VCONVERSATION #3 Dedicated to Promoting the Upcoming VCON 37 SF&F Convention September 28th to September 30th, 2012 VCON 37: POST-APOCALYPSE VCONversation - May 2012 Last but not least, WE NEED YOUR HELP! Events like VCON run entirely on volunteers, and we’re running short this year. ConCept in Montreal In this issue is dead (for this year, there is talk of a 2013 revival) for lack of people like you and us to help out. We’re Page 02 – Introduction still looking for all types of help, big and small, now – T-shirt art design contest. and during the con. Help us stay alive in the face of Page 04 – ‘VCON Awards Hour’ by R. Graeme the apocalypse! We offer letters of recommendation, Cameron. resume buffing, and undying gratitude. Page 05 – Review of ‘Cabin in the Woods’ by Michael Walsh Sayata Gabriel, Editor-in-chief Page 07 – ‘Sequelitis?’ by Victor swartzman. Page 08 – ‘The Avengers: Worth the Wait and Hype?’ by Victor Swartzman The Vancouver Convention of Science Page 09 – Letters of comment. Fiction and Fantasy has been gathering sci-fi and Page 09 – Basic Info Re VCON: Memberships, fantasy culture since 1971. Room Booking, New Forums, Hosting Panels, & Sponsoring VCON. Author Guest of Honour: CONNIE WILLIS Science Guest of Honour: GREGORY BENFORD Intro Artist Guest of Honour: JAMES NG May is here: flowers and a warm breeze, VCON 37 is September 28-30, 2012 at the designed to lure you out into the fresh air. Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel in Surrey. Springtime is undoubtedly here, and summer’s even on its way! And of course, now’s when we get to Get involved or find out more: visit vcon.ca see a new batch of movies come out, designed to entrap us before the outdoors become too enticing. I’ve ventured out multiple times in the past month VCON 37 T-Shirt Design Contest or so, a rarity for me since movie theatres aren’t my thing. VCON 37 T-Shirt Art Design Contest But luckily, there were a few leftover free A Call to All Artistic VCON Fans and Members! advance passes from a VCON 37 contest, and some of us, myself included, got to see Joss Whedon’s How would you like to see YOUR t-shirt design new Cabin in the Woods! My humble objective on OUR t-shirts? opinion? We have unfortunately learned that the VCON GO SEE IT!!! 37 Artist Guest of Honour, James Ng, won't be able to provide art for this year's t-shirt. We are, of And whatever you do, don’t watch any trailers. I course, saddened by this, but life must go on and we knew nothing about it going in, and I think that’s do need a design... and so we're opening it up to all the best way to do it. Hit your friends repeatedly if of you! they try to rant about it. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a horror movie so much. First we'll accept submissions from any artist who cares to try their hand at the deed (full rules In this edition of the VCONversation, we’ve got and requirements are noted below). Once multiple articles on movies to help you decide submissions are closed, the "VCON T-shirt Design whether or not it’s safe to leave your computer Review Sub-Committee" will review them and screen. Michael Walsh gives his own take on it, choose our favourite designs. These will then be while Uncle Victor tackles the yet-to-be-released presented online giving all of our members and fans new Spider-man movie and The Avengers. And the opportunity to vote for their favourite design. keep an eye on our contests to win stuff! 2 The design earning the most votes during the . You may optionally include any of the voting period will be used as this year's t-shirt following: design. The VCON Logo.(download source The winning artist will receive one of "their" image files below) t-shirts in the size and the colour (if multiple You may alter the logo slightly to colours are offered) of their choosing AND a $50 better fit it into your image – e.g., tilt cash prize. or curve it to make it appear part of a surface – but it must remain Artists are encouraged to submit designs that immediately recognizable. fit VCON 37's "Post Apocalyptic" theme. The Robotter, VCON's "cyborg Submissions must be in one of these file formats: otter" mascot.(download sample *.AI, *.EPS, *.PDF, *.PNG, *.GIF. images below) You may NOT use a direct copy of . Vector formats (AI, EPS or PDF) are preferred. the provided Robotter images but must instead present your own interpretation of our favourite . Raster formats (PNG, GIF) must have a 300dpi resolution. mustelid. The city name "Vancouver". Submit Your Design . The full date of the event, in any format: Submissions will be accepted until Friday, May 18th at Midnight PDT. September 28–30, 2012 . Sep 28–30, 2012 Deadline Extended! . 