In addition, there were a number of great screenings for guests to enjoy such as Vampire Hunter D, Initial D, GTO, Ninja Scroll, Cosmo Warrior Zero and Inu Yasha to name a few. Movies like Pirates of the Caribbean and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy were also among those screened by eager fans that may not have had the time to see them in the theaters or were just looking for an opportunity to view the movies again in a more fan-like setting. Of course, real fans got to play along when they saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a true tradition held every year at the annual gala.

     There were a number of panel discussions that peaked my interest, including How Science Fiction Made Me a Scientist, Why We Love Tentacles, Comics: Why People Suck. There was also a discussion on the future of electronic gaming, which was extremely important this year considering that gaming seemed to take a major front row seat at the expense of anime. That would be a complaint on my part, since anime is still a strong force in the sci-fi world and should be recognized as it had been in the past. There was not much this year, and nothing that hasn't been seen before. I remember discovering new titles at this show, but I guess with the strength of gaming titles over the Internet this year, something had to suffer to make room for the newest popular trend.

     The best part of the convention are the guests and this is one area that organizers get an A+ for, as popular actors and actresses from the past and present were brought together, none more so obvious than seeing Richard Hatch, who played Apollo in the original Battlestar Galactica series and was on hand to preview an interesting project called the Great War of Magellen, together with Katee Sackhoff, who plays Lt. Kara "Starbuck" Trace in the new Battlestar Galactica series set to debut this Fall on the Sci-Fi Network. Fans also got to see Peter Jurasik of Babylon 5 and Vaughn Armstrong of Enterprise. I-Con paid a touching tribute to tribute to the late Julius Schwartz, known for his work as an editor of Superman for close to a quarter of a century.

     So, all in all, this was an enjoyable experience. I enjoyed seeing all the imagination and hard work that went into so many creative designs. I enjoyed seeing the medieval exhibition with all the cool weaponry and battles. I enjoyed seeing so many smiles on people's faces and despite some areas that seem to have slacked off in recent years, which are sure to pick up in time for their 25th Anniversary, the I-Con is still the premier science fiction convention in the East and possibly the country.

     "We constantly striving to grow and evolve while providing the best convention experience you can find in the Northeast," said Soto. "Our mission remains to promote interest in science and technology, literacy and art in a fun and exciting atmosphere." Mission accomplished.

Related Articles

• I-CON 2003
• Big Apple Anime Fest 2003
• Anime Next 2003
• For More Con Highlights Visit YBFREE.com's Archives!

Return to YBFREE.com's Main Page