#stc liveblog

[zippy-reacts]

Sonic the Comic Liveblog: Issue 100

Here we are at Issue 100! Let's hope it's a great one!

Aww, they gave the mascot a party hat!

So I was right in my guess! This can't be without problems though. For starters, what's gonna happen to Shortfuse?

I think this panel is like… the epitome of Fleetway Super Sonic

It's great that the Freedom Fighters are getting a massive victory like this. Of course, the fight against Robotnik will likely continue considering there's A LOT more issues to go

??? since fucking when does he have laser eyes??

Well, at least the explosion did something to him. He'd be OP as fuck otherwise

I was wondering about that actually. Nice to know the answer.

*sad trombone noises *

Omni third-wheeling in the background

Yeahhhhh he'll be caught for about two issues tops then he'll break free

That expression on Sonic is so goofy. He looks like a cheap theme park mascot costume

This is another one of those StC plot elements that I was super vaguely kinda aware of before hand; of Super powering down and becoming more chill. Guess this is my answer for how it happened.

Yep, figured Grimer would be the key to escaping.

Christ, I knew Robotnik's capture wouldn't last long but getting free in the same issue was faster than I thought it'd be.

Having one long story in this issue illustrated by different artists every few pages is certainly a neat idea, but it also kinda creates a bigger dissonance in the artstyles if that makes sense? Like we saw these same guys in the same setting looking completely different like two pages ago, it feels a little jarring.

I'm not a big fan of the way this artist draws the characters, but I'd be lying if I said that top panel with the explosion didn't look great.

This kid painted this wall mural all by himself! That's impressive. It reminds me of how my dad did something similar to my bedroom walls when I was a young kid, albeit with Snow White and the seven dwarves rather than Sonic.

[zippityzap]

Ever get the urge to do like, five or ten different things simultaneously???

[libelelle]

HIIIIIIIII time for me to be ANOYING

[ddagent]

Irina is so wrong. Margo doesn't want power. Every choice she has ever made has been for one of three reasons: science, Sergei, and Aleida.

The Margo/Aleida reunion is *glorious*. The hug. The tears. The anger. I love how they get back to the science so quickly.

Also, I need a S4 AU where everything is the same but Emma defects with her. Them killing Emma is such BS.

So 405 was fairly blah, apart from Dani finally reading Ed the riot act. I will put good money on Javi working in Mission Control in S5. Also, this season seems to be really serving as a backdoor pilot for Star City.

Now onto 406. Already my heart cannot contain Margo watching Aleida through the cameras!

[completeoveranalysis]

While you’re posting these liveblogs, I suddenly remembered. Are you going to watch the STC OVA now that you’ve finished the Nihon arc? Or does your outline plan(?) make it that you should watch it after this/a specific arc?

I put it up for consideration but the general consensus was that we should continue with the Manga for now and save the OVA as a treat for the end.

Which makes sense in hindsight, since these plot twists are WILD.

[geoffreystjohn]

i'm gonna do all of these eventually but i can't decide lol. also i'd be reading them from the beginning (+in fleetway's case i'll probably read stc online too, and with archie i'd try to piece together the side stories in order lol)

[youfilthyhumes]

I know new content is dropping tomorrow, but I thought I'd take a moment to read the VERY first ever Sonic comic:

This is The Official Sonic The Hedgehog Special, possibly better known as the Sonic 1993 Yearbook. This special predates STC and Archie, and features a few people involved with STC: Alan McKenzie (who wrote Issue 1's "Enter: Sonic"), Richard Elson (who did the cover art for this issue and would start contributing to STC around Issue 7 I believe?) and Jon Haward (artist for Shinobi. This issue also contains a Shinobi story, funnily enough). I've been trying to order a copy of this but my bank's being weird, so I'll have to settle for reading the one story I can find online: Cartoon Concerto.

Unlike issues 2-5, this will be a liveblog. For all intents and purposes, I'll be tagging this issue as "issue0." If I ever get my hands on the full comic, I might go through the other stories or at the very least write short reviews on them.

[digamma-f-liveblogs]

I think I found the canon Sonic the Comic voices

[thankskenpenders]

Yeah I had made an attempt at a StC liveblog a while back, though I dropped it because I would go months at a time between issues and it turned out I'm not the type of person who could easily liveblog something so I just decided to straight up read the issues by myself. (if someone ever comes across the blog, be warned that a lot of the earlier issues were liveblogged "pre-Destiny Debate" so to speak)

Yeah, I don’t think it should be understated that running a liveblog like this is a LOT of work. Posting random silly panels is one thing, but actually trying to post enough to convey the narrative while talking about continuity, characterization, the evolution of the art, how things connect to the games, and the behind the scenes turmoil... it’s an undertaking. There’s a reason why I only do four issues a week

I’ve been back for over two months now, which means that this is now the longest streak this blog has ever had without a months long hiatus. I initially only ran the blog for a little under two months before the hiatuses started

[havinagiraffepixelbrain]

Alright, is this fucking thing on?

So, what you’re looking at, if the tagline didn’t tip you off, is one American’s liveblogged rereading of STC, the UK’s Sonic the Comic. occasionally known as Fleetway Sonic even though it has a fucking distinct name already you peons.

