Back from Anime North

[Stan Sakai]

I returned from Toronto very late last night. I had a terrific time.

Unfortunately I did miss one autograph session on Saturday. If any of you were there, I apologize. It was completely my fault. I had three events that day, and after the second I was told I would have a signing at 4. Having a couple of hours to kill, and being extremely jet-lagged and Sharon and the kids having just arrived that morning, we decided to rest in our room. We would have the con dinner that night which would run pretty late.

The elevators at the Double Tree were all out of order, so we walked up the twelve flights to our floor. I took a nap, then walked down in plenty of time for my signing. The coordinator saw me and said, "You should have been here an hour ago!" My signing was advertised for 3. I should have checked the program guide. I signed for an hour until 5.

Fortunately, this was the only event I missed or was late for during the con. I apologized to the coordinator and guest relations, and I apologize to you. I hope this was not the only event that any of you attended. A couple of other programs I did were a workshop and an overview of Usagi's life and times at which we also gave away comics and freebies provided by Dark Horse.

We rented a car on Monday, and drove over to Niagara Falls. The Maid of the Mist boat ride to the bottom of the falls was a LOT of fun.

[Shishio]

Welcome back, Mr. Sakai.

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed yourself in Toronto.

Personally, I attended the Usagi workshop you held on Friday night, and I went to your signing Sunday morning. I really wanted to attend your Usagi panel Sunday afternoon, but another event I attended ran about 45 minutes longer than expected. Oh well.

Now that I know I missed out on Usagi freebies, I regret missing it all that much more.

Was your panel different from your workshop? From the summary given in the program guide, it sounds like it wasn't.

16:00 Life & Times of Usagi Yojimbo
Stan Sakai talks about the animation history of the Ronin Rabbit, with video.

If it was different, could you please provide a quick overview?

I really enjoyed your workshop, and found you to be a very good host.

I have been to a lot of conventions, and have found all the people I met to be nice, but you really went above and beyond. The Usagi stuff you brought in was really cool, and you were gracious enough to allow me to photograph all of your stuff, which I really appreciate.

And you were even nice enough to do autographs after your workshop. I felt bad for asking you to sign my stuff. I figured you probably wanted to enjoy the con or something, but after seing someone else get an autograph, I couldn't let myself be left out.

But not only were you nice enough to sign my UY books, you did a sketch in each one, (And even in my sketchbook Sunday.) (I like collecting sketches and autographs in my book.) which I also appreciate very much.

Thank you for attending and everything you did.

[Stan Sakai]

The two were basically the same, except there were more questions at the Sunday event about my various characters, their origins, and where they are going.

I really encourage questions so I can cater the program to the interests of the audience.

[Shishio]

Well, then I wish I could have thought of some good questions to ask. Unfortunately, I did not have too many.

Personally, I'm interested in all things Usagi.

I was surprised to hear that you get offers from companies that want to produce Usagi animation all the time. I didn't think Usagi was so popular. (I believe I'm one of two people that reads UY in my area.)

Although I would certainly be quite pleased if UY is actually more popular than I thought. I know you said it's published in ten different languages, but it doesn't seem like too many people in North America read it compared to other comics.

Just curious, do you know offhand how many UY animation proposals you have received so far?

[Steve Hubbell]

We rented a car on Monday, and drove over to Niagara Falls. The Maid of the Mist boat ride to the bottom of the falls was a LOT of fun.

I was in Niagara Falls a month ago to attend the Eerie Con Seven (a science Fiction related convention) so I could meet one of my favorite fantasy authors. Unfortunately, he had to cancel his attendence because of some serious medical problems, so I ended up playing tourist for a couple days. It was cool, even though it rained almost the whole time.

[Stan Sakai]

If we had not gone to Toronto, we definitely would have been at the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award Weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona. Scott Shaw, Sergio Aragones, Jack Davis and Mark Evanier participated in a Quick Draw session, Scott did an Oddball Comics slide show, and there was a Sergio Roast in which everyone in the audience wore a large fake mustache.

As for the awards:
Pat Brady won the Cartoonist of the Year
Gahan Wilson received the Milt Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award
Darwyn Cooke got the Comic Book Division Award
Jeff Parker won Editorial Cartoonist
Brad Bird rightly got Feature Animation for Incredibles
Glenn McCoy got it for Newspaper Strip

[HeadHuntaz]

Hello Stan...I was debating on going to the SD Con, and then I found out that you will be visting HOTLANTA for AWA in September (Saves me from having to fly to Cali to meet you ). Looking forward to meeting you and one quick question; will you be doing any art for fans??? Thanks!

Chris Walker
chrisjwalker@hotmail.com

[Stan Sakai]

Looking forward to meeting you and one quick question; will you be doing any art for fans??? Thanks!

Chris Walker
chrisjwalker@hotmail.com

Do you mean those free quick sketches? If so, then yes, I will happily do one for you. I just ask that you supply your own sheet of paper, and that it be personalized to someone. I do not draw special requests for these (such as a particular character, or situation).

I don't know if I will have time to do any commissioned pieces during the convention. If you want something special, it is best to contact me before the con, either on the boards or by e-mail.