issue 29 // volume 41

arts // no. 9

Northwest Fan Fest invades New Westminster

» Convention of cosplay, concerts, and concepts

Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

 

News: Fan Fest (NWFF), a
convention celebrating geek
culture, occurred at the Anvil
Centre in New Westminster on
May 29-31. The West Coast Fan
Society moved the convention
from last year’s University of
British Columbia location to New
Westminster to allow for easier
accessibility by public transit in
order to attract more fans.

As with most fandom
conventions, the entire weekend
was filled with exciting events,
attractions, and activities. Several
celebrities were featured guests,
including cast members from
Once Upon a Time, ’80s cartoon
director Tom Cook, and infamous
low-budget film director Uwe
Boll. Each guest had photo-ops,
autograph sessions, and Q&A
panels for true fan interaction.

Many artists were also
present and performing

: throughout the convention. Rock
: concerts were performed at night
: by girl groups Kieran Strange

: and the Doubleclicks. Improv

: (and often raunchy) comedy was

: performed by local troupes the

: Fictionals and Synaptic Chaos :
: Theatre. One of the most popular :
: performances was Portal 2:The — :
: (Unauthorized Musical), as

: designed by nerd theatre group
: Geekenders.

Many smaller panels were

: also present, though they were

: run ina more amateur style.

: Some explored a specific fandom.
: Others involved playing games

: or LARP (live action roleplay).

: Some were about introduction

: and inclusion, such as a panel on
: body positivity in cosplay. Others
: were competitive in nature and

: geared towards more experienced
: fans. A “walk-off” showdown,

: inspired by the famous scene

: in Zoolander, featured fans in

: character attempting to upstage

: each other on the runway floor,

: with the winner determined by

: judges and applause.

Cosplaying is a memorable

part of almost every fandom

 

: convention, and was particularly
: highlighted at NWFF. Some

: cosplayers were featured as

: special guests, and there were

: designated areas for photo-

: ops and cosplayer gathering

: of a particular fandom. There

: were many extremely elaborate
: cosplays, including full-bodied
: animal costumes, handmade

: suits of armour or metal, and

: head-to-toe makeup coverage.

Compared to the convention

: centres where these kinds of

 

Animesque: Big Brother
meets police procedural

» ‘Psycho-Pass’ series review

Adam Tatelman
Staff Writer

OOOOS

without having committed any
crime. We're talking Orwellian

Production I.G. and director
Katsuyuki Motohiro’s homage to
Ghost in the Shell and dystopian
sci-fi in general.

In 2113, the Sybil System sees
all—it’s a supercomputer that
measures the emotional state
of every citizen and assesses the
likelihood that he or she will ever
commit a crime. Sybil measures
your Criminal Coefficient Index
through citywide centralized
surveillance. If it exceeds a
certain level, you are branded a
Latent Criminal, regardless of
your actions. Your employment
opportunities disappear, you

be sent to a mental hospital. If
your index rises high enough,
Sybil reports you to the Public
Safety Bureau (PSB), which has
Enforcers who dispense lethal
justice.

The show begins with Akane
Tsunemori, a rookie Inspector

: on the PSB whose job is to keep

: the Enforcers on a leash. They

: are Latent Criminals, after all.

: The only reason they aren’t being
: “rehabilitated” is because they

. . . : can think like the people they’re
magine being labeled a criminal employed to catch. Someone’s
: got to keep them in line, and

. : Akane does her best to bring an
thoughtcrime. Enter Psycho-Pass, : instinctive and human judgment
: to the cases Sybil wants to make

: black and white.

There are a lot of stock

: characters in the main cast, since
: this is a police procedural at its

: core. You'll recognize Akane as

: the rookie who wants to believe in :
: the system and Shinya Kogami as
: the obsessed investigator bent on
: revenge for his ex-partner’s death.
: There’s also Nobuchika Ginoza,

: the uptight commissioner type,

: and Tomomi Masaoka, the

: mentor veteran cop who's getting
: too old for the job.

