I recently was granted the opportunity to chat at length with one Ms. Kara Dennison--Emmy-chan to the uninitiated--the artist behind ConScrew, Blacklight, Sticky Wicket and Yuusha Hime Kalibourne.  Kara is currently working for ArcaMax.com, about which she says, "We have about half a million subscribers getting Garfield by e-mail. That cat pays my bills."  She is also a voice and stage actress, food aficionado, lover of all things Victorian and a fine, fine human being who thinks cheese is highly underrated (as do I). The following is a transcript of some emails we traded back and forth talking about who she is, what she's doing and why she thinks she can get away with it. My questions are all in boldface.

I will need a bit of background, sort of the a/s/l thing that always happens in chat rooms. Any other background info that you deem relevant would also be good.

Hm. Well, 24, female, and Williamsburg, VA. I make my actual money as a web editor for an ezine publisher and a freelance journalist for a local newspaper. My grandmother was a dancer, my father and mother are in radio, and my uncle's a playwright - so my fate was set in stone eons ago. Also, I have two guinea pigs and a hedgehog, and am fluent in Latin and Middle English, which do me no good whatsoever unless I decide to read 'Timeline.'

How do you figure your fate was set in stone so long ago? Just because a bunch of your family was part of the fifth estate? Granted, my family are all just cogs in the machine, and that's pretty much what I aspire to, but...

Really? I was just making a joke. Nothing terribly deep.

So tell me a little bit about ConScrew. How did it start? Where do you plan for it to end (if ever)? You're also doing Blacklight, Yuusha Hime Kalibourne and Sticky Wicket, so what's up with them?

I used to date an artist, and he wanted me to learn to draw. (Ironically, we broke up right around the time the comic started.) Emmy was based on me, and Adrian was my ex-boyfriend; Mimi was based on an amalgam of people, including my college roommate at the time and some girls I'd run into at cons. It'll end eventually, of course ... everything does. It's mainly a question of how. I've promised myself that, as soon as I run out of ideas and have to force them, it's time to end that particular project.

Sticky Wicket would be the other, and it's ending soon - main reason being that Shannon and I always knew it'd be a finite story. It's more like a novel than a syndication - everything has been working toward this one end point that'll be hitting in the next month or so. Admittedly, it started rather oddly - we came up with the concept at 3 AM around Christmas 2002 after eating raw tea leaves. But we ended up with this very sweet story that, while going off the deep end a few times humour-wise, is a nice reflection of the Victorian mindset. You have these two girls who love the time period but can't stand the double-lives people are forced to lead simply to get on ... yet at the same time, they're doing it themselves for what they see to be much more viable reasons.

Blacklight and YHK are two totally different ends of the spectrum. Rob and I are really working ourselves mad making sure everything in YHK is perfect. It has a definite beginning and ending, but there's an infinite amount of space in the middle, and knowing the two of us, we'll make ridiculous use of it. Lots of references and symbolism, and we're really both getting the chance to work with areas that we're interested in, and teach each other about them as we go (more base mythology for him, and Arthurian legend from my side). That's gonna be sort of a magical-girl/mech hybrid, which sounds positively insane at first, but we're doing our best to both poke good-natured fun at the stereotypes of both, AND respect the genres, while telling a pretty convoluted story. The story is the main thing here, though - everything else is just presentation for it.

Magical girl/mech comic? Like Sakura Wars or something? Does Steamboy even count here? Can you tell I'm just spouting out anime I've never seen but think to be relevant to the conversation? But it's been kinda done before, right? Closest example?

Not really, no. I can't think of an example that fits it at all. The genres cross in a way that I don't think most people would really expect. I'd love to explain it, but I think it's a matter of show rather than tell.

Blacklight is definitely more the D&D-fantasy type. It actually started with some characters Mich and I came up with in an MMORPG. And this is much more casual - we go to our regular bar, split a pitcher of beer, and go 'Hey, wouldn't it be funny if so-and-so did thus-and-such?' The only real goal we have there is cracking each other up, and when we stop having fun, we drop it and try something else.

