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dto2865
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Name: Dexter
Country: United States
State: California
Metro: San Diego
Birthday: 2/8/1965
Gender: Male
Interests: Hobbies:--Local Pro Sports (Chargers, Padres)--Anime (esp. Speed Racer/Mach Go! Go! Go!, Cowboy Bebop & Macross/Robotech!)--Comic books (esp. manga!)--TV --Cinema--SPAM (the canned meat)
Expertise: --"Random" Pop Culture, esp. TV/Films (Yes, I know--I have way too much free time....)--I have the ability to differentiate, by taste, various colas (Pepsi, Coke, RC, "generic")--I've created a comic book that features the adventures of legendary super-model Linda O'Neil! It's called "High Speed Angel", by BloodFire Studios.
Occupation: Line Editor/Promotions for Blo
Industry: Entertainment/Publishing/Comic
Message: message me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  dto2865
Yahoo:  dto_2865
Member Since:
5/27/2005
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| I know that almost a month has passed since CCI:SD ended. In my previous related entry, I discussed (OK, vented) the things that I thought were...well...negative about the show. Upon reviewing that entry, I noticed just how much I had to say then. It's kind'a humorous, actually. True though it may have been, it's still funny.
With that said, it would be rather imbalanced of me to not cover the things that I thought were positive. While there were seemingly a lot of bad things, there weren't nearly as many good things. However, it's the QUALITY not the quanity that matters here. So, without further ado...
The GOOD:
1. Before the show began, I was told by Dennis & Lee that I was being given a promotion of sorts. For the last few years, I have been serving as the Promotions manager for BloodFire Studios. It was my responsibility to basically "pimp" our books in the best way I could. I made a lot of media contacts and whatnot.
Well, I am now the Line Editor for our upcoming new line of anime/manga influenced products. The working name of this line is "Hakujin Press," which is ironically appropriate. (Its Japanese slang for "white guys.") I'm currently developing at least 3-5 titles for the line.
I was also told that HSA is going to be the "flagship" title for the new line! I'm stoked about that!
2. Unfortunately, this will mean that I won't be able to really write any of the comics that I'm working on. This is because I can't be editing my own work. But, this is a very GOOD thing.
In the capacity of my new position, I had the amazing opportunity to meet with 3 extremely well-known creators during the show. The first one is a legend in the anime world. He wants to work with us, specifically within Hakujin. This means that I will be his boss! The irony is that, several years ago, he was MY boss!
The 2nd writer is an industry veteran who's worked for both of the Big 2 (Marvel/DC), as well as Dark Horse and the now-defunct Cross-Gen line, the latter of which she was the senior writer/editor. I spoke to her specifically about HSA because I wanted to have a writer who knows how to handle a strong female character. She was super-excited about the concept. I was really afraid that she might be turned-off by it, because on the surface, it's a "fast cars, hot babes" type of concept. About 5 minutes into what would be a 30-mins. conversation, she not only understood the concept, but she GOT what we were trying to do and say with/in HSA! Her biggest concern was the same as mine. Recently, there have been a few of car-based comics released, each of them pretty much failing miserably. We both agreed that since there has been a lot of character development, HSA should stand head-&-shoulders above the rest.
The 3rd creator is another big name in the Americanized anime world. He wants to bring his pet project(s) to us. When Lee told him that I'd most likely be heading up those projects, this guy seemed pretty comfortable and happy about it.
By the way, I am not at liberty to name names right now. This is because of 2 reasons. First, we haven't signed them as yet. It's all based upon "handshake agreements," nothing official as yet. Second, I don't want to jinx anything!
3. One of my friends, Parry Shen (movie actor: "Better Luck Tomorrow," "Hatchet"), edited this new graphic novel called "Secret Identities." It's an anthology about Asian-American superheroes created by Asian-Americans. (You can order it from Amazon.com)
It was the first time that his company had a booth at the show. Add to this that he also had scheduled the various creators to do signings there. Well, Lee told Parry about how I had worked "security detail" for William Shatner during Free Comic Book Day this past May. Parry asked me if I could help out. Naturally, me being "Fanboy Supreme," said sure. So, I wound up working security on Friday for Keiko Agema (from "Gilmore Girls") & on Saturday for Kelly Hu ("Martial Law," "X2/X-Men 2: X-Men United").
