This posting is for both Friday (7/24) and Saturday (7/25) at the 2009 San Diego Comic Con. First and foremost I would like to apologize for not posting an article everyday as I had promised, but things were happening into the late hours of the night and started in the wee hours of the morning. And, if you had read the previous article, for Thursday (7/24), you will have noticed I wrote under the influence which was another deterrent for me to write each article at night. I could attempt to edit the Thursday article, but Ethan forbids it so it will serve as a reminder of what happens when you write while heavily intoxicated.

[That makes it sound like writing while drunk is a bad thing, which may be true, but such sentiments are expressly prohibited by Vitamin C4 bylaws. The previous article was posted unedited because of our deeply-held belief that it is not the "what", but the "how" and the "why" that truly make for great journalism. If you're at Comic Con and you're totally blotto and possibly writing wearing a complimentary Tim & Eric t-shirt and nothing else, then you do your readers a dis-service by pretending otherwise. That and it's funny to make Austin squirm. -- Ethan]

So instead of editing I will just make notes to develop some of the things that happened Thursday.

THURSDAY (7/23):

For the Cartoon Network: Chowder/Misadventures of Flapjacks/Adventure Time panel. Things got scary for a moment because the line was exceedingly long and I feared I was not going to get in and meet Pendelton Ward, creator of Adventure Time and artist of Flapjack, with whom I have been in correspondence for two years. At last, I entered the panel and saw Pen on stage, just sitting there, so I made a direct line toward him. I approached and introduced myself in person and he responded with a sincere greeting. We chatted for a few, caught up on things, took a picture, and then he gave me a t-shirt for a knock-off of his own show (it reads: Bad Denture Rhyme), and a Comic Con exclusive interactive comic book. Very funny stuff. The panel itself discussed the future of all of the aforementioned cartoons with clips and previews of all the shows. While Adventure Time (series to be released in 2010) did not have clips, Pen took us through the storyboards of the first episode in which he included funny voices and sounds.

FRIDAY (7/24):

I ride early in the morning in order to arrive with no complications, or waiting, for the Battlestar Galactica: The Plan/Caprica panel. In order to do so, my friend Stacey and I got into the panel room early and caught the preview for the new Stargate Universe series. Starring Robert Carlyle, the show looks to be the best in the Stargate canon. After this nice surprise, the big event was here! The panel consisted of a moderator, Ronald D. Moore, David Eick, Edward James Olmos, Jane Espensen, and Esai Morales. Later in the panel they introduced a special panel guest – Grace Park. The content of the panel itself gave previews of the new show Caprica, released 1/22/10, and BSG: The Plan, scheduled to come out this fall. They also talked about the possibility of expanding the BSG universe further, and so much more.

Then I got lunch and a beer. That was nice.

I refueled and went back for the Mighty Boosh panel. But, because they are now so popular in the US, Jamaica, Stacey, Rebecca and myself sat through the two panels prior. The first was for a new science fiction television series that I did not care for, so much so I’ve forgotten the name. Then was the spotlight panel of Stan Freberg who was a famous voice actor and comedian from the 50’s to now. Some of his work includes the Looney Tunes cartoon The Three Little Bops, The United States of America: The Early Years, and so much more. He turned out to be an amazing old man that had amazing stories to tell, good jokes, and hilarious voices. Then it was time for the Boosh!

These guys are just as funny, if not funnier, in real life – especially Rich Fulcher (Bob Fossil). They talked about the creation of the show, the process by which they create the episodes and characters, and finally the future of the show. Sadly, they did not offer much insider information as to the future of the show other then saying there is one…. Good enough for me.

And now for the exciting part: Jamaica and I took a shot of whiskey with Warren Ellis.

Here’s how it happened: This was something I had been planning for quite some time. On his website a week before the con he solicited that people do not bring him bottles of whiskey because it has happened several times in the past but he has to get on an airplane shortly after the con. So, I thought it would be a clever idea to bring him a shot instead of a whole bottle (’cause I wanted to drink it – duh). So Jamaica and I got in line right after the Boosh panel, which was quite long, and almost didn’t make the cut. They originally capped the line several people ahead of us but moved it back to be a couple of people behind us. We had carefully planned out exactly how we were going to execute it and what we were going to say. When we finally approached him, Jamaica and I introduced ourselves (even though he already knew of Jamaica), and then casually asked if he would like to take a shot of whiskey, to which he responded: “Absolutely!”