You're going to have to explain Rob, Shannon and Mich a bit for me to grasp what you're doing. I'm coming at you as a fan of ConScrew, and if you want to call me a lazy journalist, that's fine, but if you don't you're gonna have to explain who they are.

Quick explanation is that they're my three closest friends - which would account for why I'm writing with them, because I have a very hard time writing with people I don't entirely trust or understand. It just takes a level of 'clicking' that we're not always fortunate enough to find. Shannon Granville is a college friend, fellow Brit/Victoriana/geek. Also an excellent writer, and getting a dissertation published soon. Mich is another old school friend - techie extraordinaire at Busch Gardens, and also my best local hanging-out/drinking buddy. Rob Lantz is this sort with a lot of con notoriety. We met because I made fun of him in ConScrew, and it turns out we actually have a lot in common and get along frighteningly well. Again, another amazing writer, and one who I don't think has ever really gotten a chance to show it 'til now.

When it comes to comics, what do you find most important in the writing of them? I asked a similar question to a guy I work with who's a guitarist majoring in music composition. I asked him, "What's more important: technical proficiency or emotion?" He took emotion without too much hesitation, which gave me further fuel for my webcomic about cooks and restaurant life.

Emotion. I agree. It's like I tell people at panels - a good story will save bad art, but good art can never save a bad story. My favourite example is Rob Balder, who does Partially Clips - he doesn't draw. He takes lousy clipart from those '10,000 Cliparts for Your Business' CDs, pastes the same one into three panels, and adds text. It is probably one of the single best comics - web or print - anywhere, and it's all because of his writing.

Admittedly, I've never been to an anime convention (even though SakuraCon is right here in Seattle), so walk me through a typical weekend. I realize that ConScrew is a parody, but how much of what you write is reality-based? Do you have a favourite character in the story?

People tend to roll in at all hours on Friday, depending on when they could get off work, but not so much happens then. Usually there's karaoke on Friday night, and if not, there's some kind of special event. Saturday's when it all happens - cosplay, room parties, the big panels, chance to go through the dealer's room, etc. The things that happen in ConScrew - the personal interactions, I mean - are possible, but not really probable. I take these behaviours and attitudes of congoers to a ridiculous extreme, but so many people say 'Oh, I know someone just like Fangirl/Ziggy/etc.' Some things - the inability to play DDR, some conversations/confrontations ... yeah, they're based on things that've happened to me or friends, but since Emmy stopped being me about three years ago, any real connection to reality is very tenuous. I can't really choose a favourite character, because deep down, they're all a bit like me. Even a lot of the negative qualities - Emmy's tactlessness, Hiru's self-deprecation, Ziggy's penchant for drinking at 8 AM ...

Who's your favourite character to cosplay? Where do you shop for supplies? Do you do new costumes for each con you go to?

Fujiko [from Lupin III], hands down. And not just because I can get away with so much more. All my various costumes for her just move very nicely, and they're not so complex that they require duct tape or two hours of prep time. I also enjoy my Sailor Mercury, just because she's one of my favourite anime characters. My grandmother owned a children's clothing store called Banbury Cross that closed just before I was born, but she still made all my clothes growing up. I get a lot of my tips and advice from her, and she's even made pieces of some of my costumes. I've gotten out of the habit of 'forcing' new costumes - I've got so many lined up that it's just a matter of finishing when I finish, rather than making a 'grand debut' like a lot of cosplayers do. On the plate right now: Trillian from the new 'Hitchhiker's Guide,' the Depp Willy Wonka (by request), Elizabeth Swann from PotC, Rose from the new 'Doctor Who,' and Vega from 'Gear Fighter Dendoh' - a lot of those being part of a group or planned performance.

Do you think Johnny Depp kind of forced his role in Willy Wonka? I mean, yeah, he kind of came off as creepy, but it seemed more like, "I'm creepier than Gene Wilder!!! Really, I am!!! AND I'm hip!!" I thought the best character in the new Charlie movie was Deep Roy, the Oompa-Loompa.

