Comikaze Expo: Back behind the table

The 2015 edition of Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo at Los Angeles Convention Center has officially wrapped up as of Sunday evening. This time last year, I reviewed the Expo's 2014  show in my very first blog as an attendee hanging out with friends from out of town, talking with Artist Alley friends, and being interviewed by good friend Tyrone Tann of Stauros Entertainment about the progress of a comic book that I was producing for him. Three-hundred-sixty-five days later, I'm an Artist Alley exhibitor once again at Comikaze's fifth show, joined by Tyrone and other great friends in promoting and selling the now-finished freelance comic book. How was the show for me on the other side of the table again (I exhibited at Comikaze once before in 2012)? How do I compare this year's event to last years? Was the show great or not so great overall? Well, just settle down, and I'll start from the beginning: 

This year's Comikaze Expo was a three-day ordeal spread across not one but two halls of the Los Angeles Convention Center. The South Hall---it's sole location the past four years----was now home to celebrity photo ops, movie and tv props, and the show's famed "Hot Topic" stage, while the West Hall housed comic dealers and retailer booths, a Stan Lee museum, and of course, Artist Alley----my home away from home. For this event, my temporary "home" included not just yours truly, but also friends and business partners Tyrone Tann, actor/puppeteer Justin Galluccio, his mother Joann, and actor Zane Huett. Since the show started on Friday, I wasn't able to set up the table due to my work schedule, but Tyrone and his crew were more than happy to do so until I joined them the next day. Our main objective: to promote and sell copies of the aforementioned new freelance comic book I wrote and illustrated, a four-color panel adaptation of Tyrone and Justin's "Blooob" live-action web-series, featuring Justin as the operator and voice of the Blooob puppet, which he also brought to the show. Also present on our tabletop, were my other comic titles fully created by me: "Damn Tourists," "The F.O.S. Mongoose," and "Cosmic Force." with "Blooob" the puppet as our main draw to the table, the show was moderately successful for us, as we sold eleven books between the Blooob, Cosmic Force, and FOS Mongoose books. The main highlights of the show were the reactions Justin got with "Blooob" greeting customers (especially little kids), and the interviews and promos we did discussing the book thanks to the help of Tyrone and his cameraman. Then there were my various rounds to the rest of Artist Alley to visit my vendor buddies and their tables, including Christie Shinn, Lonnie Milsap, Paul Jamison, Wendy Shaner (who presented me with more Mongoose Monday art to sign), and newlyweds Mark Rivers and Kamiel Harrison, who just got back from their honeymoon in Europe. Rounding out the show highlights were unexpected visits from old and new friends/acquaintances like Francisco Dominguez from Meltdown Comics, Jesse Campbell from San Fernando Valley Comic Con (my next show), new Damn Tourists fan Soni Trevor, and former co-workers Vahagn Kirakosian and Jenn Muranaka, all of whom stopped by to say hello. It still amazes me just how many people I've met in the five years of being an Artist Alley Vendor, and I expect that number to grow the further my convention circuit rolls along.

So, my overall thoughts on this year's Comikaze Expo? Despite the kind words and fun experiences, the show was mediocre in terms of both sales and customer interactions. I suspect it was the Halloween weekend that kept many attendees from parting with their cash, and perhaps the event organizers should rethink next year's show dates. I would recommend the weekend after Halloween for next year's Comikaze, as a general public recovering from the holiday would be in more of a spending mood after the parties, costume purchases, and trick-or-treating are behind them. Also, and this is a smaller issue: get some microphones with less audio feedback, and try not to speak to close to the mic when doing loudspeaker announcements. You'll give both vendors and attendees less migraines that way. On the positive side, I did feel that splitting up the show was a good idea, as the customer-distracting Hot Topic stage did not share the same space as Artist Alley. This was definitely a step in the right direction in showcasing us members of the "Alley" more. As a whole, this year's Expo I felt was better than last years in terms of show scale and floor organization. This con has the potential to be a can't miss show if it can zero in on what sets it apart from other shows. I personally don't like the "L.A.'s Comic-Con" tagline they're starting to use, as we don't really need another "comic-media" event like in San Diego. Perhaps Comikaze can study what Wondercon does at the same venue next year and learn from that, as that show has a fantastic reputation for balancing celebrities, pop culture merchandise, large comic dealers, and artist alley. So whether you liked this year's Comikaze Expo or not, just remember these four words:

There's always next year.

Carter Comics gets ready for Comikaze Expo!

I know it's been awhile since my last blog, but work's been very busy lately, which leads to long nights (but bigger paychecks). Aside from my day job, I've been preparing for my return to exhibiting at large conventions, which will start again at this year's Comikaze Expo next weekend (yes, Halloween Weekend, just like last year), from Friday October 30, through Sunday November 1st at the Los Angeles Convention Center right in the heart of Downtown LA. Thanks in large part to my new job, I'm finally able to afford promoting and selling my comics and artwork at larger venues once again. There is one difference to this show compared to many other that I've done in the past five years though; For this event, I will be sharing my table with a popular production company called Stauros Entertainment, with whom I've written and illustrated a comic book based on their live-action YouTube series called "Blooob," about an alien that comes to earth to learn about human behavior that can be adapted to the extra-terrestrial's race. His "teachers?" two teenagers and a pool guy who find his crashed spaceship in their pool.  In addition to this project, the producer, actors, and relatives of the actors will be present at the table. One of the actors, Justin Galluccio, will have "Blooob" himself (in puppet form) at our table. But that's not all, as on the Carter Comics side of things, I'll have my three separate comic titles (Damn Tourists issues 1-3, The Figure-Of-Speech Mongoose issues 1-4, and my Cosmic Force volume one trade paperback). Another change to my usual convention formats, is that I will only be present for just two days of this three-day comic extravaganza, due to Friday being a workday for me. My fine friends at Stauros Entertainment Tyrone Tann, Justin Galluccio, his mother Joann, and "Blooob" co-star Zane Huett will be holding down the fort on day one of the show until I make my first appearance Saturday morning. Preparing for this show under these new conditions has been a little nerve-wracking at first (due to Carter Comics being a one-man show for so long), but I welcome the new challenge and experience. 

A few words about the show as well: Comikaze Expo, better known as "Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo," has been L.A.'s largest and most popular comic conventions since it started back in 2011. Hosted by both comic legend Stan Lee and the "Mistress of the Dark" herself Elvira,  both of these talented and dynamic personalities spread their presence around the convention floor in the form of themed-activities such as museums, as well as just walking the floor and greeting fans. While a large part of the show is pop-culture media oriented, Comikaze has over the years made quite an effort to make sure that comics share just as big a piece of the convention pie.  This year's revealed show floor layout details  proves that in spades, expanding the event from the convention center's south hall and lobby, to its west hall across the street. The South Hall will host both celebrity and cosplay activities, while the West Hall will feature comics and comic-related material. A Stan Lee Museum, Artist Alley, and Small Press tables (we'll be at Small Press Table N05 here by the way), will be the attractions to this part of the floor. Anchoring the independent creator areas will be comic industry heavyweights Grant Morrison, Todd MacFarlane, and Jim Lee! With such an expansion to help keep a balance between pop culture media and comics, this is a show not to be missed. Carter Comics and Stauros Entertainment both look forward to seeing you there! 

My car-less weekend experiments:

If you've been reading at least a few of my blogs since I started them last year, you'll know that I have embraced the mass-transit portion of the Los Angeles Metro since moving from the mostly sprawling suburban Western San Fernando Valley in Canoga Park, to the denser East Valley in North Hollywood. Now that I've started working again at a new job in Downtown Glendale, where restaurants and stores are within walking distance but is sadly not served by any Metro Rail, I have decided to use more mass-transit at least once on the weekends since I have to drive to and from work during the week.

