Con-Man: Good, Tough & Deadly @ SDCC '16

In the last couple of years I've attended conventions near and far, domestic and international, set up my own, been on a panel and organized a movie premiere during, this past San Diego Comic-Con was another first, participating in a book signing on the show floor. david j. moore's The Good, the Tough and The Deadly was Amazon's #1 New Release in film books this past summer and the author graciously asked if I'd join him at La-La Land Records' booth while he sold and signed books for an hour. There was lots of traffic going by as the booth was near Warner Brothers. We hustled folks walking by as friends stopped by to support as well as subject Eric Jacobus, stuntman and filmmaker, with some of his stunt industry friends from 8711 gym, the team behind The Matrix, John Wick and many more. David was able to sell some books, I signed and chatted with #ActionMoviePeeps and saw how hard it is to get people's attention even when there's thousands around. Until next time, keep kicking like you're on Broadway.

Don't let the title fool you, it's just two dudes who can appreciate other, helping each other out!

Gotta Drank! San Diego Comic-Con 2016

Arnold Schwarzenegger once said something to the effect of going places where the crowds weren't. That's always been my approach as I love happy hour but abhor going out at night, or have no problem finding a quiet spot a couple blocks from con to enjoy some libations and grub. People tend to pool where others go equaling huge lines and crowds in the Gaslamp directly across from the convention center. Go a few blocks east or north and you'll find plenty of places ready to serve you while taking your cash. Last year the Top of the Hyatt was under renovations and reopened this year as a swanky lounge with still beautiful views and famous quotes on the windows.

Near the small Chinatown establishments you had Whiskey House, a solid joint with nighttime ambiance, a wall of booze and lots of food options. Up a few blocks was Taste & Thirst, a very bar-y bar that was home to Diamond's Alien Lounge with props, posters and a backdrop. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund party once again took place at the lovely Westgate Hotel with themed dranks and swag bags. Speaking of swag bags, we Uber'd north near the university to Coin-Op, a barcade hosting new app Pure Fandom's launch party with 80's movie posters on the walls, tator tots on the menu and plenty of cabinets lining the walls of standard fare like X-Men and Street Fighter. Swag included a new album from Vince DiCola, the incomparable electronic composer of Transformers: The Movie and Rocky IV. All the celebrating and imbibing caused me to take a 4 week break on drinking after but it was fun while it lasted.

Oh yeah, and don't ever take a pedicab in downtown San Diego, it's a total rip off.

Workout of the Day: Train with Zane

We all have measures of success, one of mine has long been attending San Diego Comic-Con for a week and attending a Train with Zane Experience. 20 minutes outside Downtown, tucked away in La Mesa is Zane's private residence and gym. A fixture of bodybuilding and fitness, Zane won the sports most prestigious title, Mr. Olympia, three years straight in 1977-1979 and was part of the "Golden Age" of body builders who trained and helped each other like Arnold, Franco Columbu, Dave Draper and many other California based luminaries. Zane has long been an inspiration as first, he was closer to my size at 5'9" and under 200 pounds, his symmetrical and defined physique coupled with a quiet yet confident and educated attitude was just easier to relate to on a personal level.

Zane welcomed me to his densely packed gym that's adorned with photos of his dogs, himself and magazine covers he and wife Christine have graced over the decades. His three Eugene Sandow Mr. Olympia trophies sat unpretentiously on a small shelf. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from my 3-hour Quick Zane Experience besides a rundown of nutrition and exercise advice mixed with Zane's philosophical approach. At first we sat and just talked, about my background, the path to La Mesa for the Zane's, the good old days, current competitive bodybuilding, on and on. In his 70's, Zane was a man more or less at peace with himself, never the show or sales man that Arnold was in their youth, he sure wasn't trying to be now. He's just a man who's gained experience and education through the years and is now passing it on to others if they can use it. It was a bit of a shock after getting to spend time with another idol, the younger and much more erratically energetic Jean-Claude Van Damme just a couple weeks prior. While JCVD was everything you'd hoped to be and more, up, down, over here, over there, hilarious and inspiring, Zane was more level and without even realizing, dropped heavy doses of knowledge that will stick with me for years to come.

