one specific weekend; it is an important catalyst for a culture that lives on outside that time and place.

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Fresh From Twitter today

Tom Good photo from Sakuracon 2012: And soon there will be a convention report. So there IS something to look fo… http://t.co/lsO24pfo

#Sakuracon was great, and soon I’ll be heading back to Portland

At the comments / suggestions panel at #Sakuracon and I’m curious about what the feedback will be

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Tom Good photo from Sakuracon 2012

And soon there will be a convention report. So there IS something to look forward to.

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Fresh From Twitter today

I found the Aperture Science Easter Bunny at #sakuracon http://t.co/Dk2sdDCd

At the Michihiko Suwa panel about casting Japanese voice actors. #sakuracon

In line for the costume contest #sakuracon

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Fresh From Twitter today

Every day shufflin’ — Haley as the Gold Robot at #sakuracon http://t.co/71F2V1KR

Harley Quinn at #sakuracon day 1 http://t.co/66JSySB0

Stereopony concert at #sakuracon @STEREOPONY_US http://t.co/BYNrZfsA

Stereopony concert about to start #Sakuracon http://t.co/87z0Zmvl

Homestuck cosplay by Maddy at #sakuracon http://t.co/To2WLK0b

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Fresh From Twitter today

At the Urobuchi / Ota / Iwakami panel at #Sakuracon

Panda spotted at #sakuracon http://t.co/CZxYUUEY

More day 1 cosplay at #sakuracon http://t.co/lAKJdSnk

I’m at the Aniplex panel (618) #sakuracon

The Nico Nico booth (227,229) has cyborg cat ears that move in response to your brainwaves. I tried it, fun! #sakuracon

Aperture Science. #sakuracon http://t.co/k9O3oUS5

Pinkie Pie at day 1 of Sakuracon http://t.co/eniwG6kS

An exhibitor rocks the Mad Scientist look, on Day 0 of #sakuracon http://t.co/UzTU7FQF

Having breakfast before day 1 of #sakuracon

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Book review: Once More Upon a Time

Once More Upon a Time
By Patrick Thomas and Diane Raetz
Publisher: Dark Quest, LLC
ISBN: 978-0-9826197-5-9
Review copy purchased by reviewer

Review by Ida Vega-Landow

This is a different kind of Mystic Investigators tale by my New York homeboy, Patrick Thomas, and his latest collaborator Diane Raetz. I’m more accustomed to reading about the exploits of Agent Karver, and his empathic partner Mandi Cobb, in the Department of Mystic Affairs. They’re both pros at dealing with practitioners of the Dark Arts, fairies and mystic beasts. But the protagonist of this novel is a young witch named Jillian Anderson, an agent of Templar Mason, once known as the Knights Templar. She’s new at this business, so new that her mistakes can cause serious repercussions for the people she’s trying to help.
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Press Release: Illustrated messages with Jmanga purchase!

JManga.com will be holding a special gift campaign from March 13th to 26th (PST) for BL/Yaoi Feature “ABC of BL/Yaoi”. Subscribers who purchase one of the corresponding BL/Yaoi titles during the campaign will receive a special gift from JManga!

Just in time for the campaign, JManga will be adding the adorably drawn and ever so sweet love story, “My Darling Kitten Hair” by Haruko Kumota. Purchase “My Darling Kitten Hair” Vol. 1 during the campaign and receive a special illustrated message from the artist, Haruko Kumota! There is also a special illustrated messages from Nase Yamato to those who purchase “Pet on Duty” or “Cigarette Kisses”.

JManga will be also adding “70% of First Love is…” by Hiko Yamanaka and “100 Blossoms To Love” by Gido Amagakure on March 13th and will be giving away special wallpaper for both titles.