Jamaica threw up the shot glasses while I quickly got the bottle out and poured the shots, posed for a picture, and then took our shots. It was amazing. It was right in the middle of the Marvel booth where they do not allow alcohol. We were so suave and smooth.

The rest of the night was the mighty Mighty Boosh party held at 4th & B, the same venue as the Vice/Gwar show. They performed, the entire cast, for about two hours. And it was hilarious and vulgar. Following the performance they put on a DJ playlist that turned into a massive dance party (that Pen Ward was also at). When we got out of the party I saw Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer. Last year I had supposedly been creepy (well, I was drunk) to them, and I guess I did something similar this year. I asked him, Jackson, if they all wanted to come back to our room and drink more booze. He laughed and kindly declined.

So I went back and drank more with my companions.

End of night.

SATURDAY (7/25)

This was my last full day at the con, and it did not disappoint. I was kind of burnt out on the floor which was perfect because Tim and Eric was performing in the park for the Adult Swim AwesomeCon ’09 which was about a ten minute walk from the convention center. On the way to the show we saw a booth next to a boat that read: “Casting”. So we inquired and discovered that Titmouse Productions was casting for a reality television show about animators, artists, and writers. We were shocked and excited but were also in a rush to catch AwesomeCon. So when we arrived at the show they were hilarious! With contests and karaoke. Some douche-bag even won an hour-long jet-ski ride with Tim and Eric. I also met Richard Dunn.

So on the way back we stopped back at the casting boat and applied. Once on the boat they asked us questions and they seemed to like both Jamaica and I a lot. We pitched a show together followed by an extended audition on the deck of the boat with the casting director where we both got to pitch more ideas. Fingers crossed on this one! Seriously.

After this I raced back to the convention center for the Venture Brothers panel. THIS WAS AMAZING! They showed an extended trailer for season 4, briefly talked about it, and then opened the floor up to questions from the audience. I took a deep breath and made a run for the microphone. I went to the mic and quickly apologized for being creepy last night (to Jackson), after which Doc asked where the hell he was because he would have gladly come over, then he thought he was going to wake up naked in my hotel room and not remember the night before. I responded by telling him that is exactly what would have happened. They laughed, and I laughed too. We also get to see Dean’s penis in the new season.

Austin & Rebecca with Jackson Publick

Following this amazingly hilarious panel I found myself at the final True Blood party, and definitely the biggest. Again, with copious amounts of free beer, they added free Skyy vodka and Tru Blood drinks, gave out shots, and actual bottles of Tru Blood. They also had a screen where you could get your picture taken with “Bill”. SEVERAL, and I mean more then several, drinks later it was off to the hotel room to party more with my motley crew of rugged adventurers!

SUNDAY (7/26)

Damn it, I just drove all day long. Boring.

In conclusion I had a blast this year, yet it also gave me a great feeling of motivation regarding my own career. I took so much from it and I was very grateful to of had the opportunity to go to the Con as well as do all of the things I did. Thank you for reading these posts and I hope to see you down there next year!

Much geek love,
Austin <3man.

P.S. There is discussion of moving the Con to Las Vegas in 2012. Your thoughts?

“[sic] x ∞” –Ethan

This morning opened with two eggs over easy, two slices of Canadian bacons, sourdough toast, one mimosa, and one cup of coffee – not to mention the small handful of cigarettes. Walking with Jamaica to the con, as she had to be at work to sign her books, I planned out my day.

I returned to the Adult Swim booth to find an employee of the company with whom I needed to discuss the submission of my own television show. I found her, and that was neat. I even introduced myself and seemed all professional.

After this exciting development in my career as a budding writer, I walked the floor looking for freebies and insider scoops. This is what I found in one word:

ifoundclipsfromgijoe,thatsethgreenisthegreenhornetandthatAMCisremakingtheprisoner.

Following the floor prowl I headed towards the “Entertainment Weekly: Wonder Woman – the woman in power in sci-fi” panel. The panel itself consisted of some guy who was an editor for Entertainment Weekly, Eliza Dushku (Bring It On, Dollhouse), Zoe Saldana (Star Trek-09, Avatar), Sigourney Weaver (Alien, Ghostbusters), and Elizabeth Mitchell (LOST, Nurse Betty). They discussed the ways in which Science Fiction has always been far more progressive as a genre, but also as a platform for the development of feminism and gender equality. It was quite an amazing experience to hear Sigourney discuss the ways in which she approached the famous action hero Ripley and how it was written to be a male character, or how Zoe discussed the ways in which film, in the recent decades, has found a way to transform the African American and Feminine discourse in the commercialized film market. That was an amazing panel.