When we stepped into the gym, Zane assessed my current physique, asking my routines and eating plans. Shockingly, drinking whiskey and eating happy hour food is not conducive to getting in optimum shape. When asked about my goals and motivations, I honestly came up blank with only short term items like shirts fitting too tight or just feeling a little dumpy. Zane shared that he peaked every September for 23 years and from there just tried to stay injury free and feel energized. I've long been a user of opposing muscle group supersets like Chest to Biceps or Back to Triceps but Zane had me try doing movements for one body part in a row like Incline DB Press to Decline Flys to Dumbbell Pullovers. That way you were keeping blood in the same general area without overly taxing your shoulders and joints. I must say that I felt the difference immediately. Zane had me slow down and really focus on the movement versus just trying to lift the weight. My arms started cramping up after just one tri-set of biceps, guess I should have warmed up...

With the afternoon winding down and needing to get back to town for Preview Night, Zane and I said our goodbyes with me purchasing a Train with Zane DVD to take home. While it was an educational if not all out 90's style adrenaline pumping workout video experience, I walked away with some heady issues to confront that influenced my Comic-Con week for better or worse. Using Zane's training techniques in the weeks and months after, I've noticed solid changes to troublesome body parts and feel slimmer as well. I'd definitely go back next time I'm in San Diego and would surely appreciate it more now that I know what to expect.

Con-Man: San Diego 2016

Ah San Diego Comic-Con, the mecca for all things creative arts. This was a landmark year as I spent nearly a week in San Diego and even took a few hours to train with bodybuilding legend Frank Zane in nearby La Mesa. Arriving on Tuesday, downtown SD in the Gaslamp Quarter was hopping as usual and local businesses and bars were ready for Con with comic book art and signs luring in passerby. Doctor Strange banners adorned streets, BB-8 and Pokemon imagery filled windows. Things were made a little easier this year as badges were sent out instead of needing to be picked up at the not that close Town and Country.

Walking around early Wednesday morning at 6:00 AM and soaking in the peaceful calm before the storm, I saw pop ups for Amazon, South Park, NBC and Conan O'Brien's Funko face plastered on buildings and trains. Our Comic-Condo was right in the Gaslamp again but unfortunately faced a busy street and it was far from soundproofed. My sleep would get worse as the week went on. A few pre-Preview Night Jameson's got me surprisingly feeling no pain as I checked out the Exhibit Hall where DC had costumes from Wonder Woman and Suicide Squad on display, a bronze Captain America statue made a stop on it's way to Brooklyn, Star Wars costumes and the like all warranted a quick photo. The show felt a little samesie as I kept running into the same stuff but that's going to happen when you've been to as many shows as I have. I meant to make my way over to a parking lot screening of Super 7's new original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated short but them Jamesons had me wanting to hit the sack...

Panels through the week included the increasingly con attending Edgar Rice Burrough's where we learned that Carson of Venus is being adapted into a film series, Jim Davis of Garfield fame made his first Comic-Con appearance and picked up an Inkpot in the process. King of WeirdCool Thomas Jane and the cast of The Expanse were on hand for the season 2 announcement and Hall H, while ever so crowded, seemed a little light on programming this year. It's been my observation that since 2010, the Hollywood Bubble has slowly burst so at some point casual fans will stop trying to get in. There's always Seattle, Salt Lake and New York.

ConMan: Anime Expo '16 Sunday

 
July is always a solid month for me. Independence Day gives a three day weekend, Anime Expo takes place downtown, it's my birthday and then San Diego Comic-Con, so always something to do. Anime Expo aka AX, has signed to stay in Los Angeles for five years and this is was our third year attending. Lines and crowds were crazy on Friday and Saturday so I'm glad we opted to check out the show on Sunday. A quick Uber to the Los Angeles Convention Center and fast badge pick up line later, we were walking the lobby. Oh but first, an aside. My con backpack is lined with various buttons with Captain America, Arnold as Sgt. Rock, Pacific Rim, Predator and one with Kurt Russell from Used Cars that a guy offered to buy off me at SDCC a few years ago. Anyways, after putting our programs in my bag and slinging it over my shoulder, I notice something is missing, my Used Cars button was gone! This was from a one of a kind event years ago at The Arclight so I was super bummed as we retraced our steps to no avail. It's just a trinket but it was not a great start to the day. Once inside the packed exhibit floor I looked down and wondered what was on my leg, lo and behold, my button had fallen off my bag but somehow ended up catching on the magnet of my money clip inside my shorts pocket, pin point facing out and all! The lady and I high fived as my Kurt Russell, Tango & Cash style charm continued!

