The Eidolic Fringe forum is located at http://pub72.ezboard.com/bradicaldreamersonlinegraphicnovelforum

So... we went to Otakon. I guess there's more to it than just that though... hmmm... where to begin...

Well, because of the (still on-going because of the damn bastard contractors) epic saga that is my quest to get air conditioning in my house, I got back to my parents' house in NJ at about 3:30AM on Thursday morning (just in time to get 4 hours of sleep). Then it was time to drive down to Baltimore. After checking in, we hung out at the aquarium (doing some random sketching of stuff) until it was time for pre-registration.

I, for one, am so glad that they started doing pre-reg on Thursday night. We got there at 7PM when pre-reg actually started, but the line was already wrapped half way around the convention center. We were in line for about an hour and a half, but it was pretty much the same amount of time we spent in line last year for registration... except that last year, it was early in the morning and in the pouring rain (being able to sleep in is definately a good thing).

So, the con... yeah... it was cool and all. There were a couple of dissapointments. The "webcomics vs. webmanga" panel was really just a fan panel. Honestly, I was hoping for something more along the lines of a discussion about the pros and cons of the web as a medium for sequential storytelling... silly me. Something also went wrong with the Art Show. I don't know the details, but I do know that it wasn't open for most of the first day. Then on Saturday, it couldn't have been completed and opened for more that 4 hours. Then on Sunday, they took everything down for the auction before we had a chance to see it with everything set up.

Now on to the high points of the con. First of all, the concert was amazing. Although TMR looks a little freaky IMHO, he has an amazing stage presence. I'm amazed at the intensity that he maintained throughout his entire performance. What also amazed me was the five different modulations he went through in performing "Heart of the Sword".

Finally, there was Artist's Alley. I spent a ton of time in there. Basically, I bought a sketch book and I was going down the aisles asking people to draw whatever they wanted to in it for $1. In the end, there were 27 total (well, 28 if you count the one I got Laura to draw for me). There's some amazing stuff in there. I'm amazed at what I actually got for $1. Among them are sketches from:

• Michael Terracciano of Dominic Deegan
• Myk of Restaurant Comic
• Aido of Fallen (btw, that stuffed bunny rocks)
• A number of people from Umbrella Studios
• Shoujo-jojo
• Moroturkey
• Shawn Handyside of Staccato
• Ian J. of RPG World

(there were more, but I couldn't find the right URLs. Feel free to e-mail me with a URL and I'll make mention of you.)

Currently updated weekly every Monday.

August 18, 2003

• Issue 3, Page 5 is up

August 13, 2003

• Issue 3, Page 4 is up

August 4, 2003

• Issue 3, Page 3 is up

July 28, 2003

• Issue 3, Page 2 is up

Weekly WebComic Feature

Since I won't be using my rantspace for a few weeks, I thought we should put something else in here each week, instead of one stale rant. So every week, we're going to feature a webcomic that we think is pretty spiffy and that you should most definitely check out.

So this week it's:

A beautifully drawn (and colored) story set in a detailed fantasy world based around rune magic, Konsekai: Swordwaltzer is about Souji, an ex-swordwaltzer (read: bad-ass swordsman). He has since retired, married, started a family and generally found happiness ... but ... happiness like that seldom lasts, especially when something called "The War of the True God" is going on.