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Saving Connecticon
Well, another San Diego ComicCon has come and gone without me visiting it. I went in 2002, ill-prepared with just an airplane ticket, a small suitcase with clothes, and tickets for the Con that I got because I was updating a web comic back then (called Tangents - this site being the last remnant of it on-line). I've not gone back since.
Oh, there's a variety of reasons. I don't have the money. I don't have a comic anymore. I need a job. It's on the other side of the country. But basically I've not gone for the past three years, even though I wanted to. And then I heard of another Con, one that is only a few hours away from me, in Connecticut.
I was tempted to go. I mean, Michael "Mookie" Terracciano of Dominic Deegan fame was going to be there, and I'm a big fan of his comic. It's relatively local, as well. And if it wasn't for the fact my car was giving me troubles lately, I'd have just shrugged and driven down to the convention.
Now I wish I had. ConnectiCon is in danger of bankruptcy. Due to additional costs not disclosed on the initial contract for the Connecticut Convention Center (and I'd love to know how the Convention Center managed to weasel in those added costs when their contract stipulated additional costs of around $10,000, and it ended up being a hell of a lot more than that... isn't that in violation of a legal contract? At the very least it's sleazy business practices), Matt Daigle and Briana Benn who run ConnectiCon are now in debt for $34,148.50.
They're not doing this for money. The first year they did ConnectiCon they were at a loss. Year two they managed to just break even. It's a work of love, not of financial gain. And now both the dream of a future ConnectiCon and perhaps their own personal dreams and endeavors are now in danger thanks to the disreputable business practices of the Connecticut Convention Center. Fortunately, fans aren't taking this lying down.
The Save ConnectiCon Website has sprung up with a PayPal Donation button, meant to gather funds to help ConnectiCon out of this financial bind. So far, as of 11:00 p.m. EST they have collective $6,980.69 in donations (which factors in the PayPal fees).
This is a worthwhile endeavor, and I urge everyone who can to go and help out ConnectiCon. This is one of the few conventions that looks highly upon web comics and the artists behind the web comics. San Diego's ComicCon is primarily about dead paper comics; web comics are a bit of an afterthought, the booths rented by Modern Tales and Keenspot and Penny Arcade (to name a few). It might be a big grand affair... but web comics get lost in the shuffle. ConnectiCon is different. And it needs our help.
As an aside, I think we can do more than just save ConnectiCon. Last year Jamie Robertson was in financial need, and started up the Sebo Kitty Klub to try and garner up more funds so he could continue publishing Clan of the Cats (he was otherwise going to go on hiatus while he got a full-time job, which would preclude regular work on the web comic). Maritza Campos in the past was in need of donations so she could replace her computer, which broke down. Other cartoonists have suffered similar setbacks, be it broken scanners, dead computers, or even just artistic supplies when they are short of money.
What's needed is a Webcartoonist Assistance Fund. I'm not sure how we'd go about and create this; who would hold the funds? Who would decide which cartoonist is in need? What constitutes need? Still, a Webcartoonist Assistance Fund would be a viable entity, once the foundations of it are laid down. It could be funded by donations by fans and by cartoonists who want to put a little something in, to help out others in need or even on the off chance that they themselves are in need further down the line.
But before we create such a Fund, let's rally behind ConnectiCon and help keep the dream alive. Donate today.
Robert A. Howard
------------------------- At least it wasn't a cup of tea...
 (From Count Your Sheep. Click on image to see full-sized image.)
Just a quick note, seeing as I've completed the new Harry Potter novel twice (or is it three times?) now and am working on yet another reading to catch what few details I missed the first few times around.
(By the way, it's kind of interesting how many other people caught on about R.A.B., I've had over 30 hits from search engines looking for information on R.A.B. using the name I suggested as a clue back in my Harry Potter review. I just hope those new readers stick around and start reading web-comics themselves, because the comics are definitely worth reading.)
