REPORT FROM SAN DIEGO COMIC CON

San Diego Comic-Con 2008, Day One,
Wednesday July 23, 2008
By Al Desmadre
San Diego, CA.

The first thing that strikes me about coming to Comic-Con in San Diego, is the stark human contrasts one sees in everyday settings during this week. Generally speaking, San Diego is a conservative, laid back, kind of military oriented type of town. At my hotel, mainly you see a lot of old white guys smoking cigars and talking about golf and boats. It’s really funny to see the looks on all those Arnold Palmer types when they’re suddenly sharing space with the Freaks, Geeks, Goths, Klingons, Jedis, and other assorted characters arriving from all over the world for Comic-Con. And the really amusing encounters occur out on the streets. Riding the local Trolleys or buses, the costumed Comic-Con attendees stand out like a Chuppie at a Cockfight. And the local Paisanos you see on the buses are usually quiet, modest and conservative working class types who look at the invading Con freaks with looks that say: “Mira nomas a esta Bola de Pinches Locos!” then they look at me with a look of seemingly further disbelief, as if saying: “I can believe anything from these crazy Gringos, But you’re a Paisano, and you’re one of them too??!!!”
Yes, I am one of them too. And damned proud of it. And this is our week to come out of our fantasy dungeons, and yell: “I AM NERD! HEAR ME ROAR!”

Today was Preview Day, so I decided to drop in at the Convention Center and pick up my credentials. On the walk from my hotel I spotted this local joint so I decided to give it a try.

 

All I can say is that if you love delicious, fresh, un-greasy Mexican food, then do not go here. The staff was a bunch of Latinas who might interrupt their Hen Session to serve you, or maybe not. They did remind me that I’ve always been amused at hearing women call each other ‘GUEY’.

Thanks to the convenient and surprisingly clean Trolley, I soon arrived at the Convention Center ready to face the crowds & chaos. As I was surfing the Sea of Humanity, I suddenly caught a glimpse of an extraordinary being standing calmly and waving at the confused passerby. I was drawn to his happy and inviting aura and without thinking, I fell out of my place among the human flotsam and approached this magnetic figure. I managed to capture this image just before the authorities pounced upon him and ordered him to relocate. As he was being led away, a confederate quickly pushed some sort of ad flyer into my hand. “What is it?” I asked, pointing at the lumbering round figure, “A Donut!”, came the answer. For the rest of the day I was gripped by the enigma of a Mexican Donut handing out ads for a movie called: “SEXDRIVE”.

I managed to pick up my credentials with less hassle than I had expected, and I made my way back on the return Trolley. A hotel sponsored pool party BarBeQue was in full swing when I arrived. As I lounged by the pool enjoying the complimentary hot dogs and beer, I began to psych myself for tomorrow’s full day on the convention floor…….

This entry was posted in Events, Media, Pendejadas, Personal, Photos, Reviews, Uncategorized by AlDesmadre. Bookmark the permalink.

About AlDesmadre

Al Guerrero, Artist/Humorist. Los Angeles, CA. Born in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico and raised in East Los Angeles from the age of two, Al Guerrero grew up just steps from the famous Chicano strip, Whittier Boulevard. His youth experiences include witnessing and participating in the 1970 Chicano Power demonstrations, cruising cars on Whittier Boulevard, and graduating from Garfield High School. After dropping out of UCLA (with honors), he drew upon his lifelong passion for art and cartooning and pursued a career in graphic arts. During this period, he traveled overseas and found artistic inspiration from the masterworks he discovered within the European Art Museums. His career blossomed when he was eventually hired by the Walt Disney Company in 1995, where he worked as a creative artist for a number of years. Although the artistic work was rewarding, he eventually grew weary & disillusioned with the bureaucracy of the entertainment business, and left to work briefly in the educational field. His credits include producing a feature film with actor, Conrad Brooks of Ed Wood fame, founding and performing with the Punk Rock group “The Psychocats” at numerous L.A. & Hollywood venues during the 1990’s, and in 1999 he founded and created a hell-bent puppet cabaret show aptly named: “The Puppets from Hell”. As a long time active member of the Los Angeles Cacophony Society, Al “Quaeda”, as he was known, was involved in countless Cacophony Society pranks and events throughout the city. He also produced the “Incredibly Strange Cinema” cult film series as well as themed events such as the now infamous “Pornothon Movie Nights” and the satirical “Mexican Night: Noche De Tequila & Putas” shows at local nightclub venues. Throughout his art career, he has exhibited his canvas paintings at various local galleries, and has also written & illustrated numerous comic strips and Graphic Novel stories. Today, he lives in Silver Lake, California and works as a freelance artist and writer with numerous multi-media projects under his belt and in the works. His personal hobbies include collecting vintage toys and comic books, cinema history and Los Angeles City history. Contact: alguerrero@earthlink.net Al Guerrero P.O. Box 29697 Los Angeles, CA 90029-0697 www.alguerrero.com Myspace.com/thepuppetsfromhell

5 thoughts on “REPORT FROM SAN DIEGO COMIC CON

  1. I hate you Al. I hate you with all my nerdy being because you got to go to COMIC CON!!!!! Not only that but your doing it for L.A. Eastside too !!!! WTF ???? I totally would have called off work all this week just to go nerd it up with you down there. Watchmen, The Spirit and soo many other things I would kill to do over there. I owe my vast vocabulary of words that I cannot properly pronounce or spell and my knowledge of science to comic books. Alas, I will make do with your reports from the show and the crazy stuff that goes on there. Like a Mexican donut???? Is there such a thing as a Mexican donut ????? Bring back whatever you can carry back home. Posters,pins stickers what have you. It’s free so take it even if you don’t want it. You can sort it all out later in the hotel room.

    P.S. I hate you

  2. Thursday July 24 8:30 am
    Thanks for your kind hating. I usually come home with bags of swag that take me months to sort through. I’ll look for that
    Midnight Club as well. Gotta go now, Comic Con awaits!

  3. man.. I’ve been reading LA EastSide for some time now.. this is the first time I’ve been rather jealous.. have fun.. and yeah, if you happen by the “Two Lumps” booth.. (they do this really great webcomic about these cats.. one that drinks too much vodka and the other surfs the net and is rather above it all). I know not too political but they’re great and so are their creators. (BOOTH #2003)
    http://www.twolumps.net/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *