july-1990-pt11 US_A-KON-90

PROJECT A-KON

Mean while in July of 1990, over on the other side on the pond, the E.D.C. had been hard at work putting together PROJECT A-KON (26th. & 29 July in Richardson TX USA).

The first fan run Anime convention of the 90's!

With support from E.D.C.'s local affiliates; NEO  DALLAS, and 3WA, 

just ask Meri Wakfielkd,

GUESTS: from Animag;Trish Ledoux (Magazine Editor), 

and

 Jeffery Tibbetts (of Pacific Rim Publishing). 

Animag; America's only Professional Anime Magazine.

Louis Scarborough JR. (Animator),

Steve Krueger (comic book artist),

VERY SPECIAL GUEST OF HONOR Tex Henson (Animator), 

FAN GUEST of HONOR: B-D Banzai 

[NOTE: At this time the Earth Defence Command (EDC), had only 8 inquiring Anime Fans from the UK who had contacted them by June of 1990.]

[NOTE: "Editorial Comments - Project A-kon Diary" can be found written by the Editor of Animag #11 (1990 - time of year unknown) ; by  Trish Ledoux chronicling 24 hours from 23.15 (7/27/90) to 23.28 (7/28/90).  - It would by anything from 3 months to 18 months before I would have picked this up from a comic book shop in England!]

May 1990 Pt.4 Animag 10

With all my efforts on giving the reader the whole view over time, of my journey with the start of the UK's Anime & Manga Fandom getting the facts of the dates historically correct has been paramount and a driving force. With this in mind, the printing of Animag #10 in1990 looks to be May of that year going by the advertisements of 'Horizon' (Dirty Pair -May, Markalite (the magazine of Japanese Fantasy) Issue #1 JUNE 1990, SF2. (San Francisco Science Fiction) - The Garage Kit Network (model shop) with its 20% off that ends on 15th. July, and Stargate (model shop) at Project A-KON JULY 28 – 29.

[NOTE: my conclusion of when Animag #10 was printed does not tell the reader when in the UK I picked this issue up, it may have been a year later, in March of 91.]

What follows is a very brief overview and reappraisal, of this issue that is centred on Science Fiction and Japanese Mecha, all but one small article on a four part OVA soon to be relesed (at the time) entitled Mosaica (giving its full title Heroic Armor Mosaica) a fantasy, about a young warrior called Wu Talma (U-Taruma) who make a stand against the murderous conquest that has befallen the land, in the hopes of awakening the ancient giant warrior to aid him.

[NOTE: Mosaica's full title Heroic Armor Mosaica was supplied by a member of the Jarod Nandin's Vintage Anime Fans group on Facebook, very little in English is found about this 4 part OVA]

  

Contents Page

 Featuring Articles on 'Space Cruiser YAMATO; Gundam F91; Iczer 3; A-KO the Versus; Mosaica; 'Gall Force'; Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam; and Mobile Police Patlabor.

 Editorial by Trish Ledoux. 

Trish's editorial gives us an insight into the love of a language and Japanese culture in this popular medium of animation, and even her remembering – back in those days “the days when you watched everything, when all animation was new and wonderful and you embraced it with equal favour” seeing so many shows that were produced and aimed at Japanese high school boys (aged from 10 to 18) that was an out-let counter to what Japanese society expected with “tales that relied upon the sadly overused revenge-seeker-whose-loved-one-has-been-slain-by-the-bad-guys storyline”.

 

NEWS on up and coming Anime.

(remember this was the internet of its day.)

NEWS on up and coming Anime.

(remember this was the internet of its day.)

NEWS on up and coming Anime.

(remember this was the internet of its day, this was who information traveled.)

 More NEWS.

NEXT ISSUE.

 Back cover Ad. and the pricely cost of £2.95 for the issue.

Advertisement of popular items.

Advertisement of popular items.

Advertisement of popular items.

Advertisement of popular items.

Advertisement of popular items. 

Well you have scrolled down from the Contents Page and passed all the Ads, as for the articles you will need to hunt down the Magazine (I did say it is a very brief overview - you now have the internet and e-bay).

More treasures from comic book stores. Con.

The Printed word and written word was our information on the superhighway connected by independent Comic book stores (and the odd chain of stores) that would be most people's first look at translated Manga and news on Japanimation  (later to be known as Anime by fans). 

 By the late 80's more would trickle in America, in the form of a magazine called “Animag” edited by Trish Leoux and only published 3 times a year (thou it states Bi-monthly by 'Pacific Rim Publishing Company)!

We will look at these Professional magazines in the not to distant future!

[These hubs of information and entertainment where limited to me by geography, and as I did not own a car, the adventure of public transport awaited me, as I travelled by Bus to my nearest cities of Nottingham and Leicester.]  

Our Local Heroes were people who ran comic book stores.

Manager Lance Fielder from 'Another World' comic book store (specialists importers of Science fiction) in Leicester (sadly no longer independent, just a Forbidden Planet Toy shop with week old comics).

Final Fronter comic book store, (shut down in about the year 2000, Leicester)

[I remember when the shop was based in the “Silver Arcade” having a big poster on the wall of “Grey” the futuristic apocalyptic S/F story by Yoshihisa Tagami, and I thought Wow that's cool!]

Magic Labyrinth (now still independent, managed by Dave Holmes that can be found at 2-3 Charles St., Leicester that has been going since 1992) A good source of back issues, as you enter the shop the shelves all full, the floor is starting to fill up with piles of stuff, and the up-stairs rooms are a goldmine for comic book Geeks!

Nostalgia and comics (Shut down [date unknown], Broad Marsh Shopping Centre, Nottingham),

Part of an expanding franchise now with the help of Forbidden Planet International the surviving parent store is kept going! [I can not comment about its independence].

Then a comic book concession in the basement of Nottingham’s Virgin Megastore, then moved to 'The Fantastic Store' and later “Page 45” (it is with great sadness that one of the guiding lights to so many comic book fans and writers is no longer with us - Mark Simpson (1968-2005) he was only a year younger than me, and a fan of Hayao Miyazaki's 'NAUSICAÄ of the Valley of the Wind'. The team of "Page 45" are always welcoming; Stephen L. Holland,  Jonathan Rigby, and Dominique Kidd.

I can not do justice to his passing, so I would ask you kindly to go and read what is on Page 45's website

http://www.page45.com/world/about/mark-simpson-1968-2005/

It was the vision of managers and comic books store owners individualism and their passion that made the retail experience that of going to a friend’s house, and not getting the “Hard Sell” or the indifference of “if it's not on the shelf, we don't have it!”, it is a love for the genre when you hear “Hi, can I help you” that they are sincere in wanting you to have a fun experience reading comic-books!

[So you out there are support your local comic-book store, it is a feeling that the Internet can not mimic!]

As you have read following my recollections and transcribes of correspondence and ephemera from the 1980's, you can see that information on Japanese cartoons and Japanese comic books came mainly from an imported market aimed at boys and young adults in the form of Robot war machine's Model kits and toys, backed up with a series of competing Science fiction novels, with a smattering of VHS videos for kids. Near the end of the 80's translated comic books, Amateur Fanzines and professional magazines on Japanese pop culture would make their mark.

[So Hobby and Toy stores, and then Comic book stores imported goods, it was then “up to you” to recognise what was Japanese and find out more, even the high street had hidden gems! ]