I feel a tad bad for Katie. Well, okay, more than a tad, I mean she got whapped by a soccer ball! But still, to be standing there with her eyes shut as she thinks about "Harry Potter" and even wearing a wizarding hat... hee! That's just entirely too much fun! As is her picking up a stick and muttering "Stupefy!" at her mom afterward.
Unfortunately Adrian's starting to feel a touch under the weather, to which I must suggest drinking plenty of water. Or tea, but water is preferable and definitely better than soda. It helps wash the germs away. ;)
Anyway, I hope Laurie has a copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blooded Prince handy. But if she doesn't, I'll lend them my copy. Sure, some people might sneer at Harry Potter, but anything that encourages children to read is good for me. Though I think Laurie should read this with Katie... not only is it good when parents read to their children, there are some scary scenes in the novel, and some bad stuff going on behind the scenes.
Though I'm sure Ship will scare away any bad dreams...
Robert A. Howard
------------------------- This is why I keep my old stories in a safe...
 (From Ozy and Millie. Click on image to see full-sized image.)
I like Millie's mom. David Simpson manages to draw her with a certain dignity and charm that I'm sure quite a few moms wish they actually had when dealing with wayward children. Not that all children are as conniving and ingenious as Millie is, but I suppose part of the problem there lies in the fact that Mrs. Mudd has raised her daughter entirely too well.
As an aside, I'd like to applaud David for actually drawing out each panel. Quite a few artists when facing a bit with several similar panels would just cut-and-paste things. I've complained about this before, be it for Questionable Content or quite a few comics. When I drew my own comic, I struggled with each panel.
Yes, it would be easier to just cut-and-paste panels, change a little bit here or there, but that's cheating on several levels. First, you're cheating yourself; by redrawing each scene a little bit differently, you improve your artwork (repetition is a key to mastery). Second, you're cheating the reader (in the sense that you're not stretching your own skills to their utmost). Yes, maybe by cutting-and-pasting strips you speed up production and can put out more strips per week... but in the end it's not worth it.
Meh. You've heard me go on about this before. The thing is, David shows just how talented an artist he is. The subtleties between panels 1 and 2 are magnificent. These two panels look so similar, and yet the differences between each panel truly bring this comic to life.
And Millie herself is a delight. But then again, I've long loved the sheer mischievousness of Millie. I mean, she out and out tells her mom that she's going to blackmail her, and just what she wants. Now that's gumption!
Another bit I enjoyed in this story-arc is when David made fun of his own artwork. Oh, it's nothing serious. The last panel is drawn in the old style of Ozy and Millie before the turn of the century (heh, seems odd saying that, especially about a web comic as most of them have started after 2000), but to be honest, while the characters were smaller back then and inked with thicker lines, the style hasn't significantly different.
(Still, that last panel reminds me sooooo much of my own artistic endeavors and my decision to take them off the web. *wry chuckle* No doubt in ten or so years when I've a young Millie-like child of my own, he or she will try to drag those files out of my computer and put them on-line to humiliate me.)
The delightful thing is, Ozy and Millie just never go out of style. Sure, the older strips mentioning Jesse Helmes might cause some younger teens to scratch their heads because they're unfamiliar with the 80's, but the intrinsic child-like silliness of our youthful cast continues to delight, and doesn't grow old.
What's further, David has been shown to be able to take even his old tricks and turn them on their ear. I tangented one such occasion when Millie suffered the hair loss curse instead of Ozy. (We learned that it was possibly due to Millie accidentally performing a Belgovian Curse Deflection Dance, though Llewellyn might have been fibbing. We never can tell with him.)
In any event, Ozy and Millie continues to excel through the years, so if you've some spare time, go and read the first strips. You don't need to in order to enjoy the comic... but even the early Ozy and Millie strips were works of genius. In fact, I'm surprised that Ozy and Millie has never been syndicated. Though I suppose the Dragon Conspiracy might be to blame for that one....
Robert A. Howard
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