Keiko was really nice, very cool. I really didn't know what to expect because I've never seen her TV series. Her husband cracked me up. He had bought 2 T-shirts that were really funny, but she wasn't too amused. Keiko was also selling her personal line of hand-crafted jewelry. Really neat stuff.
Kelly, on the other hand, I totally knew what to expect! I had met her 6 years earlier. Naturally, she didn't remember, but that didn't matter. She's still drop-dead gorgeous! Extremely kind & patient, most gracious. She's awesome!
After she had completed her scheduled signing, I asked her if she'd like to meet a friend of mine. She kind'a looked at me funny...that is, until I told her his name: Billy Tucci, creator of "Shi." Her eyes lit up and her smile widened. Of all the people at the show, he was the one she really wanted to meet. So, naturally, I made that happen!
I escorted her & Parry to Billy's booth. There was the usual large gathering there. I asked Kelly to wait just behind Billy's booth for a second. She & Parry stood back and waited. I walked up behind Billy and said, "Hey, Billy! I brought youa present!" I signaled them to come over. Billy flipped out! I had never seen him almost speechless before. Kelly was stoked, too. Once they got over the initial shock, they discussed business. Billy's been trying to produce a "Shi" movie for years. He kept saying how he'd love to have Kelly play her. Well, now that might happen! (Thanks to "Fanboy Supreme.")
4. I got to hang out with my friend Candace Kita a couple of times. However, I was a little bummed because she had brought her own entourage this time, so there wasn't as much room at her autograph area. I didn't want to crowd her, so I kept my time brief.
5. I was able to reconnect with a few old show friends & acquaintances, as well as make a couple of new friends. I was able hang with them a little bit, which is always cool. Of the new friends, Jason was the coolest. He got drafted to work security for Kelly with me. We kept cracking each other up almost the whole time, especially when the guys who worked with Parry got, shall we say, edgy & cranky.
For the most part, this year's show had its fair share of pluses & minuses. But, I still had a great time. I know that next year, it's going to be different for me. I'm probably not going to be able to wander around as much because of my job title & the fact that we expect Hakujin ought to be in full effect by then. But, I'm hoping that I'll be able leave the booth to do some walkabout.
So, there you have it. The complete summary of what happened to me at this year's show. Next year's show is going to be so exciting! I'm hoping to have at least 2-3 books form my line out by then!
So, as usual, stay tuned.....
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| What appears to be the last of the big summer "tent-pole" blockbusters has finally arrived. And, it's causing quite an on-line stir! I don't think that there's been such a clear-cut division amongst the so-called pundits. And, to muck things up a bit more, I'm going to add my "$1.95's" worth into the frey. And, as usual, it'll be spoiler free..!
 
Where to begin? Well, if you're a child of the 80's like me, then you already have a pretty good idea about the premise. If not, here's the skinny: GI Joe is the code name of a multi-national special forces strike groups who's mission is to keep the world safe from various ruthless terrorist organizations. They have hi-tech weapons, equipment & vehicles to aid them. Each member of GI Joe goes by a "call-sign designator." (That's military jargon for "code names")
Unlike most movies of this genre, the story pretty much hits the ground running. You get filled in as the (so-called) plot unfolds. There are plenty of flashbacks mixed in for exposition.
The story takes place "in the near future." This is to makes things more palatable. I mean, with all of the futuristic gear used in this film, it only makes sense.
The lead character in this film is Capt. Conrad Hauser (Call-sign: Duke), played by Channing Tatum. The story is told thru his perspective. Along for the ride is his best friend Sgt. Wallace Weems (Call-sign: Ripcord). Ripcord is played by Marlon Wayans, following in the footsteps of his big brother's shoes. (Keenan Ivory Wayans starred in the miltary action flick "Most Wanted" in the 90's)
The GI Joe team is commanded by General Clayton Abernathy ("Hawk"), perfectly played by Dennis Quaid. The "Alpha Team" consists of Shanna "Scarlett" O'Hara (Rachel Nichols), "Breaker" (Said Taghmaoui), "Heavy Duty" (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje from "Lost") & "Sanke-Eyes" (Ray Park of "X-Men" & "Star Wars Episode 1: the Phantom Menace" [Darth Maul]).