Depp is a great character actor. I think the best way to appreciate his Wonka is to watch the eyes. Seriously. There's stuff going on back there; and ironically, what you're describing actually works into a lot of his characterisation, I think - surface vs. whatever the hell he's actually thinking.

You do some kinda singing/dancing/performing thing at cons from time to time, don't you? Can you tell me a bit more about it?

Cosplays and masquerades have gotten into the habit of having opening skits with the emcee and whatever friends/cosplayers are handy. They're generally individual skits, but Anime Mid-Atlantic has had a sort of continuing Lupin III theme since its first year (not counting AMA4, where there was a bit of a break for something else) - and at Nekocon, we did an Excel Saga bit for about three years until I finally emceed as Excel. I really love the karaoke, though. I think there are a few of us who really consider it a show, and working with Havok and Brachus on Iron Karaoke at Nekocon has been great. All I'll say on that is that I'm challenging Havok, and I won't be alone. You'll just have to wait and see ...

Iron Karaoke? Do you karaoke in Japanese? I mean, that's probably a dumb question, but I thought I was the only dude who busted out "Shu-AKA-" from Okui Masami. What songs do you pick? If you do "Shell" from Bana, can I have a copy?

It's not a huge competition - Commander Havok (real name Brandon, nice guy who runs karaoke in many places) started it up for fun. He did it with some actual contestants in the form of a real contest a few years back, and then started mixing a few of us in for a round each with the audience choosing the winner. Each year someone's challenged someone else, so now it's come around to me. I definitely go in Japanese, and I tend to choose really obscure songs with very high energy. I don't believe in 'playing the crowd' by just singing something common. Like most recently, I did the opening to 'Kamen Rider Blade,' which isn't anime, but Havok made an exception for me. No one had a clue what it was, but that meant I was impressing them genuinely, and not just 'Ooh, she's singing something from Utena/Full Moon/PGSM.'

I know you jock a lot of mecha anime in your newsposts, so I'll assume that's your favourite genre. What's your fave individual title in all of anime? What's the one show you've watched the most number of times?

Actually, my favourite show is Lupin III - although mech is still my favourite genre. Of that, I've got a real weakness for Brave Express Might Gaine, which is from Sunrise's Yuusha saga. As for most, has to be GaoGaiGar - that's what got me into mech shows, and it's a great starting point for anyone who doesn't see what the big deal is.

How did you get into fansubbing? How much experience do you have? What level of Japanese fluency is required to do subs? The reason I ask is because my old roommate Yoko said that anime language is right around 6th grade.

My friend Exedore needed editing and quality check for a little show called God Mars - a fun show for the first story arc, but it sort of started deteriorating over time. Generally, I edit - that is, take the raw translation and put it into good English - or do quality-check before it's timed. Actually mass-edited twelve episodes of God Mars after out-patient surgery, while on Vicodin, simply because I had nothing else to do. It was an interesting day.

I don't do any of the actual translation, because my Japanese is hopeless. But I understand from my friend Ota (who's doing translations for Vifam right now) that the original Japanese isn't always so easy. You'll get into these military shows with things that barely make sense in Japanese, much less translated. And that's where I come in - taking the translator's very literal translation and finding out what it would be for us.

QC? That's what you do? Cripes, I've been trying to get into that for YEARS. I tried doing some translating for Minor Ja Nai fansubs and got stuck with an episode from Hiatari Ryoko. I wound up watching the damn thing a million times, understood about 10% of it (I--like yourself, I'm guessing--have never taken a Japanese class) and then just said the hell with it. But I see the scripts coming out of some groups whose translations are kinda sketchy for some things...and I wish I knew more. I suppose it's why every little fanboy has his own fansub group now.

Doing fansubs starts out as a thing that you want to get into, but you really start questioning your desire to do it when you get handed, say, half of Sexy Commando Masaru-san to do by the end of the week. It's fun, but it's incredibly stressful, because you start feeling like you're the only person on Earth who knows how to speak English correctly.

How's the voice-acting going? What's your biggest role so far? Have you ever been a part of a fandub? Is this the career that you REALLY want to pursue?