The exhibition floor was full of vendors offering all the anime inspired toys, models, prints and more. A local seller had shirts about Ship where you'd flip up the bottom to see your favorite characters in near kiss. Lots of stuffed animals around, especially sloths. Funko, Lootcrate, Crunchy Roll, Bandai, Capcom and more had large sections of the floor as did Toei animation with cool Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z history exhibits. Zootopia cosplay was the latest craze while I've never seen so much cross play or people walking with their heads down looking at their phone. Of all the shows I've been to, I can't think of another where I politely shoved or moved so many people out of my way who were just randomly standing in an aisle or not watching where they were going. Artist alley had been moved downstairs to Kentia hall and it was as huge as it was packed. I had to yell for people to keep walking because again, goers were literally stopping in the middle of the aisle. If you want to stop and look at something, walk over to the table, don't stand in the middle of the walkway, ya dig? Table top and card gaming was downstairs as well but the AC was not pumping so we did a round and headed back upstairs.

We trekked over to West Hall where Cosplay sets, the arcade and pachinko machines were set up. Our Uber driver later told us about his ten years in Japan and how people would lose their mortgages at the crazy gambling machines that seem like a mix of slots and pinball with a TV show playing at the same time. In another new addition, there was a history of AX set up showing timelines of locations, milestones and attendance. There were also programs, shirts and the like from past shows which was pretty cool. We also ran into our friends at Concon, a new app for all your convention needs, check it out! After several hours of walking around, it was time for lunch as we headed to the dependable Yard House at L.A. Live where we found a seat at the bar immediately. We headed back to the show, checking out cosplay gatherings out front where hundreds descended for group shots. After that it was over to the randomly crowded for a Sunday but it was a holiday so, EightyTwo for dranks and catching up with friends. I've never been a huge fan of Street Fighter: Championship Edition and it really wasn't my day as I was defeated the two times I stepped up. Final Fight was a little more forgiving as I jabbed, crossed and spun kick as Guy through several levels of Metro City.

It's great to see Anime Expo continue to expand and I'm pumped to see what next year has in store. It was another fun time and ample warm up for SDCC. For 2017 we'll see about taking a stay-cation like WonderCon and get a room to stay in the heart of the animated action. Until then, I'll be catching up on Attack on Titan, One Piece, Free!, Gundam, Beserk, Naruto...I must say, the prospect of being able to download information is one aspect of the future I'm looking forward to so I can be caught up on all of these series.

Con-Man: Hotel Life

This Tuesday is the Comic-Con International hotel room request lottery. Starting at 6:00 AM, Pacific Standard Time, hopeful hotel guests will be put into a waiting room where they'll try to lock up a room during San Diego Comic-Con from their top 6 choices. While we get a condo, I know plenty of people who rely on the hotel lottery. So here's a guest post from my Con-rade over at High Phalanges, Annemarie:

"I get more anxious about the hotel sale than I do about the badge sales. It’s so bad that I have nightmares about the sale. It’s one thing not to get a badge to SDCC, but to get a badge and NOT have a place to stay would be THE WORST. Also, everyone and their freaking mothers wants that golden egg of a hotel room: the prestigious Omni, the peaceful ocean views of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, the trendy Hard Rock Hotel, and so on."

"Every year over a hundred thousand people compete for a limited number of rooms sold in the SDCC Hotel Sale, and every year there is excitement, disappointment, bargaining with higher powers, and, if you’re like me, lots of coffee and alcohol. It’s a messy process that starts with staring at a clock, clicking the link when it’s time, and filling out a tedious form...and this is all done in record time (because you have been preparing for this moment all year and the first people always get the best hotel choices). And then the waiting begins. This is a three day window in which one waits to find out if they got one of their six hotel choices and if not, then they hope they got a decent hotel in hotel circle."

Check out the rest of her thoughts at High Phalanges and good luck!