My first "transit experiment" actually started on Labor Day weekend, when I left my Jetta parked on the street, and took a trip to Venice Beach and Santa Monica Pier to rollerblade. To accomplish this car-less feat, I carried my rollerblades in a backpack and walked to the North Hollywood Red Line Subway Station (about a mile from my apartment), took the Red Line to the 7th Street Metro Center Station in Downtown LA. From there I transferred to the Expo Line light rail, which currently runs west all the way to Culver City, which is still about six miles short of the beach (that will change next spring however, when the second phase of the line to Downtown Santa Monica is completed). To fill the transit gap until then, I took a Lyft rideshare vehicle from the station and was dropped off at the Venice Beach Pier. I then put on my rollerblades and skated all the way to Santa Monica Pier, switched back from my skates to my shoes, and walked around the nearby Promenade Mall until I was ready to make the return trip on a Lyft back to Culver City, Expo Line to Downtown, and a Red Line back to North Hollywood. The results of this first experiment: Not bad at all in terms of wait time for trains or rideshare vehicle, and the travel times were decent. The major downside was the separate expense of $12 each way on Lyft, when my Metro rides were technically free (since I had loaded a full balance on my TAP fare card). This is something I would definitely do if meeting up with friends on Saturday nights at any of the bars in Santa Monica, but I would still drive during a Saturday or Sunday to skate at the beach until the Expo Line extension is finished.

Transit experiment number two was this Saturday, meeting up with family in Woodland Hills. Despite the 100-degree heat, I left the old volkswagen parked on the street and braved it out to the Orange Line busway Station in North Hollywood (which is right across the street from the Red LIne Subway Station). Almost immediately, one of the two parked articulated buses the line uses pulled up to pick up passengers. The trip was fairly quick at 45 minutes from North Hollywood to Canoga Avenue in Woodland Hills. While this bus travels on an exclusive roadway that gives it a more reliable schedule, it does still have to stop for a few traffic lights, so the travel time can sometimes vary depending on how many lights it has to stop for, and how long the it is stopped for the traffic light. I believe that this trip only had about two or three brief stops at a traffic signal, which isn't bad at all for a Saturday. After arriving a block away from the Westfield Topanga Mall at the Canoga Avenue Station, it was just a short walk to meet my family for lunch and shopping in the newly-opened Topanga Village shopping center, which is an open-air segment of a mostly enclosed mall that covers about three blocks in the Western San Fernando Valley. It boasts a more pedestrian-friendly experience----well, except for the new Costco that anchors the center, I'm not sure how that's gonna fit, but I guess we'll see. Most of the major restaurants have yet to open, so we just explored the few things that were open along with plush seating arrangements and family activities. To really hammer home the "pedestrian-friendly" message, this new section of the mall has an air-conditioned trolley service that runs through not only all three sections of the shopping complex, but also nearby Warner center offices and apartments. How much does it cost? Nothing. It's free of charge, the trade-off being the non-stop promotion of the mall on TVs inside the trolley. Following a great new burger and beer at Red Robin and some shopping at both Costco and Target, I declared this transit experiment  a success. Once the new restaurants open up like Lucille's Barbeque and Pieology Pizzeria, I'll definitely be taking some weekend trips on the Orange Line there for a Saturday or Sunday lunch. And with many of these eateries serving beer on their menu, I can safely drink and dine knowing that I'm just an Orange Line ride away back to North Hollywood.

Final thoughts: I'm glad I'm taking on these weekend adventures without my car. it saves me on gas and maintenance, while allowing me to explore new areas I would have simply drove by in my car. I encourage everybody to take a least one day out of your weekend to take Metro Rail or BRT to a place you've always been meaning to check out, but never got around to doing so.  You'll be glad you did.

Long Beach Comic Con 2015:

I'm starting to not mind sitting out some conventions and just attending again. I just have to remind myself that I'm no longer on the outside looking in when it comes to the exhibitor experience, especially in "Artist Alley." This year's Long Beach Comic Con event once again didn't disappoint. A two-day convention taking place at the beautiful Long Beach Convention Center just steps from the waterfront with lots of great restaurants, aquariums, and scenic ferry rides like the Aqualink, its surroundings rival San Diego Comic Con for best overall convention experience.  

Since I wasn't exhibiting this year, I just got a Saturday attendee ticket (I should really start springing for a professional badge, since I am one). To avoid both the parking crunch and fees, I Metro'ed it from North Hollywood to Long Beach using the Red Line Subway and Blue Line Light Rail. The only downside in this option this weekend was the fact that a segment of the Blue Line track was under renovation, which meant that passengers had to use a temporary shuttle bus between the closed track to reach the other stations and continue either north to Los Angeles or south to Long Beach. Once I got there though, I was amazed at the large crowds gathering outside the Convention Center----more than I've seen in the five years I had exhibited there. Inside was just as crazy, but it luckily didn't translate to the ticket lines, as I was able to get my wristband rather quickly. My first thought when entering the exhibit hall this year, was how dark it looked. The same lighting system appeared to be in place, but for some reason it seemed like there were very few lights on in the hall. My first stop was Artist Alley of course, and I explained this weird lighting decision to all of my vendor friends I greeted: Tobias Gebhardt, Mark Rivers, Barbra and Bryant Dillon, JD Correa, Josh Hauke, Wendy Shaner, and Lonnie Milsap are just a few of my exhibitor buddies present behind the table. Lonnie had told me that Artist Alley this year had broken off into smaller segments. For example, Lonnie was a part of a table segment just for "funny books." It was a new way of spotlighting specific independent creative talent that the con was trying out, and from the looks of the crowds, it seemed very promising. Aside from talking shop with my artist friends, the other two highlights of the show was my lone purchase of the DVD documentary "The Death of Superman Lives," autographed by director John Schnepp who was in person, and then doing some autographing of my own when fellow vendor buddy Wendy Shaner brought out glossy printed versions of the sketches I did for her online for winning my "Mongoose Monday" illustration games. She asked me to sign them for herself, family, and students at her school, who have grown quite fond of my "Figure-Of-Speech Mongoose" character, as Wendy has used him in her teaching lessons. I was more that happy to sign my artwork, and later asked her if she could take photos of the signed sketches later to post them on my Facebook page. One of the last stops I made in the hall was to Phat Collectibles, an orange county comic shop that had a booth at the con. They run a convention of their own in January called Phat Con in Anaheim, and I went to ask for information on exhibiting. It's always great to hear about new shows (especially new FREE shows) where I can take my work to new audiences.

Well, after three hours simply flew by ( I arrived there around 2 p.m. and stayed until 5), not to mention my phone battery dying, I decided to call it a day. I said goodbye to as many friends as I could and began the trek back to North Hollywood via Metro Rail and temporary shuttle bus. Despite the fact that Long Beach COmic Con has been running shows since 2009, it's still an event that not many people outside of Long Beach know much about. While it doesn't have the name recognition of a Wondercon or even a Comikaze when you mention comic conventions to non-comic media fans, it has carved out a niche in being a show more for the traditional comic fan, rather than a media-heavy event with tv show and movie panels. I'm hope that my Artist Alley friends had a great show this weekend, and I will definitely be back behind the table for next year's Long Beach Comic Con, and Comic Expo next February and September. Now, it's on to preparing for my return to large comic conventions, starting with Comikaze Expo this Halloween! More details to come...

Back-to-Back Convention Weekend Aftermath:

 I just finished an appearance at the second of two local conventions this weekend, and they both were fantastic (albeit exhausting) shows: a short trip down the street Saturday afternoon to Emerald Knights Comics and Games in Burbank, close to my apartment, and then a longer trip across the valley to Granada Hills most of Sunday for the 2nd of three San Fernando Valley Comic Con events. Despite the fact that these were both smaller, local shows compared to larger conventions like Wondercon and Long Beach Comic Con,  the smaller size of both events was a great advantage in getting to know my customers better without all the loud noise and constant loudspeaker announcements. How much of an advantage were these shows for me? Well, let's start with the first show I did on Saturday at Emerald Knights Comics.

The event, a kind of mini-artist alley called "Support the Independents," is a showcase for new comics talent held twice a year at this spacious, two-level comic shop (they had another one in February). I first heard about the show from my good friends Bryant and Barbra Dillon over at Fanboy Comics, who were a part of the shop's February event, as well as this one.  I arrived about fifteen minutes before showtime, setting up my table in about twenty minutes (hey, it's not how fast you set up, it's how organized and attractive your table looks). After exchanging pleasantries with the three other vendors around me, I began making my sales. Alot of my friends showed up for both support and to purchase books from me, and some new faces came by to get better acquainted with my books and artwork. One of the highlights of this show was a customer who purchased the first four issues of my science-fiction series "Cosmic Force," as he was very intrigued by the story. The day ended with a representative from the Comikaze Expo convention (an event branded by Stan Lee and Elvira that takes place on Halloween in Downtown LA) asking myself and the other vendors if they were planning on exhibiting at the show. I am, but I still have to get some things worked out first, as I'll be possibly sharing a table with a friend that I did a freelance job for. Final thoughts from the Emerald Knights Indie Comic Artist Event: A decent turnout with 8 books sold and $40.00 in sales! Now onto Sunday at San Fernando Valley Comic Con.