Then I got a tall-can and a couple of quesadillas.

Woot-Woot. This is one of my favorite parts: I met Pendelton Ward (creator of Adventure Times & artist of The Misadventures of Flapjack). I had written to Pen a couple of years ago after I got a tattoo of his AT characer. He gave me a free t-shirt and recently, and limited, comic book. My heart melted a little bit.

This is the part of the segment where it gets weird.

I went to a True Blood Party, turns out all of the beers were free and they handed out several free items. Several beers later, my friends and I continued to hunt down the remaining missing pint glasses from the collection. I felt slightly tipsy, and the bartender had tattoos in his ears; Stacey had a crush on him. I continued my journey with the motley crew that I travel and we had found ourselves committed to going to a Vice Magazine sponsored GWAR performance for the new Jack Black voiced video game Brutal Legend. With an even more continuous flow of free alcohol, and exclusive clips and demos from the game, I saw numerous people, unaffiliated from the con, really drunk. Then, a friend of mine bequeathed a bit of knowledge onto me that confirmed my suspicions about nerd and geeks being better drinkers:

“You know why nerds and geeks are better drinkers? They know long division.”
Gideon

Well another amazing day had passed and it was everything I had hoped for thus far. Stay tuned daily to twitter.com/arhartman for frequent updates or check back here 24 hours from when you are reading this now. [Whoops – Ethan]

Tomorrow is…

• The Mighty Boosh party
• BSG/Caprica panel
• and taking a shot of whiskey with Warren Ellis (hopefully)

love and unicorns,
Austin <3man

Hello True Believers[1],

Today kicked off the first day of San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) 2009, and oh what a joy it has been. While today was more of a travel day, it has been nothing but productive. Before my SDCC journal continues another day forth, I would like to admit that this is not only a forum for me to include you, the reader, in the newest and coolest information in the popular culture, but is also a place where I regale you with my adventures, and misadventures, at this year’s con.

To start if off, while I was on the road, I had ample time to interview up and coming independent comic book creator, as well as former Santa Cruz resident, Jamaica Dyer. Below is the following interview:

Austin (A): So, how’s the art and stuff?

Jamaica (J): It’s going all right. I just finished with Weird Fishes[2] and working in animation, so everything is art right now. It’s awesome.

A: Being as specific as possible, how many fans do you think you have?

J: 100+ fans on twitter, but half of them are spam bots. But I get 100-700 hits a day on my site.

A: Alan Moore or Warren Ellis?

J: I think I’ll say Warren Ellis because I think he’d kick my butt otherwise. But The Mindscape of Alan Moore is amazing.

A: Do you think poop & other bodily functions should be more accepted into the greater public discourse?

J: I think it should be accepted. ‘Poop’ is funny. We should get a government official saying it.

A: Have you pooped today? (this interview was conducted around 11:30am)

J: (laughs) I have not!

A: What are you looking forward to the most at the con?

J: Really excited about meeting the Mighty Boosh. That was a deal breaker.

A: If you could say one thing to all the readers at VitaminC4.com, what would you say?

J: (there is a long silence) To get all your readers to get a commission from me. I’ll be doing an art sale with ETSY[3].

A: What are your plans for the future?

J: I have a few things I’m working on now. I’m working on a children’s story that will probably be a comic. Also working on a college ‘coming-of-age’ story, and I’m also looking into doing an iPhone-based comic.

Following this interview, and a nine hour drive, came the grand check-in to the St. Jame Ramada hotel. But it gets better!

Jamaica and I continued with our opening day events that included getting our badges and a couple of margaritas at Fred’s Mexican Café. Yum.

The real excitement came when we went to preview night. This was the real blast because it is probably the most packed night on the floor, and also the most exhilarating. There are so many new sights and wonders to see and take in. The preview night itself was kicked-off with us walking directly to the Adult Swim booth, which to our surprise was extremely basic and consisted of a wall with a hole in it saying “free”. I placed my hand into this mystery hole and found my hand removing a free William Street messenger bag. Whoa! Also, still a tipsy (kids, don’t drink).

Following this wonderful surprise of a free durable khaki bag, I continued to walk to the floor collecting as many free things as I could. But, the big surprises I found on the floor were the over-abundance of New Moon and District 9 propaganda. While I think District 9 will be a wonderful film, I fully disregard fans of Twilight (really, why don’t you just watch True Blood – there are boobs and foul language!).

The rest of the evening consisted of acquainting myself with the floor so I could have a fuller idea of where I want to be later the week.