Now, some backstory here: I first encountered this series back in 2008 via STC Online, one of its fan-made continuations, and not long after sought out a torrent of the whole thing. Given that scans of Archie Sonic weren’t nearly as easy to come by then as they are now, I ended up becoming a lot more familiar with STC at the time than I did my own native comic that I’d grown up with.

Suffice to say, this comic has a special place in my heart, despite never having actually seen or touched an issue of it in person before. It’s been years since I read it all the way through, and the fantastic Bobby Schroeder and her blog @thankskenpenders​ have inspired me to copy her shtick wholesale follow in her footsteps.

As for the title? You can blame this: https://twitter.com/Faulerro/status/1411406646937587714

[zippy-reacts]

Sonic the Comic Liveblog: Issue 105

With those bats I had to double-check if this was a Halloween themed issue already

I am geniuinely surprised Sonic is taking Tails at his word here and isn't taking the piss out of him. Also, I wonder if Tails resonating with the flicky so well is in reference to his super form in S3&K coming with a flicky army of death

No commentary, I just like how Sonic is drawn in this panel

Did they somehow draw him even rounder than usual? Seriously, he looks like one of those inflatable halloween decorations

I wonder if this is a return to the status quo of the earliest days of the comic where Robotnik would attempt to take over mobius but is always twarted

Pretty neat bit of worldbulding to have flickies be distinct from regular wildlife on mobius

Ok, but what exactly makes them ideal? Do they emit more energy or something?

Back to Plunder and the Spice Maidens! The wheeled peg leg is cool but now I'm wondering about the practical aspect of it, does he move along using his foot to push off like a scooter or skateboard?

Bit of a blunder, eh Plunder?

An Amy and Tekno story! And I can tell this artist enjoys drawing backgrounds

And not much to say about this story, other than it kinda being like a Scooby Doo plot. Actually, thinking about it, it's the EXACT plot of Scooby Doo and the Alien Invaders, just without real aliens involved in the mix, which is funny because that movie wouldn't be released until like three years after this issue was published

Just got jumpscared by whatever the fuck this thing is

[zippityzap]

Will probably wait until I’m done with Sonictober but I am interested in the future of potentially opening up requests for StC/Fleetway characters to draw because StC has SO MANY cool characters I can’t choose on my own who to draw

[sepdet]

Star Trek Discovery: ep 2

Okay, I absolutely adored the premiere, which I liveblogged Sunday night. But I’ve been feeling rotten and groggy and didn’t watch episode 2 until tonight. 

I’m kind of glad I waited.

I’m transcribing remarks I made to a friend in a private chatroom while watching, and then I’ve added some thoughts afterwards.

SPOILERS.

Ep 2.

Raw remarks transcribed from private chat while watching (slightly edited)

So, our cliffhanger ended with Michael committing mutiny trying to save them, her captain betrayed and pointing a gun at her, and a whole Klingon fleet warping in like several buckets of shit flying towards a fan.

I’m still trying to get used to Sarek being nicer to a human trying to Vulcan than he was to a son whom he practically disowned for leaving Vulcan to join Starfleet. But I love Sarek so will try to muffle the "buts." I want Amanda to show up.

Parting word to Michael: "Behave." On the bright side, seems like it took her seven years before she LOL NOPED.

I hope the Klingon fans are happy. This is a very ponderous language to listen to when it's whole scenes of dialog and not just quick commands or insults. But I know there's a whole branch of fans who embrace Klingon culture and language, and I hope they're as thrilled as I was to hear Sindarin Elvish spoken.  (And that they're not too perturbed that the Klingon look has mutated again.)

Oh SHIT. I know the Captain was trying to defuse situation with diplomacy, but did they not have their shields up? Or was this just an old ship and/or Klingons managed to puncture shields. Ouch ouch ouch.

Wow, Michael is not having a good day. Waking up in remains of brig with failing containment fields around her — whole sequence is impressive and sad.

I like the way they're employing FX in service to story. It's hard not to let CGI overwhelm. But here, no matter how spectacular FX are, they're functional, rather than an end to themselves: like incidental music the Big FX moments help set mood/tone and give audience catch breath to process what just happened. As opposed to only using FX to foster one mood, maximum adrenaline, and keep audience off-balance so they have no time to catch breath and reflect on situation.

Intense telepathic scene with Sarek. Man he really likes this kid. He is one crazy ass Vulcan, even if he won't admit it: sharing a katra with a near stranger, especially a human child, is pretty drastic. (Also I'm confused: thought he adopted her after parents died in attack, but it looks like Michael was already his ward during attack?

ARGH.

Sarek: "I did not come here to judge your actions. I came here to—"

*Pumpkin, who likes to snooze on desk next to keyboard and occasionally use it as pillow at inconvenient moments, carefully and deliberately stretches out paw and plants it over ESC key, backing up browser window to several URLs ago, losing livestream.*

Cats. Such exquisite timing.

Back online.

Okay yes [STC sounded slightly noncommittal when I was enthusing about restraint of FX] now they're getting a little show-offy. But yikes. First time I've ever seen a space battle using classical Greek naval warfare maneuver. Trireme beak-ram!