Con-Man: Anaheim VS Los Angeles

Last weekend, Comic-Con International's WonderCon took over the Los Angeles Convention Center. If you're keeping track, WonderCon spent many years in San Francisco at the Moscone Center before construction and schedules pushed WC to Anaheim for 4 years. Anaheim was under the knife this year so WC moved up to Los Angeles. The neighboring J.W. Marriott was the Con hotel and the nearby L.A. Live housed Microsoft Theater was the Hall H or Anaheim Con Center Arena for 2016. While proximity to Hollywood was closer, WonderCon was actually a smaller show than years previous in Anaheim with even less movie and TV panels and guests. Having the show downtown was fun as you have the L.A. Live complex next door with a movie theater and restaurants and lots of cool spots just an Uber ride away. BUT the Staples Center was still in full swing with a basketball or hockey game every night of WonderCon with two on Sunday. That lead to an extra influx of thousands of folks fighting for the same restaurants and surface streets leading to night time hordes and terrible traffic.

There have been rumblings that Comic-Con will leave San Diego in the next few years as they've outgrown the convention center space and hotels are trying to rip off attendees by pre-setting steep prices and some kind of tax deal. SDCC overtakes the 11,000 hotel rooms in the area, accounts for over 60,000 stay nights and brought in a whopping $177 million to the local economy in 2014 alone. Ever the non-profit just putting on the best celebration of the creative arts, CCI has been courted by the likes of Anaheim, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. After WonderCon in Downtown, I can firmly say I vote Anaheim. The great thing about San Diego Comic-Con is that it takes over the ENTIRE downtown area. The baseball stadium, library, local parking lots, the marina, on and on there's things to see and do, many for free without a ticket. But Downtown, Los Angeles is just spread out a little too much so having those pop-ups would be difficult. Parking is already a b*tch, there's half as many hotel rooms then throw in extra sporting events just leads to a less special feeling. Las Vegas in July? Woof. No thanks. Again, things would have to be spread out and mainly held in hotels.

Even though Anaheim is in our backyard and feels less like a vacation, is simply set up to handle crowds. Highways lead directly to Disneyland and the Convention Center with few spots for bottle necking. Even when a big show like WonderCon or Star Wars Celebration is in town, you don't feel the Disneyland crush really at all. There's the Gardenwalk full of restaurants and many more just a short ride away in Orange or Fullerton. There's 13,000 hotel rooms in the area, many just a few blocks from the convention center (that's 200,000 square feet bigger than San Diego) and it's placed at the end of a street so traffic moves in and out pretty easily. WonderCon has already announced it will return to Anaheim in 2017 and for the first time in a while not be held on Easter weekend. Comic-Con has signed a deal to stay in San Diego for 2017 and 2018 so we'll see what happens after.

Con-Man: D23 Expo '15 Friday

 
Another jam packed weekend, complete with heat wave! It was another first as we traveled to Anaheim for the every other year Disney celebration that is D23 Expo. D23 is the official fan club of all things House of Mouse and the Expo is like their version of Comic-Con to showcase all of their latest and greatest in film, animation, television, video games, toys, theme parks and the like. We arrived Friday evening with just enough time to walk the floor for a bit. Sadly, unlike previous shows at The Anaheim Convention Center WonderCon and Star Wars Celebration, there were no bars on the floor. #ThanksLittleKids. Since we got there so late we also missed The Goofy Movie Anniversary panel, double sadly.

It was surprisingly not crowded walking in as food trucks had virtually no lines. Greeting us was the Buzz Lightyear balloon from the Macy's Day Parade. Buzz aka animated Tim Allen looked great as we entered the empty lobby to pick up lanyards, event guides and bags (that I ripped right away, Damme lats). Heading into the show floor I really had no clue what to expect. I hadn't done any research and just figured there'd be a lot of Disney things. What shocked me was how empty it was. The entire exhibit hall was set up with colorful carpet, displays, attractions, stores and more; basically a trade show to highlight upcoming products while displaying the history of the Disney brand. Right away you had sections devoted to Star Wars, Pixar, Marvel, ABC, the new Muppet Show, Red Cross, on and on.

There were three stores set up, each selling show exclusives like art, shirts and those little Tsum Tsum things. Unlike a typical comic and pop culture show, there were only a handful of non-Disney vendors, many of them selling pins and other collectibles like statues, paintings and park memorabilia. We walked into a sudden influx of attendees as I realized where the crowd was, in the D23 Hall watching a panel. Earlier in the day the likes of George Lucas, Danny Elfman and Johnny Depp greeted the crowd. One upping San Diego's 6,500 capacity Hall H, D23 passed on using the Convention Center arena and set up 7,500 chairs in Hall E. Even with the new wave of people, it wasn't that crowded. Ed Asner was set up selling autographs and there were tables for the likes of Dick Van Dyke, Sean Astin, Corey Feldman and several voice actors.

Walking around the memorabilia sections I was very disappointed in the lack of items from either The Rocketeer or classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea starring one Kirk Douglas. On the other side of the show floor there were Star Wars video game set ups along with Disney cartoons, more Marvel, more Pixar and a large booth selling fine art with several artists dropping by for signings and sketches. Every few aisles you'd run into a Trading Card post where you'd be handed one of thirty cards being given out during the show for trading. Little did I know that this would become one of my hobbies for the weekend. Afterwards we caught an Uber to Anaheim favorite spot The Lazy Dog Cafe that had crowds of people waiting outside but we walked right in and sat at the bar. It was a terrific start to a fun weekend. Saturday and Sunday coming right up!

Con-Man: August Overload

It hasn't even been a month but San Diego Comic-Con seems like a distant memory. Fortunately there are several shows big and small in August to keep us busy. Sadly, I've already missed two of them! This past Sunday saw two shows on opposite sides of the city take place. The one closest to me that I somehow didn't know about, was Carson's inaugural YesterCon, a celebration of comics, movies and cartoons from the 80's and 90's. Exhibition space sold out while guests like Michael Bower (Salute Your Shorts), Hank Garrett (G.I. Joe), Larry Houston (X-Men Animated), Townsed Coleman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and several Power Rangers met the fans. It looked like a decent sized show with plenty of vendors, a mini arcade and panel space. I still can't believe I didn't know about the show and it was only a few minutes away! Over in Claremont by Pomona is the bi-monthly Packing House Comic Book & Collectible Show. There's free admission and parking with the next show scheduled for September 27th.

A show I won't be missing is this weekend's ScareLA: the Haunt, Horror & Halloween Convention. While I'm not a huge horror guy, it's always fun to check out a new show. Plus it's in picturesque Pasadena where Bot-Con was. In it's third year, ScareLA showcases local haunted attractions, make up and decorating classes, exhibition floor with 150 vendors, speed dating, hours of panels, screenings, nighttime concert and a live exorcism?! Also this weekend north of Los Angeles is Stocktoncon where Pop Culture will be celebrated through comics, gaming, exhibitors and guests like Ken Shamrock, Tone Rodriguez, Ron Lim and Koko. B. Ware?!

The weekend of August 14th - 16th will be a big one for Orange County as Disney's D-23 Expo takes over the Anaheim Convention Center. This will also be a first for us with awesome talent like George Lucas and John Lasseter attending, panels on attractions, Imagineering, The Muppets and A Goofy Movie 20th Anniversary Reunion! Now that Star Wars and Marvel are under the House of Mouse, expect some news and appearances for upcoming films like The Force Awakens and Captain America: Civil War. Unlike this year's WonderCon and Star Wars Celebration at the Anaheim Convention Center, it looks like you can't walk the exhibit floor with booze... Just up the street in Orange, you can hang out with Cable, Deadpool, X-Force creator and O.C. native Rob Liefeld at Big Red Comics on Saturday from 2:00 - 5:00PM.

If that weren't enough, the following weekend there's Nerd Con in Escondido north of San Diego while staple Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention welcomes Agent Carter Hayley Atwell on Sunday the 22nd near USC and downtown. It's been a while since I checked out the LA Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi Con so it will be interesting to see how things have changed or stayed the same. Past guests include Keanu Reeves, Dolph Lundgren, Bolo Yeung, Jackie Chan, Vin Diesel, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Arnold Schwarzenegger!

To wrap things up, Anaheim hosts Anime California on Friday - Sunday, August 8.28 - 30th. Anime and video games are the prime focus here with Artist Alley already sold out, fan-run panels lining up, concerts, cosplay and the SCR e-gaming tournament where video game athletes battle it out in Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and many more titles.  While Sunday August 30th is the San Fernando Valley Comic Book Convention that touts $5 admission and free parking. Phew! See you at the show(s)!