Once Jamaica and I left preview night we proceeded outside to find a number of scantily clad women passing out flyers for a True Blood party. Whoa. I am there in a heartbeat! After this discovery I continued to drink heavily. Which reminds me…. there are only three bars that carry Fernet in downtown San Diego. BOGUS! But it is my mission to find all three and report back to you, the loyal reader, as to the specific locations of Fernet-friendly bars in SD.

THINGS TO LOOK FORWARD TO:

• Pen Ward/Adventure Time Panel
• True Blood Party
• Battle Star Galactica/Caprica Panel
• Tim & Eric live performance
• The Mighty Boosh Party

….oh shit. Just keep reading. There is too much to list.

Love,
Austin <3man

Jamaica Dyer:
http://jamaicad.com/

[1] See Stan Lee famous introduction.
[2] http//www.slgcomic.com/
[3] http://www.etsy.com/

That’s right! At the end of the month I, Austin Hartman, will be traveling to the southern end of California, for the wonderful Comic Con International Comic Book Convention in San Diego! I will be giving you a day-to-day update on news in comic books and film, cool pictures of all the celebs, and tales of my own drunken misadventures as I attempt to drink with as many writers, artists, and actors as I can. Who knows, I might even get a quick interview, or get a famous person to say something swell about Vitamin C4.

Regardless, starting July 22nd lasting to July 26th, I will be giving you the Comic Con insiders scoop so that you too can be informed on all the upcoming pop culture coolness!

Stay tuned, keep reading, and you’ll be hearing from me soon!

Austin <3-man

“Sounds of the Mighty San Lorenzo”

There’s a new art co-op in town. The Tannery has been going full speed ahead – putting on shows, art openings, and establishing a low income housing option for Santa Cruz artists. It’s pretty impressive if you ask me. I recently had my first visit to the Tannery and got to poke around for a bit. They have a nice little art gallery and a tiny recording studio packed full of old musical equipment that had me drooling just a bit. There is still a lot of construction going on for the apartments, but it doesn’t seem to bother the current tenants that are making all of this possible. I’m still not sure how they got the city to fund most of this though. In the past couple of years city officials have spent a lot of time and money on new ordinances to make exactly what the Tannery is doing impossible, like the noise ordinance that was passed that shut down house shows and turned Santa Cruz into a black void where a pretty awesome music scene used to be. But now it looks like things are finally on the up and up. The “Sounds of the Mighty San Lorenzo” comp is proof that not all hope is lost.

The compilation is divided into two discs, a folk side and a rock side which is very fitting considering the two genres are more or less the two predominant scenes in town. The whole thing is done up very professionally but still manages to hold on to some of that diy charm that all great things have. With a hand printed cover and forty something tracks the comp is a very straightforward representation of what our little town has to offer. It also works well as a sort of re-introduction to Santa Cruz as well as announcing our presence to the world.

So naturally if you’re going to release a compilation with two sides it’s only right to have two shows to showcase both genres being represented. The first night was the folk night featuring Mylo Jenkins, Hod, Birds Fled From Me, Johanna Lefever and various other acts. The second night brought us Brown Irish, The Spurts, A Dark and Stormy Night, BATTLE/MTN\, etc, etc. Both nights were fantastic and sold out. If you were there you were a part of something that hasn’t happened here for a long time. You were there for the beginning of something new and beautiful. The start of a music scene that has long since died in our sleepy coastal town. And if you weren’t there, well you missed out. Don’t worry though, like i said it’s just the beginning.

The Sounds of the Mighty San Lorenzo is available at Metamusic, Streetlight Records, Logos and other local stores. Check it out.

Hiram Coffee

Sometimes when I am working at Comicopolis, and one of my bosses leaves for the bathroom, I walk over to the shelf, open a graphic novel and I smell the bindings. It’s not that I anticipate the smell of action leaping off the pages, I just like the smell of newly printed comics – mostly because I am a giant geek, or maybe it’s inherited. In any case, it’s time to hunker down on a couch or in your bed with a glass of whiskey and an exciting new graphic novel. We all need something to keep us warm when the heat dish breaks.

The Usuals
For me, and many of my comic reading friends, there are certain authors who I can always go to and read something astonishing. These authors, nine out of ten times, have the ability to pull me out of reality and into a world of fantasy. Below is a list of these aforementioned visionaries and a few of their finer titles.

Alan Moore

Swamp Thing (9 trade paperbacks), League Of Extrordinary Gentlemen (3 TPBs), From Hell, A Small Killing.

