Free Hugs? . . .Uh, No Thanks.

Before I get started I have a little business to attend to. Atomic Robo Vol.2: Atomic Robo & The Dogs of War will be hitting stores on August 13th. I did a shit job of begging you pre-order issues 2.1 and 2.2, but 2.3 can still be pre-ordered. Please do so.

Brian is doing a much better job of it that I am.

Also, we got some new reviews and random Internet chatter in for Atomic Robo. You can check those out on CBR, and Comics Bulletin. There are a few typos and misquotes in the CBR interview -that happens sometimes with email interviews. It’s no big deal, and we LOVE CBR -I just wanted to point it out to you guys. Nothing major though; just Brian being quoted with my answers, my response to the final question being omitted, and 8-Bit Theater somehow being nominated for an Eisner. . . I don’t know where that came from. EDIT: Oh look, the uncut version of the CBR interview is up on Atomic-Robo.com.

Okay, on to the blog. . .

So Brian and I were in Connecticut this past weekend. Why? Because there’s nothing better after a grueling 6-day trip to the other side of the country and back, than spending time with a few thousand anime-kids who combine the poor social skills of traditional comic book geeks, with the insufferable hyper-stupidity of teenagers. That might be a run-on sentence. But I don’t care.

Don’t get me wrong -I sold out of Robo TPBs, and we met some awesome fans. It’s just that there is a sizable proportion of that crowd that could really use a sharp poke in the face. It is not a larger proportion than at any given ComiCon per-say. But it is a louder, more squeelie population, and therefore prone to arousing feelings of homicide in those of us who haven’t yet removed all of our blood and replaced it with sacrin, shitty cartoons, and Jolt cola.

There are certainly many things in this world that I do not understand. String Theory, Emo kids, and Libertarians, just to name a few. But what I really have trouble with are the homemade signs slung around anime-con kid’s necks that read; “Free Hugs”, “Grab My Boobs”, and “Will Kiss Scrotum For Spare Change”. Okay, I made that last one up, but you get the idea. WTF is up with these? I’ve tried looking into it on the intewebs, but I’ve come up with nothing. This was the only relevant thing I could find on an anime forum: “Senshicon 2008, I received hugs from 247 different people. I felt so loved! Yay free hug signs!” Loved? Perhaps you mean groped.

There isn’t enough hand sanitizer in the world to get the fetid reek, and wriggling germs, of 247 strangers off of me. Keep away. No touchie!

The best I can come up with is that it somehow relates to the fact that all of these kids are biologically ready to have sex, but 103% of them are not, and it is driving them all (literally) crazy. Which I guess I can understand.

Actually, that 103% figure is a tad inaccurate. I was told that if I woke up at 6AM and sat in the hotel lobby I could watch the Cos-Play walk of shame. Lots of crumpled Lolita costumes and broken foam swords I hear. So lets say 102% of them are not yet having sex.

Something else that I did not “get”, but I think I understand now, is Yaoi manga (NSFW). This crap is insanely popular. Like, beyond all reason popular. It seems to fill that void in the lives of young women between the strange fascination with horses phase, and the fighting off of overly eager frat-boys phase. I think that Yaoi, like horses, represents something sexual but controllable. Because clearly, my 7yr old kid could beat the balls off the dainty boys portrayed in Yaoi. But enough about that.

I did get to hang out with some folks who are old enough to legally drive this weekend. I’m not talking about Clevinger of course -he likes to sit in hotel rooms, by himself, playing on his computer whenever possible. But some old “convention buddies” were around, and some new ones as well. Christy from In The Puddle is always a good time, and Mista’ Hatton in his ever-present do-rag. Brooke, who I met briefly last year, was a riot, and I really enjoyed hanging out with Pete, from Sluggy Freelance. His assistant Gloria was awesome as well. It was also great to see Mookie and the Apple Geek gang -though there was not much hanging out going on. But we did get to grab diner on Saturday, so that was cool.

Now that I’m home I realize just how exhausted I am. I really missed having Dorinda with me at ConnectiCon -she made SDCC a lot of fun for me. In about a week I’ll be in Alaska, without Dorinda, and even more tired than I am right now.

With any luck the two of us will get a little time together before then. I doubt it though

RANDON SPLENDOR

-The Best Dressed Superheroes!

-Triumph The idiot hand Puppet @ SDCC 2008.

-You guy’s have seen Alex Butera’s animated Atomic Robo right? Well you can see his senior thesis and other work right here on Crackle. Awesome stuff. It makes me want to be a ninja. Just click on UPLOADS for a Playlist.

I am the thigh master.