...although it could be coincidence, and I'm reading it that way because of my classical studies background. They might've come up with that unusual and dramatic visual independently. At any rate, impressive.

OOOOO. Just hit scene where Captain, out of options, sees Klingons beaming up their dead, and she sees option.  I've been kind of waiting for her to be proactive instead of reactive. Earlier her hands were tied by trying to avoid conflict (following orders).

...DAMMIT. Just Googled to find out spelling of Phillipa's last name and saw the kind of spoiler I really hate to see. Stupid, stupid me.  I really honestly didn't know, since I had been so strenuously avoiding behind-the-scenes stuff. 

—

[At this point I stopped babbling in the chatroom to watch final scenes, so rest is post-watch thoughts.]

At least we have one great sequence between Burnham and Captain Georgiou, although the lull to confront one another and devise a strategy was a little forced— Klingons being very polite about not finishing them off. And YES, YES YES, finally seeing Michelle Yeoh fighting, which believe it or not I never have. (I don't watch many films or really much media.) 

:( Ouch. So close. Just a second or two longer.

So that's that. Man, that's gotta be a record even for Trek; can't even get through two eps without ship's destruction and crew evacuation. (Mom and I used to get annoyed at destroying Enterprise for shock value; first time was so dramatic and meaningful, whereas repeat felt gimmicky.) 

Not sure Michael's Expository Speech is did her any favors at this trial, but at least now we hear what she thinks.

Teaser for next episode (or "real" Discovery show) follows. Kinda confusing that they're convicts but on a Federation ship? Or did she get transferred from prison?

I am still mourning the captain and really not in the mood to parse the trailer. DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT. I was wary of this show, but after watching Ep 1 I let my guard down and was SO EXCITED.

I had seen one article about this series last spring showing what looked like a predominantly white-dude bridge with generic-looking white male captain and a few tokens, just like TOS. That had dampened my enthusiasm for this show and prevented me from getting into it or looking forward to it.

But recently I saw posts saying, "Yo, WOC captain and first officer!" (or rather, in Tumblr's usual WE MUST MAKE YOU FEEL GUILTY FOR NOT SUPPORTING THIS THING YOU WEREN’T AWARE OF, SHAME ON YOU!!! way, there was a post berating Tumblr for lack of photosets and buzz and excitement over Michelle Yeoh and Sonequa Martin-Green, and why weren't we getting behind WOCs when we'd been all excited for Gal Gadot?) And I thought, Wait—what?! I thought this was going to be generic white dude captain with token black female first officer which is okay but not ANYTHING LIKE as cool as what you're saying?

And since I do try to avoid spoilers and PR I didn't know Yeoh wasn't going to be the regular series captain. Or rather, I was confused why the hype I was seeing now differed so drastically from that one article I’d started to skim and then closed thinking, “Nah, I’m going to avoid spoilers.” Had the showrunners changed their minds and decided to bring in Michelle Yeoh as an upgrade after seeing their version of Captain Pike wasn’t good enough to anchor a series?I was just going to wait and see.

I forgot any doubts when Episode 1 gave me EXACTLY WHAT I WANTED: Two great female characters with a friendship and professional working relationship. Banter. Excellence. Skills and wits. Clunky TOS tech and new shiny bridge set. Smart captain. Brave first officer. With two WOC they couldn't be tokens; they had to be expanded as just... 3 dimensional characters.

I was so here for that. I loved that whole opening minisode, and also the Captain sending Michael off to play in a brief voyage of discovery and enjoying that her first officer was enjoying herself.

Their friendship was perfect, legendary Kirk and Spock material. It was distracting me from the other bridge crew— even Saru, who is an interesting character, but I was focused so much on these two women— but I figured other characters would get filled out in subsequent episodes.

And now?

"Here. Here's what you really wanted. Two women being superbly competent officers with a meaningful friendship, leading a show just the way Kirk and Spock did. And it's going to be about discovery and an older woman mentoring another one, and tackling difficult ethical problems without providing easy answers and— PSYCHE! 

“...FOOLED YOU! Two leading women in a Kirk-Spock dynamic? Oh, we could never do that. So we're killing off your already-favorite character. As consolation prize, here, have an incarcerated and demoralized WOC who has to be 'grateful' to a white dude for letting her out of jail. Power imbalance between her and captain, no close friendship, and oh yeah, instead of voyage-of-discovery and complicated-ethical-problems Star Trek, it's going to be various people being macho and angry, and a depressing Federation-Klingon War."

 I hope I'm wrong.

It feels like they gave me everything I'd hoped for and more, and then, once I'd let my guard down, they took it away. I'm left with a character and actor (Sonequa Martin-Green) I like enough that I'm going to watch anyway...for now. But I'm back to being wary. And here we have yet another WOC/minority being killed to make way for generic white dude. So now I'm disillusioned and won’t trust this show, and we're only at the end of ep 2.

Okay, yeah, I'm pissed. 

Discovery could redeem itself and turn out to be fantastic. There is a lot of potential here and a lot to like. Saru and Burnham are good characters, and I assume some of the others will be too. But they're going to have to pull off a miracle now to keep me from fantasizing about the better show that COULD HAVE BEEN.