This small, but intimate convention located at the Granada Hills Pavilion is a show that I have done three times last year (they have shows in the spring, summer, and fall), and because I have both developed a great relationship with the three promoters and am usually the only independent comic creator at the show,  They make sure that I get as much promotion for my work as possible. This show was no exception. While my sales were a little less than Emerald Knights at 5 books sold and $30.00 profit, customers were now purchasing a full series of my books. For example, my first sale was from a customer who bought all three issues of my "Damn Tourists" comic series.  Another customer picked up an issue of The Figure-Of-Speech Mongoose, and my first issue of Damn Tourists. I even go to do a raffle at the show with two of my books included. Even one of my new co-workers from my new job showed up to greet me at my table, and thanked me for telling her about a show that was within walking distance from her house. Toward the end of the show, I got two offers from writers looking for an artist for their projects. They were introduced to me by one of the show's promoters, Joe Williamson, who continues to be a driving force in my increased exposure for both myself and my artwork. I can't thank him enough for what he's done for my visibility as an emerging comic artist and writer in the year that I've known him. 

And that was how my convention weekend turned out. 13 books sold, $70.00 profit, customers purchasing multiple books from me, friends coming by to show their support, and being able to sell myself and my work on the microphone in front of a crowd. I think it's safe to say that each appearance I do, no matter how big or small, only gets better, and it will continue to get better with two more shows on the horizon: Sherman Oaks Comic Expo and Comikaze Expo---which will be my first large convention in over a year. Until the next blog everyone!

Glendale needs Rail!

As I mentioned in a blog a week or so ago, I got a new job in Glendale, which is only a 7-mile, 15 minute drive on the freeway from where I live in North Hollywood. After working in this area for two weeks so far, I really took a liking to the location, which is right in the heart of Downtown Glendale. With my office sitting right next to three shopping malls full of places to eat, I never have to use my car once I park it in the garage to enter my building. That led me to start thinking about one of two downsides the Glendale area has: Dangerous criss-crossing freeway on-and-off ramps, but just as important, is the lack of mass transit.

Think about it: Pasadena, which is the next major town to the east of Glendale, has the Metro Gold Line, which currently runs from Sierra Madre to Downtown Los Angeles and East LA. Imagine if Metro created a spur line from the Gold Line's Memorial Park station, and brought it through Glendale (with an underground station downtown near the Glendale Galleria Mall) and further stations at the Burbank Promenade, Burbank Media Center, before ending at the North Hollywood Red Line Station. That would eliminate the need to extend the Orange Line busway eastward (which would be a very problematic process due to the lack of dedicated right-of-way options), and still connect both the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys (once the Gold Line extension to Azusa is completed). Such a line would work best being partially underground through North Hollywood and Downtown Glendale, and grade-separated the rest of the way. Having this existing rail line through Glendale won't just help me leave my car at home when going to work, but also allow other LA residents to discover a town that I feel gets overlooked sometimes in favor of Pasadena. Don't get me wrong, I love Pasadena, but Glendale has what I think is the best downtown area in Southern California: Lots of small shops and eateries close together, reasonably priced parking, and a shopping complex with just about anything you need in it. In fact, the building that I work in has three restaurants on its lower floors (California Pizza Kitchen, BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse, and Olive Garden). The three shopping areas that cover at least three square blocks (The Americana, Glendale Marketplace, and The Glendale Galleria) have everything from Outback Steakhouse, The Cheesecake Factory, Red Robin Burgers, Granville Cafe, and Blaze Pizza. And just to make it even more attractive, there's a Target located inside the Galleria Mall, which I will be frequenting after work once I get a few more paychecks saved up. Having an underground Gold Line light rail station within steps of all this commercial activity would make Downtown Glendale twice as fantastic as it already is.

So get on this Metro. After you finish the eastside Gold Line extension to Azusa, and the expo  line extension to Santa Monica next spring, make this "Glendale to North Hollywood" Gold Line spur a reality. I'll be the first in line, walking to a newly linked Red Line/Orange Line/Gold Line station in North Hollywood, as I breeze past and underneath the traffic on the 134 Freeway, and arriving at work by exiting an underground station to experience the awesomeness that is Downtown Glendale. That is all.