Unfortunately, even when

; : they get an episode of their own,
cannot marry, and you'll probably ; most characters fail to shine.

: Yayoi Kunizuka, a rocker who’s

: certified as an artist by the Sybil

: System, ends up in rehabilitation
: for her friendship with an illegal
: artist who has a secret agenda.

: Her subsequent decision to

: join the PSB still seems a little

: contrived to me. And poor Shusei
: Kagari, labeled a Latent Criminal
: at the age of five. What does that

: do toa person? We'll never find

: out because we don’t get a look at
: his life before he joined the PSB.

Psycho-Pass’ greatest

: weakness is its characters, partly

: because of the enormous amount
: of time dedicated to building the
: world they live in. For instance,

: holographic technology is freely

: available to the masses, who use

: it for simple conveniences like

: clothing and furniture instead of
: entertainment.

The concept is well-executed

: and Psycho-Pass’ setting works

: from every angle, exploring art,

: relationships, investigation,

: factory slavery, robo-ethics, and

: citizen revolt, all through the

: watchful eye of Sybil. The first

: half of the show mostly exists to

: set up all the details of this false

: utopia so the second half can

: mercilessly deconstruct it and

: the instinctual apathy it creates.

: There’s some excellent action,

: and the dub is stellar work, even

: with the absence of any big-name
: actor performances. | just hope

: season two can bring a little more
: drama to the proceedings.

: events usually take place, the

: Anvil Centre was noticeably

: smaller. However, that only

: served to add to the prevalence

: of cosplayers. Seeing groups of

: superheroes, anime characters,

: and monsters walking around

: downtown New Westminster was
: quite a sight.

The event attracted a variety

: of fans, from young children

: to senior citizens visiting

; throughout the weekend. A

: wide range of merchandise was

 
 

All photos by Cazzy Lewchuk

: available for sale in a marketplace
: and artist alley, including

: original artwork and “extreme”

: selfie sticks. No matter what the

: interest or fandom one identified
: with, NWFF had an impressive

: range of panels and booths with

: something for everyone.

Northwest Fan Fest has

: grown a lot since its inception

: and pulled off another successful
: year. It’s a convention run directly
: for fans by fans, and did its job

: extremely well once again.

Comic Corner:
Avengers assemble in
the Ehzabethan era

» ‘Marvel 1602’ review

Brittney MacDonald
Life & Style Editor

OOOOS

ave you ever watched The

Avengers and wondered,
“Hey, what would this be like
in Elizabethan England?”

what fan-favourite author Neil
Gaiman gives us in Marvel 1602,
a unique and action-packed
alternate universe fiction.

The year is 1602 and
London is plagued by
assassination attempts, strange
new men with mystical powers,
and some pretty unique
meteorological events. Who
else can save England but the
Queen’s own Nick Fury and
Dr. Strange? Joined by a host
of other Marvel favourites like
Spiderman and a veritable
plethora of X-Men, it’s hard not
to find a character that piques
your interest in this one.

Admittedly, if you're
looking for the innovation
and wonder of Gaiman’s

: previous works, such as the

: Sandman series, you're out

: of luck. There’s also the

: overall homogenized racial

: spectrum. Even the Native

: American character looks

: Caucasian. However, issues of

: race are addressed frequently

: throughout the narrative,

Neither have I, but that’s exactly which, given the 7th-century
: setting, you can almost say is

: justified. Almost.

Visually, Andy Kubert’s art

: for Marvel 1602 is not without

: fault. The use of colour and

: texture is great, but his ability

: to shade lighter tones, such

: as blond hair or variations

: of white, comes off as a little

: blocky. Aesthetically, the overall
: look of this book is a little
brighter than I was expecting

: considering the content of the
: narrative, but that’s a matter of
: personal preference.

As far as recommendations

: go, I'd say give this one a go if
: youre a big Gaiman or Marvel
: fan. Outside of that, I can’t

: really say this graphic novel

: would be a great introduction
: to either of those realms.