Oh my goodness am I tired lol..
With so much going on, a brother can’t find enough hours in the day to rest!

Thanks again for stopping by the weekly blog, this week we take a look at the MillEx panel at the Supanova Brisbane convention, some more new artwork from our resident demo reel artists Elmer Damaso, and the passing of a legend.

So let’s jump into things…

This past weekend, Australia’s largest pop culture and gaming expo, Supanova was here in Brisbane Australia…and boy oh boy, was it an experience! :)

So, about two weeks ago, I was on my personal Facebook account, when I noticed one of my friends (who is a journalist) had one of her articles featured in a magazine.
Offering my heartfelt congratulations, she then responded soon after with:
”Thanks, and congratulations on your panel at Supanova!”

Um…what?

Thoroughly confused, I responded by informing her that I was not attending Supanova as a panelist, though I was planning to go as a shopper.
”Well, you’re listed in their scheduling booklet”, she replied.
It was at this point that I began to smell burning rubber, as the wheels inside my head were slipping all over the place trying to make sense of the comment.
As I downloaded their scheduling PDF, my eyebrows almost flew off my head only to find my name printed right there:
“Ty Hanson - Western Culture in Japanese Industry”.

I mean, sure I applied for this panel some time ago, however I had heard nothing back.
I even keep a regular eye on all the spam and trash folders in my email accounts, but alas - there was no reply.
Turns out, not only was I booked to perform a panel at Australia’s largest and most popular pop culture expo, but I was informed of this with less than 2 weeks notice to prepare.

But it didn’t end there…no, no.

I was also scheduled to present said panel on the Sunday at 4pm in one of their major conference rooms, on the second level of the Brisbane Entertainment Center….booked alongside some MASSIVE talent and events all of which would also be running panels in the rooms adjacent.

Needless to say, I was screwed.

This was my very first time on a legitimate stage, microphone in hand and under the bright lights of such an impressive set-up.
Now I’m not a guy who normally experiences what people call “nervousness”, usually I just take most things in stride and “go with the flow”.
This time however, my stomach felt as though it was upside-down, I couldn’t catch my own thoughts and my hands were shaking.

Yeah, I was packing it…..

Mere moments before going up on stage, I was suddenly introduced to a man who informed me that he would be MC’ing for the panel, and would be conducting things in an interview styled format.
I decided that now was not the time for nerves….there was work that needed to be done, I’m THE representative for Millennium Exile and for better of worse, I was all in.

I honestly thought I was going to crash and burn in a spectacular fashion….so why not live-stream it!?!

I won’t bore you with the play-by-play of how the panel turned out, in-fact, you can watch the live streamed video up on the Millennium Exile Facebook page, link below:

https://www.facebook.com/MillenniumExile/videos/vb.261589910580784/2172543459626746/?type=3&theater

Despite all the adversities that had been working against me prior, the panel turned out pretty good. Numbers were always going to be lower than I’d like…mainly because I’m not a big enough name yet to be deserving of such a grand stage - competing with the likes of the Cosplay Competition and headliner: John Barrowman.

Although I would love to be, I’m just not there yet.

This was however, an amazing experience that I loved every moment of.
I learned a great deal, and this really gave me the goal of reaching great new heights - deserving of such a stage in the future….a future in which I can fill every seat :)

I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to all who attended the panel in support of both myself and the project, to the fans for your passion and to my family for being there for me.

I love you all guys and sooner or later, I WILL do you proud, by turning Millennium Exile into the Anime I owe it to you to become.

More new artwork from our resident demo reel artist: Elmer Damaso - aka IQ40.
This guy turns out the artwork so fast, I actually speak with him more than most of my family and friends hahahaha.

As you can see however, his hard work and talent speaks for itself!

Mere days before the convention, I awoke at 4am to an email notifying me of the project’s newest Patreon member: “Halassy Hunor.”
His extremely generous support woke me up so quickly, it was as though I had suddenly purged all the sleep from my body - like a demon being exorcised by a combination of cocaine and holy water.
”THE POWER OF PATREON COMPELS YOU!”

I honestly had to get up and go to the gym to work off the excess energy…..oh and I played some Pokemon Go in the parking lot :P

Speaking of which, is anyone else freaking excited for the new Swtich games?
“I know I am!”
…..now, to find the time to play them.

With no more conventions this year, and the holiday season just around the corner…I expect any major announcements regarding the project will be minimal.
I will continue to keep you all updated, however moving forward - I’ll probably start doing these blogs every 2 weeks until things pick back up in the new year :)

In some much sadder news, the great Stanley Lieber, (more affectionately known as Stan Lee) passed away yesterday at the age of 95.

While news of his passing has been in every major news outlet in the last 24 hours, I thought it best to pay respect to the man who not only changed the creative world, but also enriched the lives of many with his creations.

Rest In Piece Mr Lee, you will be forever immortalized through your work and in our hearts.