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I-CON Report by Asta Sinusas / I-CON Photos / Featured Con: Balticon
/ Upcoming Conventions

I-Con Report by Asta Sinusas
Guests of Honor: Author: F Paul Wilson / Artist : Ron Walotsky / Science:Richard M. Stallman / Media: Billy Boyd / Anime: Myriam Sirois / Gaming: Mystic Station Design / Performances: Frank Hayes
Official Con Site: www.iconsf.org/ 

Everyone says the name with such reverence. Ah. I-Con. Well, I decided to see what all the fuss was about and head down to the big top on a rainy April 20^th. The first thing I realized was that my perceptions end at the George Washington Bridge. Surely anything on Long Island is only minutes away. I had a rather rude introduction to the Long Island Expressway. It’s one I won’t soon forget. However, I get there, quickly checked out the medieval tourney and started to stand in registration line. However, the two stormtroopers that exited the building made me nervous. Were they going to arrest me for being a rebel spy? They paid no attention, seeming instead to delight in showing off their costume to all passers by. Well, at least I think that was what they were doing. I couldn’t tell what they were doing beneath all that body armor. However, quickly inside, I soon made the acquaintance of Tye Bourdony. His illustrations were throughout the guidebook, but for some reason, his illustrations remind me of the Simpsons. Am I wrong? Check out www.thelightersideofsf.com and you tell me. Another chance introduction was to Dr. Howard Margolin, who runs “Destinies”, which is heard at Stonybrook on WSUB-FM and on the internet (for those that don’t live nearby) on www.cosmiclandscapes.com. (continued)

I-CON 21 pictures by Ernest Lilley (and a few by Asta)
Con Organizers (two of  the many) Diane Brown and Blaine Athins with Tor Sr. Editor James Frenkel / Hucksters as far as the eye can see, or the Gym could hold. / The captain raffle, its continuing mission, to raise money to bring a Trek Captain to a con. Picard is holding a wide lead.
"Odin" shows why it's good to be a god. as he recieves due tribute from "Syn", Prince Sir Hagen swings a mean axe, but these aren't the droids stormtroopers Richard Kopacz and Dion Rupa are looking for...so we all just move along...move along.
Lisa Sullivan models Spider-Man promotional garb, Julie Caitlin Brown (www.juliecaitainbrown.com) shows what she looks like when not made up as an alien, Paul Levinson and Jay Kensinger stop off to premier Jay's The Chronology Protection Case film (see review), and Ian Strock holds up the latest issue of Artemis. Bang Zoom. To the moon Ian!
The Art Show is generally worth the price of admission, and since this is as close as we can generally get, you'll have to pay it to see (photo Asta Sinusas). Illustrator Lars has some fine Star Wars artwork, including this Drath Vader sequence. www.illarstaror.com /  Kevin Flynn,  fo Medieval Mayhem (www.mayhemltd.com) shows off Sting and the Gandalf goblet, available throught the websyte, as are all 9 swords in the series...Sting is $190...but be careful they have real edges.
Oh to be a star (like Andrea Katsulas), or a guy made up like Damien (with Trish), or even a photograher like J. Constantino (with Meaghen). Wait a second, I am a photographer.
Lauren (Suzaku no Miko from "The mysterious play") / The Hendriks Institute (ww.hendriks.com) was among the corporate sponosrs at I-CON. They teach courses in webmastery, network engineering, and more. (l-r) Rochelle Ferrigno, Robert Burden (inkydinky animation studios - www.inkydinkyanimation.com) / Jacquelyn Eschenberg, 8 yrs old, knows allthe spidey villians and holds up one of her favorite titles, a low grade Amazing Spiderman No. 4, which her dad will sell you for a measly $140 at www.comicsmart.pcralm.net.
SFRevu friends and colleague Tony Tellado joined the panel on Censorship (In no particular order; Michael Steinberg, John Norman, Larry Holland, Tony Tellado, Gary Shaw) and  Linda Zimmerman had a well attended panel on  “Ancient Cosmology” / Genre Hybrids panel. (l-r) Tony Ruggiero, Ron Goulart, Paul Levinson, Adam Troy Castro. (Photo by Asta Sinusas)
Locus Editor Charlie Brown (who was presented with the Sam Moscowitz Award)  with Joyce Malzberg, Jim Frenkel, Sr. Tor Editor, Artist GOH F. Paul Wilson.
Terry McGarry / John and Denis Norman / Keith DeCandido
David Kyle receives a lifetime writing award, Richard Stalhman Science GOH and creator of GNU, from which most Linux springs, / Yoji Kondo, Astrophysicist, NASA is also a writer and Co-Chariman of the Japan Akido Association (USA) Inc./ Julie Caitlin Brown steps off the stage after a smoldering cabaret set in the evening's entertainment.

 (continued from above) Well, having enough of the fun stuff, off to panels I went. The first was “You’ve Written It – But Does Anyone Want to Read It? Tips on Getting Published”. However, there was nothing revelatory said, although one hopes that the advice the panel gave would eventually sink in to the masses of wanna-be writers. I think the bottom line is if you’re good, you’ll get published. If not, you need more work. More than anything, (and this is an educated opinion) the other half of the equation after you know you’re good is not quitting after being rejected 297 times. I think any writer who lasts that long deserves to be published – and probably will somewhere.

Off again to the Genre Hybrids panel by mistake, but I managed to see that there really is a lot of crossover between SF and the other genres after all. I finally settled into the “Making Them Listen” panel with James Morrow, Gordon Linzner and Michael Laimo. How to give an effective reading may have been the topic, but the authors soon proved that the reason they are such effective speakers is because they have written such brilliant things and don’t stumble over their words. If they had sold books – I would have bought them on the spot, and more than else, that’s the sign of a good author reading – selling your book. Although, I think confidence is a key factor in learning how to read well to an audience.

I decided to go down to the trade show for an hour in between, and I’m so glad I did. I’m so used to seeing dealer’s rooms filled with musty paperbacks and hawkers of things fantastical and made into jewelry. This is where I felt the big difference of I-Con. The room looked more like a toy store, more accurately a male college student’s toy store. Then it began to sink in where I was – SUNY Stonybrook, and all of a sudden the younger demographic really showed up on the radar. I also came across Padwolf Publishing www.padwolf.com and met Patrick Thomas and Tony DiGerolamo. Tony has a new novel out called The Fix which is an adult length novel with a little graphic novel thrown in for good measure. He also has a comic book series by the same name (for info go to www.thefixsite.com). I read the first chapter of the Wildsidhe Chronicles which are due out this fall from Patrick. I think I would have been hooked if the nice police officer hadn’t interrupted fixed my car battery for me. (but that’s a story for a different time).

Back to one last panel “Ancient Cosmology” with Linda Zimmerman, who managed to blow a few lids off people’s brains as she presented an overview of different ancient cultures and how they all seemed to have developed common elements, although they were completely separated from each other. The year 3102 BCE seems to coincide in a variety of cultures as the start of the present age we are in. Although Linda’s website, www.frontiernet.net/~lindazim, doesn’t contain material from the lecture, you should check it out anyway.

Artist/Author Guests of Honor
Phil & Kaja Foglio
Mark E. Rogers
Filk Guest of Honor: The Boogie Knights
Fan Guest of Honor: Dr. Yoji Kondo
Costume Guest of Honor: Carol Salemi
2001 Compton Crook Winner: Syne Mitchell

 Website: http://www.balticon.org/
Program Schedule: http://www.balticon.org/schedule.html
Location: At the Wyndham Inner Harbor Hotel (Contact Information)

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© 2002 Ernest Lilley / SFRevu el051802