The Joes are pitted against James McCullen ("Destro, " played by Christopher Eccleston of "Doctor Who" & "Heroes"), the CEO of MARS Industries. He's developed a new sort of "super weapon" that can destroy almost everything in its path. With the aid of the Baroness Ana de Cobray (Sienna Miller), the renegade ninja "Storm Shadow" (Korean superstar Byung-hun Lee), "Zartan" (Arnold Vosloo) & the mysterious man only known as "the Doctor" (Joseph Gordon-Lewitt of "3rd Rock from the Sun"), McCullen's plans for revenge & world domination are put into full-effect.
If you've ever seen the original cartoon series from the 80's, then you know what to expect--more or less. However, there are some pretty interesting plot twists & tweeks that separate this from the GI Joe animated series.
It's very appearant that the producers & director weren't inspired by the animated series, but rather the original source material: the iconic comic book series created by Larry Hama. That's where they succeeded. This is truly a live-action comic book.
There are plenty of really cool "easter eggs" peppered thru-out the film for even the most casual to hardcore Joe fan. And, yes, there's even a "Yo, Joe!," but not exactly as you'd expect.
However, there are a few tweekages that...well...to be honest, really gave me pause. For example, Duke's promotion from Master Sgt. (in the animated series) to Captain. This seemed a bit, well, random. It really wasn't necessary to the plot at all. It wasn't like Duke was in command of the Alpha unit.
There were other things that sort of bothered me. Firstly, the NATO Special Ops team drove Hummer H2's (which are not even actual military spec vehicles!) instead of the normal H1's (which WERE created for the military).
Next were the accelerator suits. They looked like a cross between Iron Man's armor & the gear worn by the really lame Marvel Comics' NFL superhero "SuperPro." I mean, yeah, OK, they kind'a served a purpose within the plot of the film. But, it seemed more like a rip-off of the Iron Man armor. At least they were only used in 1 sequence within the film, then forgotten. Let's hope it stays that way.
The last thing that bothered me was the different "crossed up" romantic subplots. They matched up the wrong characters together. This was majorly frustrating to me.
The acting in this film was actually better than I had anticipated. Dennis Quaid was perfectly cast as General Hawk, though he looked more like the Green Baret character "Flint" from the comics/cartoon. Quaid has a very commanding screen presence.
Ray Park was awesome as Snake Eyes. Though the character is mute, he "speaks" with his physicality. Park was able to bring the essence of the comic/cartoon's charactization without making it too cliche.
All of the villains were OK. Their performances weren't too "over-the-top" or campy, surprisingly enough. There was significantly more substance than their animated, cardboard cut-out counterparts.
The Alpha team was pretty good, too. Each member had a unique personality. None of them were too distracting.
The biggest surprises for me were the actors who played Duke, Ripcord & Scarlett.
Wayans' Ripcord wasn't like his usual performances in films like "Scary Movie" or "White Chicks." It was like he studied his brother's "Most Wanted" film, mixed with his performance from the basketball film "The 6th Man."
Scarlett was a mixture of brainiac, kick-@$$ grrl & girl-next-door. Nichols' performance was spot-on. She has a very sexy, smart screen presence. (Which is why I featured her version of the movie poster above... ) You could believe that she could be a genius that could kick your butt.
The biggest surprise for me was Tatum's Duke. When I had heard about his casting, I was convinced that this film was going to be doomed. I thought that the producers only cast him because of his "boy band" looks. His resume wasn't all that impressive to me. (He was in the "Step Up" films) My original opinion was that he was cut from the same cloth as those wannabe "Abercrombie & Fitch" model/actors from the Fox TV series "Prison Break." Boy, was I wrong! He was rather convincing as the military veteran Duke. It was readily appearant that Tatum not only had viewed the original cartoon, but he also did even more homework to bring a sense of believability to his portrayal of Duke. While he may not win any awards from his performance, at least he didn't screw-up here, either.
Overall, I really enjoyed this film, inspite of itself. It served its purpose. It was light, fun, breezy entertainment. Will it change the world with its message? Defintely not! But, it comes at the right time. One last big Summer film before the onset of Autumn.
This is why I give this film a solid 3 ***'s out of 5.