ETA: so maybe I should have read the behind-the-scenes stuff beforehand so I’d be prepared for this premiere to be backstory, in effect. I guess everyone else knew her death was coming, and could appreciate the drama while anticipating this would be a tragedy. Either I’m naive, or too groggy/tired to pick up the Obi-Wan vibes.

[circular-time]

So... Gallifrey One diary

The key to landing a Gally ticket after three years of trying, it turns out, is to say “Oh, I’ll never get into Gally. But that’s fine, because I love LI and Regen.” *click* HEY!  (Yes, it helps they fixed the servers.)

Unfortunately, I also landed a whopper of a sinus infection. So I had to pace myself.

Here’s everything I can remember about the weekend; brace yourself for a long post!

Thursday— I finished my portrait of Anneke, then, so sick I shouldn’t have been driving, I clawed my way up the 405 freeway on the back of Emerald Tiger. Figuratively speaking.

I poured into the hotel around 4.30. After unpacking and resting, I slithered down to LobbyCon where I met @comic-rust looking dapper in Four’s Logopolis outfit sans coat.  He was far too kind and took me to dinner, where we had a pleasant geekfest.

Kim-- Kim, drat, I am so terrible at names! led me down to karaoke, since I had not yet figured out the majority of Gally takes place on a subterranean level like Jabba’s palace. I people-watched for a little while before sinus headache and off-key singing decided to part ways.

Friday—

Panels! Panels! Panels!

11 AM  - The Ties That Bind Us promised a meet & greet for diverse fans, although by the time I arrived (fifteen minutes late) it was a fairly sparse audience with a panel telling us how great Gally was compared to lesser cons like LI Who and Regen. I kept my mouth shut. When in Rome... 

12 PM - Gentlemen’s Agreement — Frazer, Peter Purves and Prentis Hancock (Space:1999) rambled about their work on various shows. They kept poking Prentis to use a mike so we could hear him, which became a running gag. Frazer finally dangled a mike in front of him like a sound boom in a classic Who recording. Peter told funny production stories about old massive TV studio cameras, the challenge of setting them up for filming to avoid crossing their cables, and a Who director who kept doing just that.  Peter reminded us that early Who was filmed “as live,” with exactly an hour and a half to record the episode after rehearsal and the dry run to figure out said cameras. He recounted how Morton Dill (that hillbilly he played on the Empire State Building in The Chase) turned out to be his unwitting audition. He’d impressed the regulars enough — and, crucially, William Hartnell liked him — that Maureen suggested him to replace Russ & Jackie (Hartnell was very distressed about their leaving). So Peter had 3 weeks’ notice that he was joining the show. He’s always stressed his good luck, being in the right place at the right time. I wish I could remember what mischief Frazer got up to in that panel; he’s always a hoot.

1PM - The Sarah Jane Adventures — Katy Manning came for the second panel in the same room. There was fond reminiscing about Nicholas Courtney and Lis as well as Katy being her usual hilarious blind-as-a-bat batty self, waggling her butt while climbing over everyone. Also ranted about her room not having a full-length mirror, forcing her to teeter on the loo and try to see in the bathroom mirror; cue humorous hand-waving as she described falling into the toilet a la Trainspotting and surfacing in other people’s toilets. (She told this story a few times throughout the con). She mentioned the UNIT adventures coming up in which Jo and Mike and Benton team up with new Who UNIT. Jo and Osgood work together. Katy’s glad she doesn’t have to pretend to be young, for a change). Somewhat eclipsed by Katy, Matt Irvine, the K-9 operator, joined them and talked about the ins and outs of operating the dog. He kept the original K-9 in his workshop all those years so it’s still around.

For these panels I was sitting next to @rachel-aldridge​ wearing a perfect Dodo cosplay. I’m sure Peter approved.

Note to self: Gally schedule is confusing; it shows when panels start but not when they finish, and some start on the half hour. I missed Anneke’s interview (woes!)

At some point I peeked out of the cave mouth basement entrance to see the Deluge:

(From Wunderground) 

But I forgot to photograph anything because my brain was full of phlegm. Rain was sheeting down outside, but we were very snug down in our basement apart from some flooding in the main bathroom. STC reported lots of trees blown down back in OC, freeways blocked by water. 

2 PM -  You Just Got Holtzmanned! Gender-Swap Panel with @whovianfeminism​ and others was brilliant, of course. There was lots of intersectional discussion about representation/nonrepresentation of gender and genderqueer, people of color, class in Britain which is mostly lost on American audiences, characters with disabilities being few and far between, the Geena Davis 17% study and similar studies showing how men tend to perceive the ratio of women talking/existing in a given group as much greater than it is. We talked about the fact that Who EU and spinoffs like Class have better representation since they’re not controlled as closely by BBC bean counters deciding what will sell best at home and abroad. I especially liked the discussion of the pros and cons of genderbending— recasting established male characters as women — vs. creating original female lead characters. Also the pitfalls of so-called “color blind” casting vs. acknowledgement of the issues various minorities face.

3 PM - Lalla Ward Interview with Gary Russell: I try to separate actors from characters, but let’s face it, Lalla puts an awful lot of herself into Romana...