2012/09/28-30 . etc. Our monthly newsletter was released later than usual, so to give our members and fans who use it . Multiple submissions by the same person as their primary source of VCON updates, the ARE allowed — if you’ve got the juice to deadline for this contest has been extended. squeeze out more than one design then go ahead and pour it on! Submissions will now be accepted until Friday, May 25th at Midnight PDT. Rules: Download Download . The design must be 100% your own work! VCON Logo Source Files Robotter Sample Files (3.5 MB) (165 kB) . The image must be black and white. Maximum image dimensions are 12" wide by 16" tall. The art does not have to fill this entire space; this is just the maximum it is allowed to fill. Design must include the words "VCON 37" and the event year "2012". 3 Sample T-Shirt Designs from Previous Years The ELRON Awards are VCON’s annual Click thumbnail image to view larger version in recognition of the Most Dubious Achievements in another tab or window Science Fiction and Fantasy. They are Canada’s oldest Science Fiction Awards and North America’s oldest Fandom ‘spoof’ awards. The Elrons are not fan-voted or juried, but are instead bestowed on their hapless winners solely by the SMOTES, the Secret Masters of the Elrons (though suggestions are welcome). The design of the Elron is the purview of the SMOTE presenter of the year, and almost always consists of bronzed plastic lemons, sometimes mounted on a Gor novel, or some other suitable appendage: a ray gun, a flying saucer, or--in the case of the Elron presented to Mr. Science--a space station. The Elrons are a proud VCON tradition, having been presented for the first time at the very first VCON by Mike Bailey. The original concept was to By submitting your art to the VCON 37 T-Shirt reward the ‘worst’ in any given category, as for Design Contest you grant the West Coast Science example the ‘Worst Novel Elron’ awarded to Fiction Association (WCSFA) the right to post a Robert Heinlein in 1971 for his I Will Fear No Evil, watermarked copy of your artwork online so that, if with selected excerpts being read out “to hilarious it is selected as a favourite by the T-shirt Design advantage.” Over time, however, the mandate of Review Sub-Committee, fans and members may the Elrons expanded to gentle japes, with less and refer to it during the voting period. less emphasis on outright condemnation. Indeed, it is now considered (almost) an honour to win an If your design wins the vote for the top design, Elron, especially for local fans... like the ‘Special you further grant WCSFA the right to use your Spider Robinson Elron’ awarded to Frank Skinner artwork on t-shirts and other merchandise created for outdoing Spider in terrible puns at local pun for the purpose of raising funds for the VCON 37 contests. event, and in printed or online marketing collateral advertising the VCON 37 event. Ursula K. Le Guin wrote a letter to the BC SF Association in 1974 suggesting that John Norman, Full ownership and copyright of the artwork author of the Gor novels, surely deserved a “bronze will be retained by you. lentil for semi-literate fetishism,” and such was awarded at VCON 3. Since then John Norman has won over thirty Elrons, including the ‘Special Brass The VCON Awards Hour Bra Elron for Best Feminist Gor Movie’ awarded at VCON 18 in 1980 (it consisted of two brass-painted by R. Graeme Cameron lemons glued side-by-side). In 1993 he won an Elron for having won more Elrons than anyone else. Have you ever attended the Awards Hour at VCON? This is a special event absolutely unique to While the early Elrons mimicked other awards VCON and found nowhere else. It features half an with a limited selection of categories confined to hour devoted to the infamous ELRON Awards fiction (films and novels, for example), subsequent followed by a half hour assigned to the equally Elrons have evolved to include politicians, coveted FANED Awards. Let me tell you what corporations, space programs, genuine mad makes them unique… scientists, crazy inventions, pretentious artists, and, in general, anyone or anything guilty of realizing AND THEN THERE ARE THE ELRONS…. splendidly stupid SF&F concepts to our detriment. 4 The emphasis of the Elrons is above all humour. What these zines have in common is enthusiasm The intent of the awards is sheer entertainment: to for the genre, be it a narrow focus on one aspect in raise a few laughs and chuckles, not hackles.