Was it great? Nah. Was it fun? Sure! Why does every movie have to be important? I mean, why can't we just go out, spend our money, and watch a movie that allows us to forget about our life stresses and let's us have some fun? That's what "GI Joe" did for me.
Now, I know that I'm probably going to take a lot of flack for giving this movie a somewhat favorable review. That's OK. To those who will come down and criticize me, I have only one thing to say:
YO, JOE!
So, until next time, as always...stay tuned...
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| It's been almost a week since the close of the pop culture extravaganza known as Comic-Con International: San Diego. And, as is the tradition, it's taken me the better part of the week to recover. The event itself was a flurry of activity. Many on-line pundits have been proclaiming that CCI:SD 2009 was a massive success, while others have lamented the overwhelming Hollywood takeover of what once was an intimate gathering of fans of comics & all things pop cultural.
I'd like to break things down into 2 very simple, basic topics: the good and bad. Let's begin with the negative, then end with positives, shall we?
The BAD:
1. Elite Security Services. For some reason, this year the level of customer service from Elite was extremely sub-par. There were more inept Elite "red shirts" than in previous years. Many Exhibitors, myself included, were very frustrated by the complete lack of organization and preparedness of Elite. For the first 3 days, the red shirts didn't understand the difference between the "Exhibitor" & "Professional" badge designations. They would allow the Pro's early entrance, while banning, harassing, belittling & preventing Exhibitors early access so that they could get their booths ready for the day.
Simply put, I can attribute this to what I came to call "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" Syndrome. These red-shirted jokers were all power-trippin' like their hero Paul Blart.
2. CCI: SD's PR Department. I list this under the negative because all 10 of the press junket arrangements that I had coordinated fell thru because of a series of miscommunications, misunderstadings & lack of support for the lesser-known local/regional exhibitors.
Last year, I was instructed to seek out my own press coverage from my company. Then, 1 month before showtime, when I did a courtesy check-in with the PR Dept., I was told that I not only had been misinformed, but I was also not going to receive priority for press coverage because I had failed to folow their proceedures. In other words, I was being penalized for following the previous instructions I was given.
Add to this the conflicting information that I was being given by both my media contacts & the PR Dept. The PR Dept. told me that they had "gone out of their way to highlight" my company to all of the media outlets. However, when I had spoken with all of my contacts, each one of them--to the person!--told me that the PR Dept. had purposefully instructed them to avoid "the small-timers" and focus instead on "the big, shiny Hollywood-type" exhibitors!
So, who's telling the truth? Conspiracy theories abound...
3. The "Twilight" Fans. Look, I'm all for folks who are big fans of certain media franchises. After all, the show's designated the entire day of Friday to all things Star Wars, which is cool. For those of y'all who know me better, I'm probably the biggest "Speed Racer" fan in San Diego County! (Just look at the license plates of my car!)
For the last few years, there have been students from Hogwarths mingling with Klingons, Stormtroopers, soldiers from the Halo video games, different Sailor Scouts & various spandex-clad superheroes & heroines. So, CCI:SD is all about all things pop culture.
However, this whole "Twilight" phenomenon is something completely different. It's beyond obsessive. It's borderline psychosis! Seriously. Several days before the show even opened, these people had set-up a sort'a "Twilight shanty-town" along the harbor-side (southeast?) side of the Convention Center! I mean, on several occassions, the SDPD mistook them as homeless vagrants!
Usually, this sort of activity is associated with kids, teenagers & college students. But, there were women ranging from their 30's-to-50's populating this refugee camp! Seriously. It was amazing! The irony is that these would be the very same sort of people who'd be mocking the "average Comic-Con attendee."
By Saturday, there were some people walking about the Showroom floor carrying signs that read "Twilight nearly destroyed Comic-Con" & "The End is Nigh. Twilight will doom the Comic-Con" and stuff like that.
FYI: SDPD has notificed CCI:SD that from now on, they will be arresting anyone who attempts to set up any sort of "squatter's camp" alongside the Convention Center, regardless of whether or not they have paid for attendance. They will not be allowed to line up earlier than 12 hours prior to any CCI:SD-related events.
All I have to say is: "What in the...world...took you so long, SDPD?!"