... so, hella charismatic, intelligent, and poised, with decided opinions about things (including what personal questions Gary asked that she wasn’t about to answer). She has a glare that could shrivel diamond as well as a smile that could make it bloom. 

Lalla talked about her early career — it turns out she went into acting mostly as a dare and challenge to herself, when she was originally trying to be an artist. She started with a Hammer film (recently rewatched and was a bit shocked by gore), and played Ophelia in Derek Jacobi’s Hamlet. From Jacobi she absorbed the advice that people shouldn’t be actors unless they absolutely need to be, because otherwise they won’t have the drive. 

Her first Who role was Princess Astra, of course; she had no idea Mary Tamm was leaving (in fact she recalled Mary saying in the cantina that she was thinking of doing another season). So it was a surprise to be asked back. She was chosen because, the producer said, Tom got along with her, making her “worth her weight in gold.” 

Talk turned to costuming. Lalla said that for her first serial (Creature of the Pit, filmed out of order) she was wearing something “glamorous” that would’ve looked good on Mary but not on her, after which she worked with June Hudson to find her own style. 

(She hated the white scarf with the pink coat because it snagged on everything!) Lalla had the idea that Romana would shop at bazaars in different times and places, mix and match time periods to create her own distinctive style of no particular era. 

There was some frank personal talk about the brief romance/marriage with Tom and the dangers of getting so lost in the characters you play that you lose sight of yourself and the other person. Sounds like Tom was more head over heels with her, though that’s hindsight. She was not especially enamored of JNT (part of the reason she left) or his choice to replace her with Adric. Yeah, I know, most of this isn’t new news.

Finally, Lalla talked about her work with Danville Hall, a care home in Britain for actors and others associated with the acting profession; she spoke passionately about how society must do a better job of looking after the old. Gally’s charity auction at Gally raised over $18000 for Danville Hall and left her in tears; Lalla’s first two quilts —portraits of her dogs— were auctioned off.

Later in the afternoon came a Big Finish panel that’s kinda blurred together with the later ones and...

5.30 Paul McGann & Daphne Ashbrook Panel— Unfortunately by that time I was wiped and I don’t remember a thing other than Paul’s magical soft, soothing voice. ;) Oh, and his talking about Steven Spielberg sussing out he was lying through his teeth when he said he could ride, but still hiring him for Empire of the Sun and getting him a riding instructor. Paul clearly loved the horses and as usual was being too modest by half, saying the horses did all the work.

8.30 The Fan Club Invasion was the meet & greet I hoped for in the morning, a low-key social gathering. New Who fans found themselves suddenly wildly popular, since the icebreaker game/scavenger hunt asked for “someone who has never seen classic Who.” I rescued one (I hope) from a well-intentioned nerd trying to tell her classic Who stories in the most boring way possible. More importantly, I found a local Who group: Real Time Lords of Orange County.

Happiness Patrol— I caught the tail end of Dominic Glynn’s amazing show which I missed at Regen. I loved his arrangement of Colin Baker’s “Ten million years of absolute power. That's what it takes to be really corrupt!” speech and theme song.

Alas I was turning into a slug and couldn’t make it to Paul Cornell’s late-night podcast, which by all accounts was fantastic, and involved blacksmithing? I dunno. 

A lot of attendees liveblogged on Twitter — it’s well worth perusing Twitter’s #gally1 tag. Lou Jameson and others remarked on a red Dalek on someone’s balcony. Sure enough, it was across the courtyard from my room the next morning, storm or no storm!

(oh say can you seeeeeeee..... )

...and the Dalek was still there!

On Saturday morning, I made the unwise decision to try fresh-squeezed orange juice while on antibiotics. So I missed most of the day. But first...

10AM - Creature Feature panel - Nick Briggs hosted a roundtable with various monsters including Barnaby Edwards and Nicholas Pegg. (The short and how-the-hell-does-he-fit-he’s-too-tall Dalek operators.) Simon Fisher-Beck was there as well making tasteless jokes, and Jimmy Vee (new Who) and everyone else kept mock-scooting away from him. They gushed about various co-stars, especially Billie Piper. Nick confessed to an attack of evil, freaking out Jenna Coleman by whispering to her through her headphones while she was inside the Dalek. Barnaby recounted falling out the bottom of his Dalek in the first Dalek episode and alarming Billie Piper while she was doing a heck of an acting job. And he and Nicholas Pegg described the gushing-exploding-Dalek mess in The Magician’s Apprentice. Mud, McD chocolate shakes and compost squirted EVERYWHERE including inside the Daleks. (Nick called the episode “Poo of the Daleks.”) They went back to their hotel afterwards, totally covered in mud, and alarmed the patrons. (Having gone on 8-day horseback riding/camping trips and disturbed a wedding party in a hotel in much the same way, I know exactly that look of “uncleaaaan!”) 

After that, autograph alley time, where I tried not to make a fool or pest of myself while face to face with con guests. Lalla was polite but appeared to be nonplussed by my silly Lalla portrait (below) which I had side by side in the portfolio with the one I asked her to sign. Louise Jameson was sweet and encouraging about the Leela portrait I put in front of her. 

I snapped a few photos of great cosplays including @rachel-aldridge​ in her Black Orchid Tegan outfit (great pose!) and a Five wearing brainy specs (yay!)

