Complex Actions

To start, I want to talk about Cons, as in Conventions.

As many of our readers (read: yourselves) have been alerted to, we are headed to Comicpalooza in like… 30 days. This is going to be our first major convention of the year, sitting with such heady company as Phil Foglio, R. K. Milholland, and others that I cannot or will not name yet. This is a really big step for us, considering we have just hit the 60-ish comic mark (a little more when you consider our fillers) and have only been up a staggering 6 months.

That’s right folks; six months. Six months in, and we have already been invited to another convention. Dallas Webcomics Expo has graciously sent us some information (admittedly, they have sent a lot of comics this information, but don’t burst my bubble yet, eh?) on participating in their Convention come August in good ole Plano, Texas.

The irony here is that we have been getting a lot of questions about whether we would attend GenCon this year. So, to answer all the questions about GenCon:

1. Yes, I want to go to GenCon.
2. GenCon booths start a $1000.
3. We did not do that well in donations and sales this winter.
4. We have to register for GenCon by April 7.

As such, we will not have the necessary $2500 for GenCon (considering airfare, booth setup, hotel room(s), food, etc.), and will be unable to attend as a vendor this year. As much as we want to (and this is one of those secret things we were pushing sales and donations for, but not the only one) and feel we should, we will not be able to.

However, that does not mean that we will not be at other cons, like the one in Plano. We will take them as we can, and next year, we will look forward to sitting at GenCon, talking games and comics with all our adoring fans. The irony in all of this is that we never expected to attend even one con this season, much less two or more. We still consider ourselves a fledgling business, and a nobody comic. Just goes to show, the power of the fans speaks louder than my own self-consciousness. We would not be able to attend such places without all of you, and I would like to thank Dimensional Radio (and their management) for providing the booth costs for this year at Comicpalooza.

On a related note, if you wish to sponsor Complex Actions as a business, and want to have your brand or company name at our booths, please do not hesitate to contact me at talthos@complexactions.com. We are more than willing to place your company logo at our booth and tell everyone that we love you.

In addition to conventions, we have a couple side projects that we are working on that should see some fruition in the next month or so. Stay tuned, because we plan on revealing them as soon as we are approved to do so, and are hoping that you like them as much as we do.

Do not forget to vote for us at Comicpalooza’s Site. The more votes we get, the more chance we make an impression with everyone. Awesome, right?!

On the subject of Confidentiality Scams, or Cons… Leverage was upped for another season. Not really having anything to do with the comic, but I wanted to put it out there. Other than just an amazing cast and excellent writing, there is a chemistry in this show that I adore. If I were somehow more connected, I would hang on their set for a while and totally harass Timothy Hutton (and the others). Oh, and would train with Christian Kane for a day before dying of breakage.

Lastly, Convicts. Last night I had the opportunity to sit in on a community watch action meeting, and one of the things that was brought up was Tagging and Graffiti. The county here has an abatement statute that says that all homes, businesses, etc. that have been spraypainted need to abate the markings within a certain period of time. Okay, I can get behind that. It makes the community look good, and keeps out some nasty elements.

However, one man stood up and talked about how all taggers should be caught and punished to the fullest extent of the law. That is where I derail from the usual community feeling and get a little underground.

In truth, Graffiti does look bad. It is usually gang related, marking territory and kill zones. It often marks locations of business dealings (drugs, guns, prostitution, protection) and is akin to the “artist” pissing in his own neighborhood like a dog. Yes, I said it, you piss in your neighborhood. Go thug it up somewhere else and die, and leave the neighborhood alone. Rats do that… see the irony?

However, Taggers are a bit different. I can understand the idea: bored, with a few cans of paint and an artistic desire that never goes away. You don’t buy in to conventional art mediums, instead wanting everyone to see it for free, in their face, as they jump on the subway or drive to work. Bright colors, showing the world your skill and tag.

These are not criminals, except that what they do is a crime.

Take these same kids or young adults, put them in front of a wall that is designed for this very thing, and they will make masterpieces with spray cans. There is a prominent tagger that is now the owner of an art gallery here in Houston. Not a criminal, despite committing a few crimes.

My frustration was this: if the boy thug who paints his gang colors on a wall gets arrested, he gets off with a misdemeanor offense because the mark is relatively easy to remove, was one color, not very large in square inches, etc. However, the Tagger that makes a mural of art gets tossed for a felony property damage charge, and ends up going to prison.

Think about that. He or she gets sent to a place where they will likely have a terrible time, learn all sorts of real criminal behavior, and then be released out of the system a better criminal. They will be unable to work a decent job due to the felony conviction, so they will fall back on those skills and start a real life of crime.

Parents, mentor and discipline your kids. Help them express themselves in any way possible artistically. Encourage them to get into after-school programs or community events.

Kids? Rock on, but do it within the law. Don’t be idle and break the law because it seems cool; you will burn yourself in the long run. The laws and government are still run by uptight old men that hate you. Don’t make them right about it. Find a community wall that is put aside for Tagging. Tag a canvas or dropcloth. Talk to some of the youth centers and art studios to see if you can tag their walls as part of their art programs. All in all… be safe and be legal. Don’t be a Con.