Triskele Press: Issue 1

a point when we all became bored of the Cons, and the pressure of
friends were the only motivation we had left to buy a ticket to anything
- it got old.
We explored our market, reviewed our experiences, and had
to rethink of why a convention would be a better idea than a theatre
production. In theatre, we at least knew the unlucky peaks of the stage,
and predict it. Stefanie directed, and Eugene and Jennifer produced
and managed tech for several Plays in both Pasadena and Noho; Danny
had done all three jobs in his comedy shows; both, managing cast and
patrons, have been fine.
But the idea of “just fine” was enough to kill the soul.
Perhaps it was the artist within that demanded the challenge? But an
entrepreneur’s dream sprouted leaves when someone said, “this is
impossible.” There were moments when we could cry over the stubborn
cynicism of the public. He said, she said, they said - beloved or
strangers, they all had a misunderstanding over what was going on.
There was no building yet, but it felt almost as though everyone had a
hammer ready to demolish any foundation we were ready to call home.
This was the sign that proved to us that we were doing something right.
Call it jealousy or fear, but when there is an opposition to something we
never thought was important, it becomes important. And so we fought
for it.
Three years in, coming to a fourth, Ninja-Con returns to the
Little Tokyo Arts District, in Downtown Los Angeles, with this same
motto every event: “For the fans, by the fans, from a fan.” This has
brought immense criticisms from others that consider themselves our
competitors, and we don’t flinch. Mostly because we think they’re silly,
but mainly because we have been there before - we were the attendees
that paid for disappointing shows, we were the press that were treated
badly, we were the panelists that were overshadowed by commercial
exploitations, and we were hurt - why would we want that to continue
in our turf? Why not come to grips that a celebrity will attend even if
we weren’t about selling DVDs? Why start a hentai panel, when an
equal rights panel would help us listen to our community better? Can’t
TRISKELEPRESS.COM • FEBRUARY 2016
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