Alas I didn’t get into the Nick Briggs/Barnaby Edwards Kaffeklatsch (missed cutoff by two). I was barely holding up the wall by that point, so it’s just as well. I returned to my room to faceplant for a couple hours until the world stopped spinning and the hot/cold flashes eased off. 

My main regret was missing the June Hudson panel; she’s the famous costumer of classic Who in the mid-seventies. Much love was heaped on her all weekend by stars and fans, richly deserved.

2PM Days Gone By — lovely classic Who panel with Katy, Anneke, Frazer, Peter, Prentis Hancock and Michael Troughton, but I was so blasted all I remember is Katy’s adorable/sad story about how proud she was to try and do her own stunts the first day— they had her roll out of a moving car! Got it perfectly on the first take, but tore all the ligaments in an ankle on the second take; Jon found her sobbing later being afraid she’d be sacked and defended her against idiot directors (I infer the last bit). Anneke repeated her story about how she was the one who wound up doing Pat Troughton’s hair, and also the general observation that if he hadn’t been able to establish regeneration and show that the show could continue without Hartnell, none of this (the con, fandom, Who) would  be here now. A fan put Peter Purves on the spot by asking him to sing Last Chance Saloon. He said “Fuck off!” but eventually, with everyone pestering him with lyrics and singing at him, he did it, for the first time since the episode was recorded, and he sounded fantastic. Anneke and Frazer got up and danced (why didn’t I get my camera out quick enough)? At the end, Michael Troughton distinguished himself by making the sound of Woody Woodpecker heard on a scratchy 45 record player — uncannily accurate— and the sound of a cat being sick— even more uncannily accurate. 

3PM - The highlight of my con was seeing lovely @barnabyedwards​ in late afternoon at the autograph table. He’s written one of my two fave BF audios and directed many more, and I’ve exchanged occasional Twitter banter with him for years, so I’ve been eager to meet him, all the moreso since I kept being confused by the other Barnaby Edwards listed in the schedule for LI Who. (They finally met at Gally; no observed Blinovitch effect.) When I told him my Twitter handle, Big Finish Barnaby lit up and said “Oh, it’s YOU!” Hugs all round. I asked him to autograph Emerald Tiger and picked up his cute "Barbara: Queen of the Galaxy” postcard, although I feel bad for not buying any of his finer art. I’m afraid I inflicted my art on him (he browsed through both my portfolio and another fan’s), and he very kindly gave me some tips.

This is an awful picture, like I said, but I don’t care because BARNABY IS SUCH A DEAR:

(Yeah, my bad eye was showing.) 

Outside it had almost stopped raining by Sat afternoon, and cosplayers collected under the “cavern” overhang [photoset and K9]. I was menaced by Sutekh and minions while helping a couple Fourth Doctors take pictures of one another. Afterwards: 

Then it was back to panels/interviews. I caught the tail end of an interview with Deep Roy, an amazing actor who’s played everything from Mr. Sin in Talons of Weng-Chiang to Scotty’s assistant in the Trek reboots. 

4.30 PM - The Gallifrey Chronicles panel was GREAT, Scott Hancock hosting (he wrote/directed recent audios) with Lalla, Lou, Sean Carlsen, John Leeson, and Gary Russell. Scott asked them what they wanted, and “another season of Gallifrey!” was the consensus. Exec Producer Jason Haigh-Ellery in the audience confirmed a new season, and then Scott spoiled that it’s going to be set in the Time War. Sean Carlsen spoiled me about plot points I haven’t heard yet (I’m up to Season 3), but he’s so cute I forgive him. I didn’t realize what a huge Who fanboy he was, so stoked to be working with Leela and Romana! Lou and Lalla talked about their “cheese and chalk” relationship, how they clash over their hippie/homeopathy vs rationalist/science worldviews, and how their friendship works despite having to “agree to disagree.” Which they and some Gallifrey writers have woven into the Romana & Leela dynamic. They loved playing/parodying each other in Spirit. I think this was the panel where Lalla mentioned she’d bloody well make a better president than the one we have. Much applause. (We mostly avoided politics this weekend, although it was the elephant in the room; veiled #resist comments peppered nearly every panel). 

John Leeson was too adorable, breaking into the K-9 voice to answer some questions, and at other times was quite naughty (when asked how he liked voicing two K9s and having three mistresses he said “Doggy heaven. We’ve already discussed the doggy position.”) He’s usually the last to know when K-9′s going to be used and hasn’t yet been contacted about possible new movie.

Gary Russell talked about how frustrated he was in the 70s that there were no female characters on TV but love interests or characters in menial/supporting roles, until Tenko (landmark show about female prisoners of war in WWII in which Louise Jameson starred). He felt female friendship and characters were interesting and not seen in media enough. So Gary initially came up with the idea of Gallifrey after seeing how Lou and Lalla hit it off while recording Zagreus; he wanted a West Wing style political drama with two strong women as the leads. He did consciously rewrite characters as women a lot during his time on BF, although he apologized for not hiring more women writers when he was producer.  I hit the mike to comment about how the relationship between Leela and Romana in Gallifrey is welcome and unusual in Doctor Who, because its leads are usually a man and a woman; SF in general seldom develops relationships between women or explores how they work together (or even how they argue.) 

