Panel 1: In
the title panel of this Sunday-style colour comic, Barbara walks
through a landscape that looks as if it belongs to a Golden Age pulp
sci-fi comic. A man in an old-fashioned silver spacesuit is holding a
blonde women in artfully torn clothing. They both turn to stare at
Barbara as she strolls by. In pulpy yellow lettering are the words
"West of Bathurst by Kari Maaren." A caption declares: "An all-new story designed to shock and amaze you!" The price of this "comic" is 25 cents.
Panel 2: Barbara
walks through the registration area of an SFF convention. Among the
things we see are a sign reading "Welcome to Ad Astra / April 9 - 11,
2010," a man and woman selling registrations and handing out nametags,
a woman in a flowing green dress who has just collected her
registration package, and another man looking at posters, including one
for Guy Gavriel Kay's Under Heaven.
Panel 3: Barbara
sits on a bench and reads her programme book as attendees walk past
her. We see a man and woman in steampunk gear, a woman who bears a
suspicious resemblance to Kari Maaren and is holding a programme grid,
a very small Batman, and, in the distance, the silhouette of a woman in
a Victorian dress.
Panel 4: Barbara
is in the dealers' room. She sees a man selling swords, a man dressed
in a sort of red spacesuit, a man in a stormtrooper T-shirt, and a
woman in ordinary clothing taking a picture with her phone.
Panel 5: Barbara
stands in line to get an autograph from a bearded male author. Other
authors sign books nearby. Behind Barbara in line are a man in a "Frak"
T-shirt, a woman in a short orange dress, and a man in a long grey rob
and brown coat. A blue-skinned, purple-haired woman walks by.
Panel 6: Later, in the Davies College basement, Rahim talks to Barbara, who is holding her loot bag from the convention.
Rahim: Were you just at that sci-fi con?
Barbara: Yeah.
Rahim: How was it?
Panel 7:
Barbara: Much like ordinary life, albeit with fewer aliens.
Rahim: The way your mind works scares the hell out of me.
Alt-Text: Barbara's description of Ad Astra is quite accurate. In ordinary life, the aliens simply have better disguises.
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