Actually, it was in this same short story where Zan hints at the reason why the Nelson Project (AKA the Jump Engine Project) was moved from Interplanetary Patrol vessels to the Galaxion (which is what Darvin is referring to here). I may have also brought this factoid up somewhere else in the comic, but right now I can’t find it! Do let me know if you remember reading something like that.

Sorry about the somewhat blurry image of my table in the background. But, you know, we were all running from the Daleks.

Seriously, the Ottawa Comiccon was a great event. I sold out of my entire box full of Galaxion books by early Saturday evening. And here I thought I’d overpacked! So many people came by who’d never seen Galaxion before, but were delighted to have the chance to give it a try. If I met you at the show for the first time, welcome! I hope you’ll enjoy watching the story unfold.

Being so close to Quebec, there were a lot a folks there who spoke French, more than I typically encounter at a con. I got a kick out of listening to them pronounce “Galaxion” as though it were a French word. I got the feeling some of them were disappointed when they picked up a copy of one of the books, only to discover it was in English… 

As I mentioned in the comic’s commentary last week, I was indeed perilously close to the Dalek base at the Ottawa Comiccon. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many in one place! In fact, they were one of the fun experiences of the show, and hats off to the fellows behind this group. They would, several times in the day, emerge from their lair and swarm around the con floor, instructing humans in perfectly-synthesized voices to make way for the Daleks, and occasionally complimenting those attendees in electric wheelchairs for their fine taste in transportation. They always got a laugh and a smile, and were constantly followed around by cosplaying Doctors. It must have been a lot of work, and I applaud them.

There were even more fun things to see, such as the parade of Star Wars themed Lego Minifig cosplayers, but sadly I missed most of them due to being busy selling books and buttons and things.

It was raining somewhat when it was time to pack up and go, but as a lovely endcap to our day Mother Nature treated us to several lovely rainbows to send us on our way back home.

Well done Ottawa Comiccon! I have already signed up for next year’s show.

And now here’s your quick guide to this rarely-seen character! Alex made his first appearance for a scant couple of pages back in Chapter Two, and we met him again briefly during the Pathfinder flashback. He was next spotted talking with the Galaxion’s chief engineer Anna Ito in the opening page of Chapter Three, and then he vanished into the background until he showed up in Fusella’s office in Chapter Seven. It’s rare for his orbit to extend beyond his work zone.

If you’d like to read about my weekend at the Ottawa Comiccon, check out this week’s blog post!

Look for me this weekend at the Ottawa Comiccon! I’ll be in Artists Alley at table #597. And you know who else will be there? That other well-known “Mal” in science fiction, Nathan Fillion! If you hear a big fangirl squeal on Saturday, that’ll be me.

If your ears perked up at the name, yes, I did indeed name Mal after a certain famous Canadian astronaut.  The strange thing is, he’s possibly now better known, at least among Canadians, as the man who recently tried to run against Justin Trudeau for Liberal leader (which, by the way, if he had succeeded would have been so awesome). But at the time I gave Mal the name he was just a back-bencher. It was very peculiar to see his name pop up in the news again, with hardly any reference to his other career.

Convention appearance! I’ll be at the Ottawa Comiccon May 10-12! I heard a lot of amazing things about this show last year, so I’m really looking forward to attending. I was at Can-Con in Ottawa last year (and will be again this October), but I think the last time I went to a proper comic show in Ottawa was a couple decades ago. It’s good to see our nation’s capital get its own show at last. Come out and say hi if you’re in the area!

And now I’m going to gush all fangirl-like about a real adventure in space: Cmdr. Chris Hadfield’s recent video from the International Space Station about what happens when you wring out a wet towel in space has made the rounds on social media this past week, but in case you haven’t seen it you should take three minutes out of your day and watch, because it’s cool and not at all the kind of physics lesson you’re used to. And if you have seen it, did you know there’s a whole collection of equally cool videos from his ISS mission? Check out the Canadian Space Agency’s YouTube channel. Fangirl squeeeee!

Before you ask, we don’t yet have all the old issues digitally remastered, but you can still acquire a graphic novel collecting the first six issues or the whole set of 13 issues in the Galaxion store.

I’m hoping it’s clear from context, but Ms Sherman is Elly, whom we first met in Chapter Eight (and we also saw her in the recent flashback). I also hope it’s clear from context that Scavina just finished sharing her entire experience during the time she and the rest of the Survey Contact Team were cut off from the ship, and not just the bit from that flashback. Hence, the account Darvin refers to.

I had an excellent time in Richmond, VA at RavenCon! The panels went well, or at least I hope I didn’t sound too befuddled to the attendees. My favourite one was Social Media for the Shy and Hopelessly Introverted, which, as a shy and introverted person myself, I had suggested as a topic to the programming staff. It seems I’m not the only one with this dilemma! We discussed how to not get too intimidated online and things that we’ve done to help ourselves get past it. I know I’ve got a Facebook Galaxion Fan Page that’s been languishing for a long time. I hope to make that a project soon…

Also, fellow Canadians! Time is running out to get your nominations in for the Aurora Awards. Nominations close April 15th.

So here’s the deal. For a while now I’ve longed to join the 21st century and start colouring Galaxion, but I’ve been nervous to start. It’s a big commitment, both in terms of time (particularly at the beginning while I get comfortable with the process) and in cost, when it eventually comes time to send this stuff to the printer. I think I can do it now, without interrupting the comic’s schedule. At the very least, I will promise you that I’m going to be giving it an honest try. Since I’m still pretty new to thinking in colour, I do reserve the right to change the colours from page to page while I figure out on the fly what works and what doesn’t, so consistency may be lacking for a while.  If you have a better colour sense than I do, or have more practice with working in colour webcomics, feel free to toss in suggestions. I look forward to hearing what you think!

The April Fools messing-with-your-heads thing wasn’t originally part of the plan, but when it became clear that the first page I intended to post in colour was going to wind up so close to April 1st, and since I didn’t have time to make something else, I decided to have some fun. I hope I didn’t aggravate too many of you!

Anyway, here is some more news that I promise has absolutely nothing to do with pranks: This Friday and Saturday, April 5th and 6th, I will be a guest at RavenCon in Richmond, VA. I won’t have a table in the Dealer’s Room this year, but here’s my schedule of panels:

Friday:

• Publishing Your Webcomic, 8pm

Saturday:

• Social Media for the Introvert, 4pm
• From Comics to Webcomics and Back Again, 6pm
• Writing for Webcomics: 8pm

I’ll have some books available for my usual convention-sale prices ($12 for one book, both for $20!), and you’ll be able to catch me before or after the panels. Or, feel free to email me and we can arrange to meet up.