In the evening I attended the Gallifrey reception where fans sat at small tables and the guests circulated in the nerd equivalent of speed dating. That meant we had brief face-to-face time with Lou, Lalla, Sean Carlsen, John Leeson, Matt Irvine (K-9′s designer, the self-described “back end of the dog”), Phillip Hinchcliffe, designer Roger Murray-Leach. Really great, although I feel bad for everyone who can’t afford this kind of thing (the organizers said it helped fund Gally and bring more guests). 

Lou was as warm and Earth Mothery as ever, Lalla gracious and warmer in person, looking understated but stunning in a kimono whose designer she was careful to note (and I’m not fashionable, so I can’t remember). John Leeson was adorable and sweet and so happy to be spending time with fans and clearly loves being K9. Phillip Hinchcliffe was dignified but delighted that some of us were listening to his new Big Finish audios— he was pushing them in a charmingly genteel way. Roger Murray-Leach, the designer of Weng-Chiang and Invasion of Time and a lot of the classic Fourth Doctor era, was glad we’re still having fun with his work (I gabbled something about “you set the stamp on Gallifrey and established what it looked like in all our minds,” which seemed to please him.)

The reception ended just as the Masquerade was letting out— that’s where I snapped the fab gel guard, Omega and Alpha Centauri with Three.

Sunday 

Hooray, I did NOT have orange juice and made it through most of the day without feeling diseeeeased!

Yes, the red Dalek was still there.

The @whovianfeminism​ meetup was cancelled after she was called away by a family emergency. It sounds like she had a thoroughly rotten weekend. :(   [Update: :( :( We should send warm thoughts her way. ) I hadn’t checked online, so I went down to the meetup as did writer Valerie E Frankel, who wanted to pick our brains for her book on the women in Doctor Who. She and I chatted. I’m afraid I got a little defensive at her characterizing most classic Who companions as 20-year-old miniskirt-wearing screamers. She seemed surprised when I pointed there were some alien companions, some scientists, that Vicki and Barbara sometimes wore trousers and/or sensible shoes, and that one fan has has found a lower scream-per-episode ratio for many classic companions than modern ones. Also I argued that miniskirts aren’t automatically a marker of sexism, but were originally something 60s women chose for themselves to be liberated, and that Sarah Jane was originally portrayed as a proponent of women’s lib. Frankel disputed me (She hadn’t seen SJ’s intro) and said that she saw classic Who through her “personal filter,” a modern perspective, and that she was basing a lot of her impression of classic Who women on Polly in Power of the Daleks (which is about as bad as it gets, admittedly). Frankel was planning on covering Charley, had heard of Evelyn, and I also suggested Erimem because (a) PoC and (b) first 50 Main Range are free on Soundcloud. I pointed her towards The Marian Conspiracy as well.

At noon I finally caught Anneke for a quick hug and friendly chitchat; she was so much fun at LI and Regen, and I’m sorry I didn’t see her more this time. She’s really enjoying having a second crack at taking Polly on new adventures and is all excited about an upcoming Short Trip.

12PM -  Loiuse Jameson Interview clashed with the Big Finish roundtable, woe! But I’m not about to miss a minute of Lou. She talked about nearly killing a cameraman with a knife throw (after which Leela’s knife was swapped for a blunt one), about having trouble with Tom until she finally stood up to him in Horror of Fang Rock (but they get along now), and about how Stuart Fell the stuntman discovered sexism on set when he was dressed as her for a stunt and got his bottom pinched twice. Once again she talked about how she modelled Leela’s body language and heightened senses on a little girl she knew upstairs plus her own dog (a pharaoh hound mix). She occasionally had her dog on the set; it was well-behaved except when she was being “attacked,” then they had to put it in another room so it wouldn’t protect her. Also while rehearsing her departure, the dog came over by John Leeson and mimicked his body language, both little doggy heads going down and being sad because Leela was sad. The producer tried to talk Lou into staying, but she refused partly because she wanted to move on, partly because the character of Leela was being weakened and forced to ask lots of "What Doctor/Why Doctor?” questions. She’s really enjoying recording Leela for Big Finish nowadays. I was intrigued to hear about her work on that 1980 series Tenko, a powerful show written by and for women. She’s been working almost continuously all her life. Right now she’s directing a play based on a boy who committed suicide from cyberbullying; producers have contacted her about turning it into a film.

And then as I was leaving I saw the cosplay twins Chihiro and Chieko in their Weeping Angels costume and landed the best con photos I will ever take by waiting for Lou Jameson to come down that hallway. :D

1:30 PM - Scary Monsters and Super Geeks— a tribute to Who fan David Bowie (whom Katy hung out with while dating Jimi Hendrix?! she was part of a wild crowd and enjoyed every minute, clearly). Paul McGann was crestfallen to learn Bowie had turned down the part of the Master for the movie because he was working on something else. They discussed a lot of Bowie’s career; big lovefest. I love the fact that male British actors are more relaxed about remarking on other men’s beauty; Paul referred to Bowie’s “unearthly beauty” while discussing Man Who Fell to Earth.