The voice acting's going slower, but I'm still enjoying it. I currently stay with two or three studios now - Negavision, Darker Projects, and Westlake and all its offshoots (including Phantom Frame). Negavision is fandubbing SailorStars, which is both nerve-wracking and fun. But I'd say my big deal was Papillon Cosmos in the conceptual animation/audio for Lingerie Senshi Papillon Rose. I got my name on a pencil board and everything. As for career? I've realised over the past year or so that I'll never be content doing just one thing. Where I am now - acting, art, writing - that's good, covering all those different angles. Ideally, I'd love to run a general entertainment studio where several multitalented sorts and myself could just churn things out as we create them. Because, if you haven't noticed, I'm always doing something.

For Negavision, did you reprise your role as Sailor Mercury for SailorStars? How are you guys treating that for translation? I watched a fansub of SailorStars about five years back (from VKLL in Canada), which I totally dug. Probably my favorite Sailor Moon season right ahead of Sailor Moon S. Anyway, how's that going?

We're at a slow point right now, since we're waiting on some of our VAs to come out of this weird black hole they seem to have been sucked into. Yeah, I'm playing Mercury again, and this time I'm also doubling up as Galaxia, which I love doing. I'm exploring a different range of my voice ... and, well, everyone loves playing evil. We're really not veering from the translations, although we're using the DiC/Cloverway names - and we're not cutting anything, AND Amara/Michelle are back together properly. The great part is that DiC wrote to our director - he thought we'd be getting a cease-and-desist order - and sent him all their music cues, including some that never got used. So we're using a mix of original, DiC, and even some from the live-action.

In your rants, you almost always mention food. What are some of your favourite things to eat? Are you a bad-ass cook, or do you just talk big game?

Oh, ha. I can't cook much at all. I've actually managed to burn water. There are some things I do really well - for example, I make the best scrambled eggs ever. (And no, you can't have the recipe - gotta have something.) I once made some Valentine chocolates, but they were of the typical anime schoolgirl variety - charming, but also disgusting. I prefer other people cooking for me. Mad about Mongolian barbeque and any sort of Japanese bread - especially anpan. Lately, I've also been shedding a lot of my childhood distastes. I love olives and mushrooms now, especially some olives stuffed with anchovies that my uncle brought back when he sailed to Spain.

I found a fearsome recipe for taiyaki a while ago, but I have no taiyaki pan/griddle, so I've yet to make some. Dammit. I'm glad you like Japanese bread, 'cuz so few people do. Good work. Also, my friend asked me for a recipe for Mongolian BBQ a couple months back, which I provided...with lamb as the main ingredient. YEAH!!!!

Lamb is the best thing to put in there, definitely. My grandfather's first-generation from Syria (I grew up with my grandparents), so lots of lamb growing up. Amazing stuff. And anpan ... anything in that vein, but that's my thing right there. I know very few other people who like it. The local Mongolian place used to make it peach-shaped with food colouring and everything ... now it's just the plain bun, but I'll take it in whatever shape they make it.

If you were chosen as a challenger on the Japanese Iron Chef, who would you fight? What theme ingredient would you hope for, and what would you make?

Head-to-head with Morimoto. I'm a shameless cheese-lover, so I could hook up a lot of things with that. Fortunately, the ezine I work for includes weekly recipes ... so we'd end up with Philadelphia maki, this really good turkey/Swiss casserole (that's actually constructed for leftovers, but it's still amazing), scalloped potatoes, and some blintzes. Although I'm still waiting for the day when you hear 'And the secret ingredient is ... Chairman Kaga!'

Okay, what's in your Philly maki? At the Japanese place I worked at, it was smoked salmon, cream cheese, avocado and cucumber. I have to admit that it paled in comparison to the Seattle maki, which was salmon, tobiko, cucumber and avocado. Word. And why Morimoto? Just because he's a sushi guy? Why not Michiba Rokusaburo? Dude, that guy's FILTHY.

I really have an immense respect for people who do sushi. It's something that can be amazing or fall flat, depending on the person. My Philly is pretty well the same as yours. (Offhand, I'm now also addicted to shrimp tempura sushi ... I don't know why. It seems so pointless. But there's something about it.)

