Author: John Coxon

Categories
Fanac Octothorpe

Octothorpe 74: Great Cthulhu

John and Alison read a poem by Sandra Bond.

Categories
Fanac Octothorpe

Octothorpe 73: A Magic Cave Full of Games

Three rodents stand under a mantlepiece covered in holly above a roaring fire. John’s stocking has dice and is orange; Alison’s has moose and is green; Liz has molecules and is blue. Rodent John is holding a B2-EMO coffee mug and wearing entirely Gregg’s-themed Christmas wear. Alison has her knitting, and is wearing red, orange and green Christmas wear. Liz is crocheting and is decked out in tasteful indigo. Each of the rodents is having a thoroughly lovely Christmas and wishes you the same!
Art by Alison Scott.

John is going to Sweden, Alison is going to Australia, and Liz isn’t moving back to Europe.

Categories
Fanac Octothorpe

Octothorpe 72: I’m Not a Fan in the Way John Is

John isn’t gambling, Alison isn’t reading, and Liz doesn’t care.

Categories
Fanac Octothorpe

Octothorpe 71: Just Nearly Froze to Death

John, Alison, and Liz are depicted as cats wearing the clothing of noir detectives by a door marked “Octothorpe Detective Agency”.
Art by Alison Scott.

John is on the Holodeck, Alison is in the past, and Liz is at school.

Categories
Fanac Octothorpe

Octothorpe 70: Oh

A drawing of a Canadian Consulate, adorned with Scottish and Canadian flags, and a banner which says “Edinburgh NASFiC 2024: Presupports $60 inc. free T-shirt”. A mountie is in front of the building, which is in the Greco-Roman style. OCTOTHORPE 70 is written at the top, on a light purple sky above the building.
Art by Alison Scott.

John is logging in, Alison is getting emails, and Liz is collecting Pokémon.

Categories
Fanac Octothorpe

Octothorpe 69: Hugo Thunderdome

Three figures with long brown hair and brown bears are central in the image. They look eerily like Chris Garcia. The left Chris Garcia is wearing John’s glasses and a *Flintstones* shirt with his arms folded; the central Chris Garcia is wearing Alison’s glasses and a black shirt with his (her?) arms outstretched and fingers doing horns; and the right Chris Garcia is wearing a stripy blue-and-white top and appears to be doing a wrestling move in a downward fashion. The left Chris Garcia has a speech bubble saying “WELCOME TO THE VERY 69TH EPISODE OF OCTOTHORPE. I’M CHRIS GARCIA”. The central Chris Garcia has a speech bubble saying “I’M CHRIS GARCIA”. The right Chris Garcia has a speech bubble saying “AND I’M CHRIS GARCIA. IN THIS EPISODE I REVEAL MY MULTITASKING TIPS”. The text “What if… all three of us were Chris Garcia? appears in a typeface reminiscent of classic Tintin covers in the top-centre of the artwork. The top-left corner has “Octothorpe 69 Nov 2022” written in the style of a comic cover; the top-right corner has “Rejected by the Comics Code Authority”. In the bottom-right hand corner the words “You can catch Chris Garcia every month in Journey Planet and the Drink Tank” appear. A barcode in the bottom-left hand corner is actually cunningly-disguised text that reads "You are Chris Garcia and I claim my five pounds". The background is two shades of purple.
Art by Alison Scott.

John is Chris Garcia, Alison is Chris Garcia, and Liz is Chris Garcia.

Categories
Fanac Octothorpe

Octothorpe 68: It Made John Laugh

The Glasgow 2024 logo with black line drawings of John, Alison and Liz on three planets. Alison has a tiara. In place of the words “Glasgow 2024” are the words “Octothorpe 68”. The logo is on a background in Octothorpe’s purple.
Art by Sara Felix.

John is clever, Alison has lost her composure, and Liz is confused by WSFS.

Categories
Fanac Octothorpe

Octothorpe 67: Straight Back to Star Wars

A commemorative plate with a blue rim which says “Octothorpe 67” and “Number #2 in an obviously infinite series” on it. Within that there is another commemorative plate with a purple rim edged in gold, and gold writing which says “Octothorpe 64” and the names of the hosts on that rim. In the centre, three figures; John on the left, giving a thumbs up in a yellow *Star Trek* uniform with ocular implants like Rutherford’s in *Lower Decks*; Alison in the centre wearing a red *Star Trek* uniform; and Liz on the right wearing a blue *Star Trek* uniform with blue-green skin and pointy ears. We each have a single command pip. In the top-right corner there is text reading “UNIQUE COMMEMORATIVE PLATE OF A COMMEMORATIVE PLATE”.
Art by Alison Scott.

John has hairspray, Alison has a tiara, and Liz has a necklace.

Categories
Fanac Octothorpe

Octothorpe 66: Thank You, Steven

A purple square with “OCTOTHORPE 66” written at the bottom and inset, a photograph of John, Alison, and Liz. John is wearing a grey suit with a Hugo Award finalist pin and a matching purple tie and mask; Alison is wearing a black mask, a burgundy dress, and has glitter on her temple, and Liz is wearing a green dress and matching mask, a necklace by Vanessa Applegate, and a yellow shrug. They are against a backdrop which has alternating Hugo Award logos and Chicon 8 logos.

John is in the fanzine lounge, Alison is under a bison hat, and Liz is good, thank you.

Categories
Fanac Octothorpe

Octothorpe 65: Action Castle 2

Two hand drawn maps of the world described by the game, in handwriting, one on an iPad and one on paper. They are atop a purple square which says “Octothorpe 65”.
Art by Alison Scott and Liz Batty.

John is a computer; Alison and Liz are talking to him very slowly.