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"What the heck happened to January?" Updated: February 2rd, 2003 I'll tell you what happened to January, EVERYTHING happened to January. I had a ton of wig orders, a ton of cosplay costumes to make, bad weather, power outages, light bulbs burning out in several room simultaneously, and issue 103 floating somewhere in the middle. Robby and I only barely made the printing deadline, and by "barely" I mean the last page was toned at 6am, when the final edited versions needed to be out the door at 8am. So there were many all-nighters last month. As a highlight though, I spent the last of them working while talking to an old friend in California that I hadn't heard from in 10 years. I probably won't be doing that again for a while though, as working that hard without proper breaks has left me with a minor case of neck strain, so holding a phone on my shoulder while on the computer just doesn't work now. Next Stop: Katsucon 2003! We managed to get the last table in Artist Alley for Katsucon this year. We requested two tables, but since we were the last order in, we're only guaranteed one. The coordinator said there might be a chance of getting another one last minute, but if not, we'll just be "Crampeduhana Press" and deal with it. If you'll be in Virginia this Valentines Day (Since "Virginia is for Lovers" and all...), please drop by and say hi. I love talking to people, and will be doing commissions at my reduced rates. Also, I'll be cosplaying as "Sugar" on Sunday, so it'll be a rare moment of fanboy heaven. ~_^
A Major Setback on the Cosplay Front. So, a couple of months ago I started on my RAcaseal costume for Katsucon. The most major part of this was the bodysuit, which I needed to make into a "android body". Well... after I-don't-even-know-how-many layers of silicon, and at least four coats of paint, I decided to try it on to see if I'd have any trouble with my movements. This was a valid concern, since the mannequin I'd been using while I painted on the bodysuit is a bit smaller than me in the chest, and I was worried the paint might chip if I stretched it too much. After wriggling into the suit, I zipped it up to take a look. The paint was peeling, but this was to be expected since I hadn't sealed it yet. Then I took a deep breath... rrRrRRRRRRRRIIIP! The zipper broke all the way down. The front of the suit had absolutely no give, since I had conformed it to a smaller bust size than mine, and the zipper couldn't handle the job of restaining my mighty boobies on its own. Even replacing the zipper wouldn't have helped, since I'd need to remove all the silicon from the front and start from scratch anyhow. So I won't be able to complete this costume in time for Katsucon. However, while sitting there in shock with the shredded bodysuit in my lap, I had an epiphany, giggled at my own sillyness for not thinking of the method in the first place, and began my hunt on ebay for the proper raw material. (I'm not going to tell you what it is right now, you'll just have to see when it's done... at Otakon.) Not to be costumeless for Katsucon, I decided to premier the Winter Pinup Girl instead, and as a last minute karaoke idea, made a "Player 2 Hiro" costume to wear while I sing his theme song "Natural Playboy".	As you can see, quite a bit of planning went into this...
Other Stuff. The new anthology "Shojo!" is coming out in April, so that means we're working on the cover now. I've sent in some ideas, but it's going to be a tough race with Joe Wight and Ryan Kinnaird also submitting different versions. If I get to do the first issue's cover, I'll be surprised. Pleasantly surprised, but surprised none-the-less. Also, NHS 103 will be out within the next few weeks, so don't forget to let me know what you think. Word! -Katie

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