4. The Dominance/Presence of Hollywood. As I said in #3, I am all for the presence of Hollywood at CCI:SD! It has done a lot to make all things pop culture, especially comics & manga, more acceptable to the mainstream. No longer are comics considered just for nerds, dweebs, geeks, dorks, pop culture snobs & lazy college students. Slowly, but surely, comics has become a very viable & acceptable form of entertainment. Just look at how many of the major Hollywood blockbusters since the turn of the Millenium have been based upon/inspired by different comic properties! And, look at how many more are coming soon to our TV's & cineplexes!
But, with that said, the Hollywood studios are encroaching more and more into what used to be a show about comics, sci-fi, anime & pop culture. If they were there to only promote their next comic-based blockbuster, that's one thing. However, it's become so much more than that. The studios have decided to literally pimp their films at CCI:SD, regardless of whether or not it's related to the purpose to CCI:SD's mission statement, or even whether or not it's age-appropriate & in good taste. I mean, I don't know how many of the studios were pimping their latest power tool-toting maniac towards little children! This really has to cease.
5. The "Ghetto-ising" of (the Independent) Comic Exhibitors. This is something that has been slowly occurring for the past several years. With the larger, flashier & more wealthier comics publishers teaming-up with the various Hollywood entities, the smaller indy comcs publishers are slowly being squeezed out for the precious booth space on the Exhibitor floor, as well as the attention of the various media outlets that parade about the show.
Rather than highlighting the backbone on the comics industry, CCI:SD spends its time catering to the massive Hollywood media machine. I mean, unless there's some sort of Hollywood-related connection, CCI:SD won't even promote any of the comics being published by Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image, Viz or any other indy publisher.
CCI:SD has completely lost its original identity. It used to about a gathering of fans who wanted to hang-out with their peers and meet the folks who created the stuff that they loved.
Now, CCI:SD has evloved into this massive extravaganza where people come to basically to see their favorite celebrities & star gaze. The local media has helped to pervert this show as well. All they do is pimp the celebrity appearences, rather than the comics that inspired the different movies.
6. The Potential Departure of CCI:SD from San Diego. During the weeks preceeding the show, all the local media could focus on was whether or not CCI:SD was going to be staying in San Diego or not. Some were making comparisons to the San Diego Chargers current contract with the City.
Sure, the Chargers contract expires in 2010. Sure, they could bail from Qualcomm Stadium. However, the Chargers organization has been earnestly seeking various means to stay within the County of San Diego so that they could remain the San Diego Chargers! (Much like how both the Jets & Giants are still considered New York teams even though they play in New Jersey)
The same can be said with CCI:SD. Their contract with the City expires in 2012, so they're not going to bail for a couple of years yet. The CCI:SD heirarchy has expressed their desire to discuss contract extensions. The City knows that Comic-Con is their biggest, non-sports related money-maker of the year, so they want to keep it here.
Yes, the Cities of Las Vegas, Anaheim & LA have all been wooing CCI:SD. However, each of those cities have distinct disadvantages over San Diego.
Let's start with Vegas. Who wants to be in Vegas in the middle of July?! With the desert heat of over 110-degrees F?! Add to that all of the various other distractions, like casinos & showgirls. Besides, Vegas has attempted on many occassions to host its own Comic-Con/Pop Culture-realted events unsuccessfully. CCI:SD won't go there.
Next, Anaheim. They are literally & figuratively our closest competitor. They're similar to San Diego in that they have affordable lodging & restaurants nearby, as well as "the Happiest Place on Earth," Disneyland, close by. But, they have 2 strikes against them. First, they lost Anime Expo (A/X) to LA. They couldn't hold onto the largest anime convention in North America. Add to that the recent announcement that they are going to be hosting a brand-new Wizard Magazine-created pop culture show, they already have a show similar to CCI:SD--albeit a significantly smaller one.
Finally, we have LA. On the plus side, they not only currently host A/X, but they also have a larger facility than the SD Convention Center. They also have access to the nearby Staples Center & Nokia Live! (Center). And, they are much closer to Hollywood. But they also have 3 strikes going against them. First, they lack the access of nearby lodging facilities & restaurants that San Diego has. Their facilities are located near "Skid Row." Finally, they not only recently lost the Hot Import Nights car show (which caters to the same age demographic), but the Wizard Magazine-sponsored convention, which was a significantly smaller show than CCI:SD.
