WonderCon! Eats & Transport

One nice thing about WonderCon being in Downtown, Los Angeles this year was the abundance of eating and dranking spots near the convention center. N00bs were content with the surprisingly not crowded center eateries serving up sammiches and fried goodies or waiting out in the sun at the dozens of food trucks. But just a couple blocks away you could take in a multitude of easy to sit joints like the Yard House, Tom's Urban and Lawry's Prime Rib. On Friday night we took a short Uber ride to Little Tokyo for some video game action at 82 where I got destroyed in Street Fighter II then we almost beat Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder before getting worn out. Next door is a Japanese mall filled with shops, snacks, karaoke and food where we ended up getting a big plate of chicken teriyaki and dumplings from Tofu House.

Saturday morning we stopped by the empty Tom's Urban where you can get breakfast on weekends along with an all day lunch and dinner menu. Unlimited mimosas set you back $16 bones but were a little light on the champagne the lady says. The best of both worlds, we chowed down on a breakfast platter of eggs, grits and sausage along with a bacon and avocado burger. We opted for a kale side salad instead of fries because it had been a very light on roughage con-cation already. After walking the floor for a bit, we wandered over to Lawry's Carvery in L.A. Live for what might have been the best tasting meal of the weekend, a prime rib sammich along with their King of Clubs. Both meats were extremely tender and flavorful with the bread soft and tasty. They have entrees as well if you just wanted a slab of prime rib.

In the lobby of the J.W. Marriott is Ford's Filling Station, the classic upscale chain run by one of Harrison Ford's sons. We had breakfast there one day, shelling out $22 for an omelet and another $12 for a Belgium Waffle, I always thought they were called Belgian Waffles...It was good but nothing screamed excellent about the pricey meal, it was just convenient. Speaking of the J.W., we opted to Uber to and from because valet was $45 a night with no self parking option as I'm guessing your car is parked in or held offsite due to space. Adding up all of our trips that weekend, from Playa Vista to downtown, to The Falls, back to L.A. Live, to 82, over to Hollywood and back then home cost around $80, not even two nights parking let alone the three we had. And there's no tips involved with Uber so it was definitely the way to go.

Gotta Eat! (& Drank): Odyssey & The One-Up

It was 405 time Sunday as we headed up to Granada Hills to meet a friend at Odyssey, a long established, would be swanky establishment on top of a hill overlooking the area for brunch. The offerings were varied and delicious with breakfast staples like eggs, bacon, fresh made waffles and lox along with Chinese food, a carving station with prime rib and turkey, shrimp, crab legs, turkey pot pie and much more. It was a little pricey at $40 bucks a person but the ambiance, service and food were all excellent. Dranks were only $3.50 as well as we opted for some red wine Sangria. After eating our fill it was down the 405 to Sherman Oaks for a little button mashing at The One-Up. The place is great when no one's there because there's only one multiplayer machine with 400 titles like Final Fight, Street Fighter, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and King of Fighters. The rest of the cabinets are kind of weak sauce, 10 pages of 8 bit titles like Pac-Man, Asteroids, Ghouls and Ghosts and the sort. Solid titles but not what I think of when I come to arcade. Scrolling through the massive list, that's missing Alien VS Predator, G.I. Joe and The Avengers sadly, there's still plenty of games to keep you busy.

We started with Bomberman, where you run around dropping explosives, blowing up creatures and walls, collecting power ups and decapitating yourself with fire. It took me back to the good ol' days of Super Nintendo and then Nintendo's Game Cube, their less than successful follow up to the N64. After that it was brawling time and we set out to defeat the really loud Cadillac's and Dinosaurs game by Capcom. Originally a comic book from 1986, the title was translated into video games, a cartoon, action figures and more. After pollution and natural disasters threaten mankind, humans go underground for 600 years. When they come out, extinct life forms like dinosaurs have taken over and those with basic mechanical skills hold the power. Motor head Jack Tenrec and busty scientist Hannah Dundee are featured in the 1993 arcade game along with quick footed Mustapha Cairo and bruiser Mess O'Bradovich. Like Final Fight, you punch, kick and spin move your way through sections of the city taking on thugs and here, dinosaur slavers and a few of the creatures themselves. With 8 areas to get through, game play gets a little repetitive but you get to shoot baddies with Uzi's and shotguns, blow them up with grenades, stab them with knives and run over them with a Caddy in one part. Surprisingly bloody by today's standards, you end up in the lab of Dr. Fessenden who transforms into a big dinosaur with an alien looking creature sticking out of his chest. I'll be back to defeat another brawler soon!