“My Darling Kitten Hair” (Released 3/13) / Illustrated message from Kumota Haruko-sensei
“Pet on Duty” / Illustrated message from Yamato Nase-sensei
“Cigarette Kisses / Illustrated message from Yamato Nase-sensei
“70% of First Love is…” (Released 3/13) / Special wallpaper
“100 Blossoms To Love” (Released 3/13) / Special wallpaper

 
JManga_NEWSRELEASE_ABC_of_BL_Yaoi

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In Praise of Scan Girls

Yeah, I read a few scanlations, but I also buy the printed English version if it’s licensed and published, and if I just can’t stand it, I’ll even buy the Japanese version. No, I can’t read Japanese, but the pictures tell most of the story. And the scanlations often have a note urging readers to support the mangaka (creator) by buying whatever version of the work is commercially on sale. That’s no hardship for me because I love the feel of a book in my hands. But if there are only scanlations, then I will read the scanlations and hope I can eventually read it in book form.

In the course of reading these scanlations in undisclosed locations, I became aware of a most wonderful thing: communities of manga loving females devoting their time, talents, and energy to producing this work, and producing it well enough, for other likeminded, non-Japanese reading females. I became very impressed by the camaraderie and professionalism of these groups offering new members a chance improve their Japanese, editing, or visual editing skills. I’m not a joiner, but this is one club I’d love to be in if I had the time, talents or energy for it. The scan groups, as they call themselves, have often been the catalyst for getting certain Japanese works licensed and published in the U.S. In every case that I’ve seen that happen, the scan groups do the following things:
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Toshihiro Kawamoto guest of honor at AM^2 2012

“AM2 PROUDLY ANNOUNCES CELEBRATED STUDIO BONES CHARACTER DESIGNER AND DIRECTOR TOSHIHIRO KAWAMOTO AS THE FIRST OFFICIAL GUEST OF HONOR FOR HIGHLY ANTICIPATED 2012 CONVENTION

“A Founding Member of the World Famous Bones Anime Studio Comes to this Summer¹s Most Anticipated Anime, Manga and Music Convention this June 15-17, 2012 at the Anaheim Convention Center and Anaheim Hilton! Get your Passports
Today and Experience the Difference!

“LOS ANGELES, Calif. (February 17, 2012) ­ Celebrated character designer and director, TOSHIHIRO KAWAMOTO, of such famed animes as COWBOY BEBOP, MOBILE SUITE GUNDAM ZZ, MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 0080, MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM 0083, TEKKAMAN BLADE, BLOOD THE LAST VAMPIRE, ESCAFLOWNE, MOBILE ANGEL ANGELIC LAYER, WITCH HUNTER ROBIN, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, SCRAPPED PRINCESS, EUREKA SEVEN, OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB, GHOST IN THE SHELL and outside of Japan as the character designer and animation director for the beloved many more will attend this summer¹s most aniticipated anime, manga and music convention AM2 (June 15-17, 2012; Anaheim Convention Center and Anaheim Hilton). More info and attendee registration can be found at www.am2con.org

“Kawamoto founded the world famous anime studio Studio BONES in 1998 with Masahiko Minami (former Sunrise producer) and Hiroshi Ousaka (animator colleague who passed away in 2007. He has an animation career that spans over 25 years and has a long list of high profile works but is best known for his work as the character designer and animation director for the ever popular anime, COWBOY BEBOP.
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Book review: Mystic Investigators: Bullets & Brimstone

Mystic Investigators: Bullets & Brimstone
By Patrick Thomas & John L. French
Published by Dark Quest Books
ISBN: 978-0-9826197-3-5
Review copy purchased by reviewer

Review by Ida Vega-Landow

Fresh from my review of Stefan Kanfer’s bio of Humphrey Bogart, here’s my review of another Bogie fan created by New York homeboy Patrick Thomas. Those of you familiar with the world of Murphy’s Lore will welcome the return of Negral, the forgotten fire god of Sumeria who became the Devil’s Detective to avoid fading away. Fresh from his triumph in Patrick’s previous publication, “Lore and Dysorder”, which this book keeps referring to (or was it this book that preceded “Lore and Dysorder”? Let’s do the Time Warp again!), Negral joins forces with a mortal cop, a police detective named Bianca Jones, to track down one of the Devil’s lost souls. That’s someone who signed a contract with the Devil and tries to get out of it.
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Book review: Tough Without a Gun: The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of Humphrey Bogart