All of that being said, I honestly believe that CCI:SD will not be leaving San Diego anytime soon. The City is earnestly developing their strategies to keep it here. Like the Chargers, San Diego cannot afford to lose Comic-Con.
OK, so that's a lot of negatives. I'll be right back with "Part 2" of my "Post Game Report" with the positives...!
So, until then...stay tuned!
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| Just wanted to make a very quick entry.
Today marks the very first day of Comic-Con for me and the crew of BloodFire Studios.  In a few hours, we'll be heading to the Convention Center to build our booth for the show. Or, as I like to call it, our "Comic-Con condo." That booth will pretty much serve as our home for the next week.
We here at BFS have high expectations for this year's show. We finally have a significant amount of new product to sell. We have several meetings planned with important folks outside of the comics industry. We are planning on meeting with several comic professionals as well.
As we prepare for our most important show yet, I am guardedly optimistic.  I'm hoping that things will, at the very least, meet our expectations/projections.
If not, I will just blame it all on Kobe Bryant & the Los Angeles Lakers.  (This is in reference to comments I've been making on my Facebook profile...www.facebook.com/dto2865)
So, if you happen to be coming to the sold-out big show, please cruise over to our place!  BloodFire Studios, Booth #1621-1623. Let 'em know that I sent ya...
Until next time, stay tuned.....
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| Welcome, everyone! I've noticed that, for some reason, my Xanga has been getting a lot of activity of late. After you've visited, please feel free to either sign my guestbook or leave a comment. I'd love to hear from y'all!
OK, I've decided to wait a week to review the new Transformers film. Mainly because I wanted to see how it did at the box office. So, without any spoilers or further ado, here we go...
If you haven't seen the 1st film, no worries. There's a nice synopsis at the beginning to this one. It's gets you up to speed cuz you need to be prepared to hit the ground running!
There are a whole batch of new Autobots & Decpeticons introduced in this film, the biggest of which is the main protagonist the Fallen. FYI: the Fallen is the name of one single Decepticon. Actually, he's the original Decepticon. (Before the film's release, there was some minor confusion about this. Initially, folks thought that the Fallen was a group of Decepticons that formed the gigantic Transformer. That would be wrong. The gigantic Transformer is Devistator, which is formed by the Constructicons...)
The most contraversial Transformers are the Autobot twins of Swipe & Mudflap. They're the ones that have the gold tooths (singular for each of them) and talk & act like rejects from "Yo! MTV Raps." I'll admit, they are really annoying. They don't really serve much of a purpose to the film beyond the forced comic relief. I wished that the writers would have had some other Autobot characters instead, like maybe Kup and Hot Rod (from the animated film) and Hound (the Army jeep).
The basic story spins from the end of the 1st film. It's all about fragments of the Allspark, the ancient Cybertronian artifact. There are 3 basic plots: the Sam Witwicky story; the NEST (military) story; & the Fallen's story. That's about all I can reveal without spoiling the rest of the film.
What I enjoyed about this film over the 1st one is the balance in story. It was almost equally split between each of the plots. There was also a lot more (human) character development, especially Mikayla, new character Leo and Sam's parents. The writers could've easily just made this film about Sam, Mikayla & the robots. Instead, they chose to develop the human characters.
The other thing is that this film does a "tip of the hat" to the original animated movie from the 1980's. A key element to the story is this object called "the Matrix of Leadership," which was the main story element from the animated feature.
As with the 1st film, the visual effects are what one is going to pay to see. And, just like the 1st film, they don't disappoint. There are Transformers of all types (cars, trucks, airplanes, motocycles). Each one is unique unto itself.
I wish that I could say more, but then I would be in danger of spoiling it. One thing that I can say is that I didn't have to pay to see this film, which is the same thing that happened when I saw the 1st one. I got free passes to an advanced screening. So, it's kind of a "tradition" now that I try to score free passes for any future Transformers movies.
So, I give this film a solid 4 out of 5 *'s (stars). It's a fun, summer blockbuster popcorn flick that begs to be seen on the big screen before you go buy to rent the DVD later this year.
So, that's it for now. As always, stay tuned.....
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