Warren Ellis

Freak Angels, The Authority (5 TPBs), Fell, Transmetropolitan (11 TPBs), Planetary (3 TPBs).

Grant Morrison

Invisibles (7 TPBs), Kill Your Boyfriend, Animal Man (3 TPBs), Sebastian O, WE3, Filth.

Neil Gaiman

Sandman (11 TPBs), 1602, Hellblazer.

Help From The Gods
While those previously listed authors may serve as my comfort food when I need to satiate my hunger for fantasy, other times I like to take a chance and branch out. The following are some tips and tricks to finding those hidden gems that lay buried at your local comic shop.

1. Look at the author of the introduction. With the above list of radical writers, look to see if they speak highly of a new book. For example, Alan Moore wrote the intro for Sam Keith’s Zero Girl – damn good read.
2. Find a long lasting series, because if they’re still making it, then it’s probably good. As a note, and a suggestion, Hellblazer is the longest running Vertigo series.
3. Look at the art! Do you like what you see?
4. Ask the totally awesome and friendly staff at Comicopolis, located at 829 Front St, Santa Cruz, CA, 95060.

So whether you already read a ton of comics or have never pushed a paneled page before, this article can only help. Whether your fancy be super heroes, crime fiction, mystery, science fiction, blah blah blah, there’s always something for YOU!

Austin Hartman

a filler piece by Hiram Coffee

I have lived in Santa Cruz for a very long time. I grew up here. It was not fun, I didn’t grow up in Santa Cruz proper, but rather the god forsaken San Lorenzo Valley. There was not much of anything going on at all. We would have to take the bus to town do anything worthwhile and while I was there I was more interested in raising hell than going to art openings. Needless to say my background on the subject matter is probably severely lacking.

I’ve learned that art comes to you in a different form here. There aren’t any galleries worth going to anymore and anything you might find hanging in a cafe setting is probably crap. Most of the time anyway. I’ve found that all things a person like me would consider artful are lying around on my friends’ living room floors, up on their walls, or stenciled on the sidewalk. It’s found on fliers and at shows.

When I was about 19 the house I was living in threw a huge artist showcase. It was amazing, we had a couple of bands play and there were paintings and other various pieces all over the house. The most memorable was the cameras and monitors set up all around our small home. A friend of ours had spent all afternoon strategically placing small cameras everywhere. From the kitchen you could pretty much watch the whole party doing whatever it was they where doing. I think it was then I realized that all of our friends are incredibly gifted artistic people. The problem has always been motivation. The show was a perfect example of how a bunch of kids can actually do something awesome if they just properly apply themselves.

As of late the artistic spark Santa Cruz once had is on its way out, being replaced by, well, nothing. Yeah there are plenty of artists and the like, but no one’s doing anything with it. Everyone has adopted the idea that if you want something you have to pry it from their cold, drunk hands. Which is much more difficult to do than one might think. This is the trap that is Santa Cruz. It’s comfortable, it’s relaxed, it’s fucking lazy. So please, DO SOMETHING!

Now don’t take this as saying that there is no scene in Santa Cruz because there is still a thread hanging on. You just have to dig pretty deep to get to it. It exists under a heavy layer of egotistical UCSC art majors and new age faux spiritual bullshit. There are some kids out there doing some incredible stuff. Whether it be music, films, paintings, or slightly illegal it’s there. And with any luck it will hopefully start picking up a little bit. Okay, I’m done. Check out the VitaminC4 art section for further updates.

Hiram Coffee

What began as a way to make cheap band shirts about 12 years ago, has turned into a unique expression of art on canvas. Ryan Gibbs, born and raised in Santa Cruz, started attending punk and hardcore shows at an early age. Unable to afford the shirts of his favorite bands, he decided to start creating stencils of the logos that he saw on his own t-shirts. Plus, at that age, the more DIY the better, so Ryan was not really missing out by making his own. Bands such as Tragedy and Born Against were among the first of his muses.

Fast forward to about three years ago. Ryan and friends began to pick up the art of stenciling once again, only this time on just about anything that they could get their hands on. Whether it be their skate boards, light poles, their house, everything had some sort of design embedded on it. As the interest was lost among friends, Ryan continued, and began using more layering techniques and better materials to improve his art. In the last few years, the talent and work gone into his stencils have only become more and more complex and visually pleasing.

His topics range from musical influences, to cult films, to random interests such as zombies. For now, he is sticking to canvas, but in the future hopes to move to air brushing and making shirts.

To check out Ryan’s work, or to contact him check out his Myspace or Deviant Art

CJ Fagundes