A-Kon: Texan Style Anime
Artist David Foox gives us his account of going to A-Kon which is the oldest continually running anime convention in North America which was held this weekend:
By the time Fanboy had requested we do an editorial/article on the Dallas A-Kon Event, I had already given the subject matter much thought. In fact, I had already drafted my overview of this fun day in my head. So putting it down on “paper”, so to speak, was quite easy.
We (and by “we” I mean Jessica (my wife) and I) arrived at the Adams Mark Hotel and found ourselves thrown in at the deep end of this pool of costumes, freaks, geeks, musicians, artists, and gamers. In hindsight, I try and imagine that space prior to the event and void of all the color and realize that it really is the people, art, and games that make this event successful. A dry, dead space with a good dose of desperation/depression was overcome by livery that only hardcore gaming geeks and artist nerds (of which I am proudly both btw) could muster up in good ‘ol DFW (editor’s note: DFW = Dallas/Fort Worth).
As we arrive we are greeted by a fellow gamer and Kung Foox Collective member, Stephen Snow. He yells out at us through his well-dilated pupils and beckons us over to his group of mates. WAY COOL -> The Party Has Started!
Entering through the big sliding doors we are overcome by SO MUCH TO LOOK AT. I instantly feel at home when I see the Tank Girl Bad Guys (I forget the name of the unit) and realize that for most of the people here this is a place where magic comes to life – if only for split seconds at a time. It’s also a kinda DisneyWorld on Acid or a Six Flags on Coke kinda place. But the best part is that the event was broken down into sections – and as you moved from section to section you were drawn into an entirely new world with new rules, new art/activities, and new people. Stephen gave us the guided tour and we roamed from anime/comic books to the LARPing section (Live Action Role Playing. ie: sword fighting and spell casting but with a sword made of soft material and a spell book written on notebook paper) to the LAN gaming to the Battletech (my fav) to the Magic: The Gathering (Jess favorite) to the role playing games and then to the bar for a drink.
While each section had its own reality and rules, everyone at this event was unified in their desire to be a part of something magical – something FUN. This is the “reality” I prefer to exist in and it was cool to feel that thousands of others enjoy the same view.
David Foox is a professional artist, painter, and founding member of the Kung Foox Collective. You can see his work at kungfoox.com and his blog at kungfoox.typepad.com. His wife is Jessica Foox and you can find her artwork here.