Tough Without a Gun: The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of Humphrey Bogart
By Stefan Kanfer
Published by: Borzoi Books, aka Alfred A. Knofp, Random House, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-307-27100-6
Review copy purchased by reviewer

Review by Ida Vega-Landow

This has got to be one of the best books I ever read about one of my favorite celebrities! I’ve been a Bogie fan for as long as I can remember, and I’ve read a lot about him as an actor and a man, but nobody humanizes him as completely as Stefan Kanfer does. He goes into great detail about Bogie’s background and life—his socialite parents, the exclusive prep school that he dropped out of, his brief naval career and less than successful acting career on Broadway before he got his big break in the movies, his three failed marriages before he met Lauren Bacall—but he never gets boring, judgmental or moralistic. This Stefan Kanfer is a straight-shooter; he tells it like it was for one of America’s greatest male show business icons, and lets us be the ultimate judges on what kind of man Humphrey Bogart was.
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Convention Report: BENTcon 2011

I was only able to attend BENTcon 2 at the Bonaventure Hotel in downtown LA on Sunday December 4th. It was, I’m told in full swing from Friday night, and I’m sure I missed some good events and panels but what can one do? I am rather kicking myself that I misread the time of the Women in Gay Comics panel and missed it. Oh well, I got to talk to lots of cool artists and exhibitors on my one afternoon at BENTcon 2.

So here’s who I talked to that day: Continue reading

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Book review: Lore and Dysorder: The Hell’s Detective Mysteries

Lore and Dysorder: The Hell’s Detective Mysteries
By Patrick Thomas
Padwolf Publishing 2011
Book purchased by Reviewer

Review by Ida Vega-Landow

Sure, and if it isn’t another fine book by that fine Irish laddie, Patrick Thomas! This one is about another of the regulars at Bullfinch’s Bar, a forgotten Sumerian fire god who goes by the name Negral. He’s the chief of Hell’s secret police, 666th Precinct, who channels Humphrey Bogart. I kid you not; Negral is such a big Bogie fan that he manifests himself as a tall, dark man in a suit wearing a trench coat and a fedora. He talks tough like Bogie too, and doesn’t bother to tell his suspects their Miranda Rights. That’s because most of them are the damned souls who inhabit Hell, or the demons who own them. Satan thinks so highly of him that he gave him the right to investigate and interrogate any resident of Hell, answering only to His Satanic Majesty.
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Book review: With Strings Attached, or The Big Pink Job

With Strings Attached, or The Big Pink Job
By Deborah Aviva Rothschild
Published by: Deborah Aviva Rothschild, 2009
Available for purchase at www.rationalmagic.com
Review copy purchased by reviewer

Review by Ida Vega-Landow

While wandering through the dealers’ room at this year’s Fest for Beatles Fans at the Parsippany Hilton in March, I met a charming lady named Aviva Rothschild. She was selling copies of a book she had written, a privately published fanfic about the Beatles, along with homemade soap. I got two pieces of soap, shaped like a cat and an octopus, for free by buying the book, which was a big, pink tome. I wasn’t expecting anything other than your average piece of fanfic about my favorite British rock group, stretched to epic size. What I got was a lively romp that made “Magical Mystery Tour” look like an Afterschool Special. The author started this magnum opus 29 years ago and finally published it last year. I found it poignant that the story begins on April 11, 1980, eight months before John Lennon’s death in the real world. In this alternate universe of Ms. Rothschild’s, the Beatles are reunited on an alien world by a group of alien Beatle fans, who enjoy their music so much they want to thank them by giving them the gift of an adventure.
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Great. Our voicemail company just went out of business

And didn’t tell anyone. Well, anyway, good luck to wildgate.com because they’ll need it.

Our new contact number is 323-201-7147 Yeah. If you have J LHLS business cards, please make a note when you hand them out. I’ll be generating new cards soon-ish.

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New York Comic Con 2011

Photography by Eric Chu.


Cosplayer dressed as Psylocke from X-Men
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