davemerrill

here's what happened on that mystical journey!! Go behind the cut to learn more!

Anime Boston went well. We made Boston in good time, Neil's a great host, we showed up at the show on Saturday and had to park like 8 blocks away because the area around the convention center was super crowded. We WOULD have taken the T, but the trains quit running at 12:30 which was right when Anime Hell ended so we would have missed that train. We got our badges without any waiting whatsoever. I've had more trouble getting my badge at both AWA and Anime North. Apparently the lines were a lot worse on Friday, but wisely we weren't there yet.

The convention center authority had metal detectors and bag-checking and wanding, real security theater stuff. They take it seriously in Boston. It didn't cause THAT much of a problem, there was a line, but it moved faster than it does at the airport. Of course nobody had to take off their shoes at the Hynes.

Carl Horn showed off lots of big projects on the Dark Horse slate, their printers are having fun remastering manga previously published in crappy editions by previous licencees, or trying to match the crazy things Japan does with printing, and the audience knew what they liked from DH and asked questions about their faves. DH is sending reps to lots of different shows they haven't visited recently to try and get the word out about their manga line, so perhaps we'll see him at AWA again someday?

(Neil and Carl)

I bought the Dr. Slump movie set from the Discotek booth. That, and a Voltron "activity book" we swapped a zine for in the swap meet, were the only things we came home from AB with. The Swap Meet is just that, no cash changes hands, it's all people with stuff looking to trade for other stuff. Lots of people wandering around with arms full of manga & toys & games and Christian making announcements about particularly interesting swaps happening in the room.

(swap meet)

We lunched with Carl Horn, met up with Carol and Kathy, Donald Simmons showed up from Toronto, and we all went to the Chilli Duck for dinner surrounded by tables full of cosplayers. The one tech issue with Anime Hell was handled with one radio call, we started on time and finished on time and the crowd seemed to enjoy pretty much everything.

Chilli Duck's Brain Fish commands you!

We went back to the show on Sunday so Neil could pick up Giant Gorg from Discotek. By the time we got there things were winding down, so we met up again with Carol and Kathy and got some lunch, drove out to Carol's and hung out, drove out to Neil's for seafood, seafood was closed, so we went to the BBQ place in Winthrop that is actually really good.

...ladies

Mara and Christian are doing well, Christian seems to be handling his parts of the con really well. Carol gave me a couple of Mike's Hawaiian shirts, and they're great shirts, but I wish Mike was still here to wear 'em.

We had a wet drive back on Monday. Stopped at the Holyoke mall near Springfield and visited the Target. Detoured off the tollway (so many trucks!) around Rochester, which looks nicer than Buffalo, to be honest, and got home pretty late. Neil put new hard drives, etc, into an old PC and laptop of his and now they're mine (well, I had to shell out a little $$) and I get to play with 'em this weekend when I get a spare minute. I am right now typing this on the monitor he picked up off of Craigslist for $30.