A banner day for us

I’m not going to sugarcoat it: Things have been pretty rough emotionally these past few days, saying goodbye to so many Star-Advertiser colleagues who were part of the recent layoffs. It’s been so chaotic that I feel bad about not having the time or energy to write anything in advance here about Kawaii Kon’s Anime Day at Japan Village Walk, although I did take some pictures for a few minutes there (including this one), rushed off to watch Yo-Kai Watch: The Movie (much of which takes place in the lovely Japanese village of, umm, Harrisville … oh, and Kumamon shows up, too!), came back for a few more pictures and then dashed off to work.

There is, however, some better news to share. If you’ve visited this site in the past few days, you might have noticed our new site banner, drawn by cartoonist Dave Swann. Dave’s comic, “Trouble in Paradise,” ended its 7 1/2-year run in the Star-Advertiser on Sunday.

We’re honored to showcase that banner as a permanent fixture of our blog. I’ve followed Dave’s work ever since he did supplemental comics for Will Hoover’s old “Pineapple Stew” columns waaaaaaaay back in the day at the Advertiser. Heck, I even have one of the super-rare “Trouble in Paradise” books (the cover of which is shown up top), snapping it up back way back when Borders at Ward Centre was still a thing (remember that?). It’s so rare, I’ve never seen a copy since. So to have him do something for us is pretty danged awesome.

Another announcement: We now have a Facebook page, where Wilma and I will be sharing links to our latest posts as well as the breaking otaku news that interests us the most, both locally and nationally. Maybe even live pictures from events, too, if I can figure out how to link that up. Like it! Share it! Say “amen!” (A certain Otaku Ohana Anonymous Director of Forced Social Interaction is so going to bop me over the head for writing that.)

Actual content that’s less about us and more about what’s going on in the community coming really soon! Like tomorrow! Promise!