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It seems disaster brings out the best and worse of humanity. Whether you look at New York and the World Trade Center or Sri Lanka and the tsunami, we can catch glimpses of people doing great things... and horrid things. But the truest test of humanity is not the big disasters... but the small.
ConnectiCon is a sign of the small scale. What's more, it's a sign of just how powerful a community the internet can be, and that web comics and their fans are greater and more powerful than anyone could imagine.
Two days ago I wrote up a bit about ConnectiCon and the fact that the organizers, Daigle and Benn, are $34,148.50 in debt due to it. It's shameful how the Connecticut Convention Center went and jacked up the prices and charges for the organizers to an extent that threatened to bankrupt Daigle and Benn, and destroy any future that ConnectiCon has.
I suppose the CCC is a glimpse at the worst of humanity, with a disdain toward small-time organizers and organizations such as ConnectiCon. No doubt the CCC realized at some level that if the true costs were known, that ConnectiCon would not use their facilities. I've heard of similar tales, over and over again, where convention centers would quote one price, and then at the last minute jack up costs by insisting on this and that addition which were never mentioned. If you back out, you still owe the money. It's a sign of bureaucracy gone wrong, and it tarnishes the city of Hartford and the state of Connecticut.
On the other side of the scale we have web comic fans, web cartoonists, reviewers, simple bloggers... the common man who has been alerted to ConnectiCon's plight. As of 10:30 this morning (EST), donations to the Save ConnectiCon fund are up to $19,419.95 (which includes PayPal fees). We're already over halfway there. And at the rate donations are going, I wouldn't be surprised if there will be enough left over for ConnectiCon to become an LLC, with corporate protections so that the organizers don't have to risk their own financial wellbeing and future with debt should the CCC or another convention center pull something this sleazy again.
I mean... this has been up for what, three or four days? In that time a lot of money has been donated. Even more has been donated if you consider the feeds PayPal deducts for the use of their services. Consider this for a moment. The general belief of web comic readers is that it is composed primarily of college students, people without a lot of money.
Further, it's generally believed that there isn't that large of an audience out there. Marketing firms for years offered minimal profits to people running banner ads because of click-through rates and the like. (Imagine, for a moment, that a marketing firm refused to pay Newsweek or Time top dollar because people didn't call the phone numbers listed on an ad? No, marketing is about visibility, not click-throughs or the like.)
But a "rag-tag band" of readers has managed almost $20,000 in donations, AFTER PayPal fees, for a convention most have probably never gone to, and possibly never will due to distance and time involved.
Save ConnectiCon is more than just about a convention. It's about the cartoonists who have banded together to help ConnectiCon, and the readers who are willing to donate money to help a couple of people who started all this because they're fans themselves. It shows that we do make a difference. And maybe, just maybe, it can help lay the foundation of something greater, the start of an organization that helps out cartoonists in need when their computer or scanner breaks, or they run out of artistic supplies and have no money to continue.
But before we start work on a Webcartoonist Assistance Fund, we need to save ConnectiCon. I have faith that we will manage to do just that.
Well done, gang. Well done.
Robert A. Howard
 (From Red String. Click on image to see full-sized image.)
Gina Biggs recently redrew all of Chapter 2 of Red String, adding a page to introduce Reika's mother, and to bring it more into continuity (art-wise) with the rest of Red String. Previously Chapter 2 was drawn with a Deleter pen nip and dipping ink, which would probably mean something to me if I was more serious of an artist. I suspect it's sort of like dipping a quill pen and using that, rather than the more modern pens with ink contained within them.
I do have to admit a little bit of curiosity as to where the old art has gone. There's a part of me that would like to compare and contrast the two. However, I fully understand why she'd remove the old ones from the archives (which includes the download archives - a very useful feature in my opinion, allowing fans to download entire completed chapters onto their computers to enjoy at their leisure or put on laptops and the like). I mean, I removed my old comic without a moment's hesitation. Faith Erin Hicks also redrew the entire first chapter of Demonology 101. Sometimes you just don't want older art that you're unhappy with to be viewed.
Another bit I find interesting (and that I'm surprised I missed the first time around) was the section Supplement 1. This section is between Chapter 1 and 2, and starts off right after the end of Chapter 1, building a little more on the basic relationship between Miharu and Kazuo, and also including the dinner where Miharu and Kazuo officially "meet" for the first time.
And I'll admit there's a part of me that loves the fact that Miharu and Kazuo hid the fact they met and even went out on a date together from their parents. I wonder if it'll ever come out. I'm not sure what the big deal would be... I mean, they're together now. It didn't hurt their relationship. In fact, if anything it probably helped strengthen it.
Miharu was not happy when she first found out about the arranged marriage. She was in fact running from that, and her family, when she ran into Kazuo, and I think she half-went on the date as a way to spite her family, as well as to have gone out with someone, had a boyfriend, just once in her life before her family decided her future for her.
But if she'd never met Kazuo before the official meeting, would she have fallen in love with him? Or would she have fought the red string that was twining the two together and resisted, wanting her freedom? As it is, she already resisted once, until given an actual choice.
The choice to redraw Chapter 2 is rather interesting, considering that Chapter 12 is concentrating on Reika again. Recent events there have been most curious, with Mr. "Lone Wolf" Hayashihara going after Reika to talk about Aizaku (whom Reika has had a strong crush on since Chapter 2).
I wonder what's going through Hayashihara's mind right now. We've seen him grow friendlier with Miharu, and there's been some speculation that he's attracted to her. Perhaps he sees a parallel between Reika and Aizaku, and himself and Miharu. He may even admit that to Reika right now.
Or there might be something more; he may feel attracted to Reika herself. I'm not so sure on that one, though I'm sure we'll find out Monday or Wednesday. But still, today's update is most curious, with our lone wolf clumsily trying to comfort Reika. (Not that I blame him for being nervous. I'll be honest, ladies... when you cry, it brings out a tendency in some of us to want to protect you, and also being nervous and unsure of what to do.
Still, Hayashihara has extended a hand just now. He's offering something, understanding, a ceasing of hostilities? And you can see it surprised Reika. I'm unsure if she's just used to everyone ridiculing her thanks to what happened to her back before they went to this school, or if it's because he himself admitted he doesn't hate her, and doesn't want to make fun of her.
But then we've known he has a sense of honor for a while now.
I suspect even he doesn't know what he's doing there, or what to do next. But he was disdainful of his friend's actions... and he leaped up after Reika when she fled upon learning of Aizaku's girlfriend.
Whatever's going to happen, Gina's managed to catch my attention and keep it. That's good storytelling.
Robert A. Howard
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