Con-Man: Twin Galaxies Entertainment Festival

On Friday morning we ventured out to Banning, California past Riverside and next to Morongo Casino for the Twin Galaxies Entertainment Festival at the Museum of Pinball. This is a private eSports facility that's only open to the public a few times a year so we figured on making a weekend out of it. Driving out east is about the closest I get to feeling like I'm back in Ohio or the middle east of America as traffic is lighter and there isn't much to see besides fields and a surprising amount of semi-trucks. We posted up at the Holiday Inn which was surprisingly nice with a separate living room, kitchenette area, a little gym and a substantial breakfast that included eggs, cinnamon rolls and BISCUITS AND GRAVY! The Pinball Museum is tucked away by the airport in a nondescript series of structures. It wasn't very crowded with people but there were tons of games to be played. The Museum is split into two halves, one with arcade games and the other with pinball. We walked around the arcade a bit with classic games like Pacman, Galaga, Super Mario Brothers and a crazy Japanese version of Tetris where you play as a Disney character. Then you had your Street Fighter, Fatal Fury and King of Fighters section and another with shooters like Area 51, a Time Crisis with the machine gun, etc.

Over at the end was a red carpeted area set up for competition and early YouTube show host Jace Hall was holding it down. While there were plenty of 80's games, I was disappointed in the lack of 90's button smashing brawlers like Final Fight, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or X-Men. Rather than finding a holy grail title like Alien VS Predator or G.I. Joe, runners up like The Simpsons and Airwolf weren't working. Instead we found solace in the driving games section with Spy Hunter, Star Wars and the most fun game of the day, Crazy Taxi! Basically where you drive around picking up fares and are on the clock but cause wanton destruction on your way to KFC, Tower Records, the train depot and other spots.

 
Across the hall was the pinball section where the museum really had some historic and cool things. One room was set up with old school shooting games where you fired at model planes and cars or flashes of light signaled bullet hits. Pinball wise you had a ton of early models and lots of new age, flashing lights, licensed ones like Maverick, Hook, Last Action Hero, Robocop and Judge Dredd. There was also a bar on the pinball side with $7 cocktails so it wasn't too shabby. There were panels and competitions throughout the day then food trucks and a DJ outside. At $50 to get in, it was a bit expensive for what amounted to about 4 hours of being onsite and like I said, even with 800 games to play I was disappointed in the selection. But it was only one part of the weekend and a solid one at that. The next open event is ArcadeExpo scheduled for January, apparently you can camp out on their multi-acre compound for that one.

The 80's Called: Gunship & Double Dragon

A couple of cool videos celebrating the glorious 80's, today! First up is synth artist Gunship with their latest track, Tech Noir. You know, like from The Terminator?! I don't watch too many music videos anymore but this one was just very clever, inspired, fun and violent! Watch as our hero utilizes the power of VHS tapes to rescue the damsel in distress; battling evil icons of the era like Pinhead, Jason and Leatherface while harnessing the power of Robocop, Rocky, He-Man and...a Care Bear?!

Next up is a video sent to me from a Dammaged Goods supporter who attended The Van Damme Double Dip, one Chris Anthony. Mr. Anthony has put together an homage to classic arcade side scrolling brawler Double Dragon, where Billy and Jimmy Lee battle thugs after the death of a lady friend. Martial arts, 8-bit tunes and super knees to the face action ensues. Keep spreading the gospel of the 80's and 90's, my friends!

(Pre)Ask Me a Question: The Last Starfighter and 80's Arcade Sci-Fi Cinema

If going to three conventions in a month wasn't enough fun, I've got a couple of packed weeks before taking off for a destination wedding. Coming off of Star Wars Celebration and a slight case of Con-fluenza, I've got one more day to rest up before a weekend full of 80's and 90's goodness starting with a double feature of mother fudging The Last Starfighter and Krull! You know, where a smart kid who lives and works in a trailer park gets the chance to go to space and fight an intergalactic war?! I've never seen Starfighter on the big screen so am very pumped for some innocent, post Star Wars, Spielberg flavored Americana and rising to the outrageous occasion. The American Cinematheque's Egyptian Theatre, where Dammaged Goods Presents proudly flies it's banner of repertory cinema and special events a la Dolph Night, An Evening With Carl Weathers and The Sunbow Celebration; is hosting a badass weekend of 80's science fiction films dubbed Space Invaders: Sci-Fi in the Arcade Age. Starfighter and Krull kicks things off Thursday with special guests including Star director Nick Castle, cast members Lance Guest, Catherine Mary Stewart, Chris Hebert and Peter Nelson along with composer Craig Safan, producer Gary Adelson and visual effects coordinator Jeffrey A. Okun! Phew! If that weren't enough, there will be a special presentation of rare behind the scenes material as well.