What's spinning in your CD player right now? (Or if you're not a CD gal, what're you listening to right now?) Do you still listen to the watered down crap the US calls radio?

Having just partied with m.o.v.e. this past weekend, I'm re-listening to a lot of Initial D. I've always liked their style - two completely different vocalists, but somehow the music pulls them together in the middle. I really can't listen to the radio unless I can find either a good classical station or classic rock. (Me and opposite ends of the spectrum ... I know.)

Okay, between you partying with m.o.v.e. and Jon Mays interviewing both Maaya Sakamoto AND Kotoko, I hate you both. Now that I'm over that, I have to appreciate your opposing ends of the spectrum because my music collection contains songs from both Ripping Corpse and Hayashibara Megumi. Opposition seems to rule my life.

Like I said, I grew up with my grandparents, but I also had my uncle around a lot, so I was well-versed in every aspect of entertainment (not just music). He fed me Monty Python and British rock while they had me hooked up to old standards and MGM musicals. And then when I went to college and started branching out, I picked up a lot of stuff on my own, simply because I had no problem with giving just about anything a try.

Give me your top five albums of all time. And yes, I'm going to critique them.* (see note)

1. Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue/American in Paris suite - got that for Christmas a couple years back

2. Dark Side of the Moon - and before you ask, I HAVE done it alongside 'Wizard of Oz,' and it works

3. Oingo Boingo - Dead Man's Party

4. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - the original, I suppose, but I'm highly amused by the film soundtrack

5. Soundtrack of 'The Fix' - I will have a heart attack if anyone has heard of this

Regarding "Dark Side of the Moon:" I don't believe you. At which point does the dude who hangs himself show up? I want proof and/or screenshots.

I wasn't talking about the hanging - that's an old urban legend. But queuing up the album to the movie (third lion roar) - now THAT is not an urban legend.

If you had a “Kara Special” at some restaurant, what would it be? And yes, I’m asking you to equate yourself to food. It’s fun.

The Kara Special would definitely have to turn up at a deli. Anyone who reads my rants knows that I have some bizarre sandwich addictions that very few people will try. The one I tend to get at the sandwich shoppe where I used to work (and where it actually originated) is turkey and pepperoni on a white sub, with cheddar, chipotle ranch, and oregano (and whatever veggies are desired). It's my favourite sandwich and the only thing food-wise I will never turn down, regardless of my mood (or even whether I'm really hungry or not, sometimes). Anyone who'd end up getting a Kara Special clearly has a sense of adventure, and at least trusts my advice a little. T'ain't just a sandwich - it's a measure of character. Or something.

What's coming up in the future for Kara? Anything else to add to the GG crowd?

Kalibourne is the Big News right now. It's gonna be huge. Possibly bigger than ConScrew, which I'm actually hoping will happen. The concept is something Rob and I are both thrilled about. Also, my publisher (Chris Impink from Unseen Productions) is already setting up a publishing schedule for the next two years - so we're gonna have ConScrew Vols. 2-4 in the next two years, both Sticky Wicket volumes between those, and at that point some Kali should hit the presses. I also might be working with a rather large publishing company on something that ISN'T a book. Can't really elaborate until it's a sure thing, but if it happens, I think it's gonna be a big thing. I'm very excited.

GG's Note: Regarding Kara's musical selections. I'm not too terribly familiar with Gershwin, so I won't comment out of respect for his work. Dark Side of the Moon is a good choice, so no points lost there.  Dead Man's Party? Seriously? Should I leave my body at the door? As for Sgt. Pepper's...Kara gets super bonus points because I *remember* that damnable film. The scene that will be forever burned into my retinas is during their "Strawberry Fields" scene, where some chick hugs a dude while singing the lyrics. At the time, I had no idea and turned the channel. Now, I don't really care and can't get the image from my head. And no, I've never heard of a movie called "The Fix," though The Fixx opened up for A Flock of Seagulls in the first concert I ever attended (4th grade).