I had a photo with Lou, Lalla and the REAL, original K-9 (his eyes were lit, although you can’t see it!) Ignore my ghastly posture; look at Lalla and Lou being photogenic and gorgeous!

4.30 PM - Look Where We Are, Look Where We Started was an absolutely amazing panel on the women of Doctor Who ably hosted by Deborah Stanish of Verity! podcast; she managed to ask thoughtful questions tailored to each and every one of: Lalla Ward, Louise Jameson, Anneke Wills, Katy Manning, Katrin Stewart (Jenny Flint), Naoko Mori (Torchwood), Christine Adams (new Who & Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Hattie Hayridge (Holly on Red Dwarf), June Hudson, Daphne Ashbrook. What a lineup. The young and old, working and retired, actors and designers/artists. Can’t possibly summarize it all.

Here’s a few more of my miscellaneous cosplay photos including a greate couple dressed as John Cleese and Whoosername from City of Death.

Wrap-up had everyone come onstage (and dear gods Michael Troughton keeps imitating a cat being sick FAR TOO WELL the goofball), and we filled the auditorium.

Apparently some people kvetched at this con for not having enough guests? True that there have been more Doctors at the other cons I’ve attended, but this was a heck of a lineup, and that still wasn’t all of them— there were Titan comics, EU and new Who people I barely saw. I’m just sorry William Russell had to cancel (and Miles Richardson, who’s filming), as I fear I’ll never see Russ. 

Afterwards I went up for final LobbyCon, where I met @colinbakerstreet​ and @zetasigma​ (sporting the spiffy CIA outfit), plus @d_compare on Twitter (nice academic nerd, notice his Twitter is about half Who and half #resistance). Barnaby was down there too— no, @elvisomar​, he had not brought edibles but was flattered we liked his cooking Tweets! A hug goodbye. 

The Resistance was never far from anyone’s minds, although we spent most of the weekend taking a brain break and hiding from the storm. 

Monday 

Leisurely breakfast. Flight delays out of LAX meant a lot of guests were milling around in the lobby; I saw Lalla, Lou, Matt Irvine, Phillip Hinchcliffe, John Leeson who was delighted at the con experience and chatted cooking with me (he had to get home since he’s the cook in his family). 

I drove home listening to Primeval since it’s easier to focus on driving and not get distracted if I already know and love an audio. And then I collapsed and slept most of the day with a VERY annoyed cat pressed against me and making sure I couldn’t escape.

It was tons of fun, and I’ve met a few new fans to keep up with. I’ve been incredibly depressed and not sleeping well since the inauguration, so a brief break was just what the doctor ordered, sick or no. 

[DISCLAIMER: I wrote this down Monday night and Tuesday after the con, and my memory is by no means perfect.]

[zippy-reacts]

Sonic the Comic Liveblog: Issue 113

A classic sight, Sonic and Tails on the Tornado. And what lovely colouring too!

Seriously, they are nailing the foggy look! I wondering how they achieved this since I'm pretty sure StC was drawn traditionally

Greek mythology exists in the world of StC I guess

Scratch that! The mythology is real!

Oh I think I see what's going on, the maze is conguring up monsters from their imaginations.

Huh, I recall him having a different demeanor back then

Oh that answers it! And to think this weeks villain was just a little kitty cat.

With all due respect Tails, what chippie was serving veggie burgers in 1997?

Oh she has a pretty design! Honestly this is hitting the sweet spot for my preferences for mobian design; not humans with weird noses, but also not just sticking realistic animal heads on human bodies. A nice stylized in-between

Another pretty design!

HOW did StC predict a major plot point of SA2 before Shadow was even remotely conceptalised as a character???!!!

Only the best safety features for this spaceship

He would've fit right in at Belfast City Hall in December of 2012 …I'll leave you all to do your own research on what exactly I'm referencing.

Yeah, sounds pretty handy.

I hadn't thought of that question before concerning the whole trapped in armour thing, but since it was asked, my curiosity is very satisfied that there's an actual answer

[zippy-reacts]

Sonic the Comic Liveblog: Issue 111

New issue! And Tails looks quite adorable in that cloak

Oooooh and here we see a rare double-page spread from StC!

Fuck yeah, Tails just delivered to Metallix a Final Destination style death!

Remember in the early issues when every other panel Tails would say "oh no I wish Sonic were here"? Now our little baby boy is all grown up and murdering robots left right and centre!

Well that's neat

Oh Robotnik's face is a picture

On to a new Tails story and these may be the most British character designs to ever grace the pages of StC

Speaking of Britishness, here's Tails enjoying a 99 Flake

I see this artist is taking the design philosophy of "slapping an animal nose on a human makes them a mobian, right?"

Grimer walked so Agent Stone could run

Anyway, this is a unique new take on a caterkiller design

Really are squeezing in the British cultural references with this story, huh?

For those wondering, "Prosperous" is the name of a town in County Kildare. The first image that comes up when you google it makes it look like Silent Hill

Huh, it's true we actually haven't seen him in a bit.

Rather in the same vein as the multiplying joke as Zootopia

That got a good chuckle

Well geez, I wonder if this has anything to do with that big green thing slapped on the front of his chest