Friday night sees the classic terror then action in space masterpieces Alien and Aliens (aka #HicksLives aka #F@ckAlien3! aka #MichaelBiehnRules aka #HicksHudson86') with special behind the scenes material. On Saturday it's Blade Runner, the Final Cut with more making of materials and Sunday closes off with a Disney double feature of Tron and The Black Hole. Tron will also be a tribute to writer and #MovieBro Jay West who sadly passed recently. Jay was a mainstay on the repertory and genre film circuit as he was a fan, expert and collector of all things Alien and Tron. I found his work through his Beyond the Marquee site of news, reviews, interviews and more. When we saw Alien and Aliens at Hero Complex last year, the stage was adorned with prop xenomorph eggs that came from his personal collection. I introduced myself to the man at Hero Complex's Comic-Con party in San Diego last year and he was very warm and cool to chat with. The Tron evening welcomes VFX supervisor Harrison Ellenshaw and concept designer Richard Taylor along with more behind the magic info.

Information and tickets on the nights can be found HERE. Remember what Centuri said, "If that's what you think, then that's all you'll ever be!"The 80's taught us to believe in ourselves. See ya there!

Sherman Oaks Saturday: Earth 2 Comics & The One Up

Wow what a week! Started a kick ass new gig all while going into the final days leading up to the Sunbow Animation Celebration double feature of The Transformers and G.I. Joe: The Movies, fighting a cold and planning another big movie night. Saturday it was off to Sherman Oaks to check out a parking lot sale of comics with thousands of issues advertised for a buck a piece. Earth 2 Comics is located right on Ventura Blvd off the 405 a few minutes from The Galleria. The Galleria? John Conner alert! I think that was Glendale actually...Anyways, it was already a bustling scene
with people elbow to elbow skimming through books. Toys, calendars, figurines and more were also on sale but I was more there looking for issues. After whetting my appetite with some Cable (Body slide by one) from last week's Long Beach Comic Expo, I was hoping I'd run into some more 90's action and was not disappointed as I scooped up some of Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza's X-Force from 1991. Also grabbed were several issues of Nick Fury: Agent of Shield, some more 80's Captain America that I already have in boxes in Ohio, Sgt. Rock and a couple of random issues of West Coast Avengers with interesting covers. There seemed to be a lot of DC for sale and I hauled up a few issues of The Flash written by the TV writing duo of the 1990 show, Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo. If you bought 20, the price went down to .50 cents so it was money well spent. The staff there were all super cool and say they hold the sale a couple times a year so we'll be sure to come back.

Since we were already in The Oaks, we cruised down to The One Up for a midday cocktail and some more brawling action following up on The Punisher mayhem from a few weeks ago. It was barely noon so the place was empty but with Space Balls on the tube and a Jameson Mule aka Dublin Donkey in hand, it was time to check out what other oddities and classics the 400 game emulator had in store for us. I really hoping for Aliens VS Predator so I could be video game Arnold aka Dutch but with a metal arm and fight xenomorphs. Alas AVP was not included but 1991's forgotten yet awesome side scrolling beat'em up Knights of the Round from Capcom was. I remember playing the crap out of that game as Lancelot, Arthur and Perceval. We settled on Cadillacs and Dinosaurs for the sheer WTF value as it's a beat'em up but with a story involving cars and dinosaurs. A comic book series turned cartoon, the Capcom arcade game came out in 1993 where you play as the hyper buff dude Jack Tenrec or hot diplomat Hannah Dundee along with fast fighting Mustapha or heavy hitter Mess O'Bradovich.

Like Final Fight or The Punisher, you roll down the streets of some crazy city where dinosaurs have been hunted and modified, becoming violent tools of gang warlords. Using your fists, feet, uzi's, shotguns, knives and TNT, you fight your way through various parts of The City by the Sea and a nearby jungle. The game had a BLARING rock and roll soundtrack and was really, really loud. But fun to button mash and brawl. It was surprisingly violent with dead dinosaur carcases, being able to use swords to hack peeps and of course shoot them with a variety of firearms. One stage you're driving a Caddy and literally trying to mow down the baddies in your way. Road rage! It was a fun morning before we needed to head to Hollywood for the big show...

Gotta Drank (& Play)! The One-Up

It was a Saturday in Sherman Oaks as we ventured north to catch 50 Shades of Grey at the Arclight then made our way down Ventura Blvd to the Von Eaton Animation Art Gallery that had a Disney exhibit going on. Right next door to that is The One-Up, a cozy barcade. With a chill vibe and great ambiance courtesy of 80's classics Back to the Future, The Goonies and Fast Times at Ridgemont High on repeat along with lots of English easy listening pop as I haven't heard Travis in ages. There's a small menu of pub favorites like burgers, mac n' cheese and delicious mini-corn dogs. There's a list of specialty cocktails or a full bar to choose from. My Moscow Mule wasn't amazing so I switched to the very tasty Monkey Brew, a mix of scotch, orange tea, lemon and mint. Unlike Eighty-Two or Blispy's, there are no quarters required for the games at One-Up as they're all free to patrons. There's maybe 10 emulator cabinets with 10 pages of games each in the vein of Mario Brothers, Pac-Man, Galaga and the like. I played some plane flying/shooting 1943 and Ghouls and Ghosts before the holy grail of the joint opened up: a sit down, two player console with 400 games on it. Mainly your fighting and side scrolling beat'em ups. I didn't even peruse the entire list to see what oddities and golden nuggets were inside but you had several Samurai Showdown's and Street Fighter's along with Final Fight and THE PUNISHER.

You see, Beat'em Ups or Brawlers are multi-player games where you take on lots of opponents through button mashing mayhem. You usually punch, kick, jump or do a special move and can pick up useful items like weapons and food along the way. Double Dragon got it going in the late 80's and soon you had Golden Axe, Final Fight, Alien Vs Predator, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons, X-Men and The Avengers gracing arcades in the form of scrolling beat'em ups. The Punisher hit arcades in 1993 towards the tail end of the Brawler glory days but remains an awesomely good time. As either Mr. P. or Nick Fury, you battle thugs and criminals on your way to a showdown with The Kingpin. Not only can you punch, kick, spin and jump kick, you can pick up pipes, bats, katanas, knives, pistols and M-16's! We battled our way through 4 stages before I began to worry about the remaining time on my meter and called it a night. It was a lot of fun, like playing Avengers in Salt Lake City as you just beat the hell out of guys named Chrys, Scully and Yan Lee in clubs, casinos, bars and subway trains. One-Up could definitely use a second console with these 400 games as shit like Dig Dug and Pac-Man just can't hold a candle to beating the crap out of thugs, 90's karate style!

Gotta Play! Blipsy Bar

If you've been paying attention you know I have a thing for sky high dining and drinking.  I also have a thing for arcade games.  My mom used to take me to the mall on Saturday's so she could shop, I'd hit up Aladdin's Castle and play stuff like Street Fighter, Final Fight, Avengers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or the G.I. Joe run and gun.  With the rise of home gaming, arcades took a tumble in the 2000's and you'd only find machines at a pizza parlor, bowling alley or Dave and Buster's style establishment that blended gaming with food and drinks.  On the rise today are Barcades, where entrepreneurial 30 year olds mix video games and booze so you can relive your childhood.  Eighty-Two in Downtown has had great success in it's short lifetime while Neon Retro just opened up in Pasadena where you can play unlimited games and pinball for a flat fee but no booze. Up-Down in Des Moines is about the best example of a barcade I've encountered as you've got a full bar, 80's and 90's inspired wall paper and games of all kinds for fighting, driving, shooting along with physical attractions like skee-ball and giant Jenga.  Ground Kontrol in Portland is pretty cool too as they had the giant 6 player X-Men along with Alec Baldwin's The Shadow pinball.

I feel like Blipsy's has probably been around for a quite a while though as I came years ago and is far from the clean, shiny and club like Eighty-Two.  Blipy's is basically a dive bar but with video games.  It's small, dark, cramped and hot.  The outside has Pac-Man inspired decor and inside you'll find He-Man and the Masters of the Universe prints and a Christopher Reeve Superman poster on the wall while a big ass Cobra Terror Drome hangs upside down from the ceiling like a chandelier.  There's a quarters machine all the way in the back and it's so dark you can hardly see where to insert your dollar.  Blipsy's sticks to more classic 80's style games like Galaga, Gauntlet, Punch-Out, Rampage and Ms. Pac-Man without a shooting or fighting game in sight.  That's where it loses points for me but hey, it's their theme.  Most games cost a quarter and while I stretched that out on Galaga and Ms. Pac-Man, the joystick didn't work too well for WWF's Superstars as I couldn't select the Ultimate Warrior then got counted out when I was unable to get back in the ring!  Located on Western Avenue just past Beverly Blvd across from a giant Kentucky Fried Chicken, you can totally head down the street a little and hit up some Korean BBQ.  Just take Oxford, it's faster.

Gotta Drank! Up - Down

Located in lovely downtown Des Moines, Iowa is a dive bar for the 80's and 90's ages, Up-Down.  Steps away from the capital building and Ray Gun, the joint is filled with arcade games like the two-screen, six player X-Men (Jim Lee console art!) and nostalgic hits like Wrestlemania, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Contra (frigging rip off!), Street Fighter II (so slow!), giant Jenga and Connect Four.  I was impressed with the wall decor, a mish mash of 80's and 90's pop culture wall paper featuring The Goonies, Back to the Future, Pauly Shore, Pulp Fiction, AC Slater and Jean-Claude Van Damme!  The bar was stocked with beers on tap, Strongbow in the fridge and a 2-4-1 token special for Saturday night.  I've been to several arcades lately and this had the best working games by far.  The selection and variety of games is solid but I'm still on the lookout for Avengers (America needs your help!) and the G.I. Joe run and gun shooting spectacular.