Tune in to next week's blog, as I'll be giving a wrap-up on what what will be a busy weekend for me: Dark Nights Music and Food Festival in Downtown LA friday night,  Emerald Knights Comics Artist Alley exhibitor appearance in Burbank on Saturday from 12-5 pm, and a vendor appearance at San Fernando Valley Comic Con in Granada Hills from 10 am to 4 pm.  expect that column to be written next sunday evening, shortly after I get back from the SFV show. Until then!

Carter Comics gets a "Meltdown!"

This past wednesday I did my second signing at, what a good friend of mine described as, "the carnegie hall of comic shops."  Meltdown Comics and Collectibles, located off Sunset boulevard in Hollywood, is THE place to be for any comic fan or aspiring comic creator. The store is more than just comics, but also live podcasts, and even comedy shows in their back room. As excited as I was to be doing a signing here, I was equally as nervous in getting there on time. Since I was starting my new job this past week that ended at 6:30 p.m. everyday, I meticulously checked google maps on my phone to make sure I could take the best route from my job in Glendale, to arrive at the Comic shop by 7:30. Driving to the shop the day before I started work to get a better idea of the route, parking, and meeting the manager in person definitely helped, as when the big day finally came, I got there just in time and lucked out with the last 10 hour parking spot right across the street from the store. Once I entered the shop to set up, my good friend Mark Riccardi was there to both greet me and help me out with grabbing my inventory and supplies from my car. Then more friends and family came by throughout the night to lend their support: fellow artist friends Christie Shinn and Saddler Ward, and both my mother and sister. It helped to make for great conversation and draw attention to my table when customers came in. While most of my sales were from visiting friends and family, I did make a few sales from customers passing by who took an interest in my work. The toughest part of this signing was getting used to customers paying for my books at the shop register, rather than directly from me. At the end of the night, I had to remind the clerk about splitting up the profits made from my show, so they can email me my share to my paypal account. Even though I sold less books there than my first signing at Pulp Fiction comics the month before, I'm still glad I did this signing----mostly due to the fact that the name recognition of Meltdown Comics carries alot of weight with comic and even some non-comic fans who have passed by the store. Just mentioning that I did a signing there can make people who may not be completely aware of my work, start to take me seriously. I'm already looking forward to my next two appearances at both Emerald Knights Comics and Games in Burbank on Saturday August 29th, and at San Fernando Valley Comic Con on Sunday August 30th. Expect to hear about my thoughts regarding both of those events in one big blog. Tune in next week when I talk about the latest thing that interests me. Until then!

A second chance.

I normally don't talk about myself that much. Instead, I just talk about my interests and opinions on certain topics, I had to change that way of thinking this week, however, as something happened to me that I had been wishing, hoping and praying for two years (that's right, two years): I finally got another job.

While my career as an independent comic creator and freelance artist has been blossoming in that two year time frame with interviews, book reviews, convention appearances, two freelance comic projects, and comic shop book signings, what has been missing was a 9-5 occupation and a steady income to support it. As you may or may not know, the last two years of my life have been extremely rough, having only been able to secure three very short-term jobs and having to move out of a shared apartment to stay with a relative. Then at the same time, having to cope with the death of my father. What followed was a dual journey: Looking for another full-time job while promoting and selling my comics any way that I could.  But for every door that opened on the independent comic front, several doors closed on job after job that I applied and interviewed for. No matter how frustrated and depressed that made me, however, I never gave up. I got up, dusted myself off, and looked for the next opportunity. I was told that this amazing persistence comes from my father, and I'm sure that he was watching over me when I interviewed last week for the position I finally got hired for. One recruiter, two interviews, and a stack of paperwork later, I was officially part of the work force once again as of last thursday. While the hiring manager had told me the news first after my second interview on monday, I never truly believed it until after I filled out the paperwork and passed the background check. Being out of work for so long can make you that paranoid. Now, I have to keep reminding myself that I actually have the job and will start next tuesday. I also have to tell myself not to be nervous during my first day, despite my large work gap. I will be fine, and this will be the first step in rebuilding my life in both a personal and financial sense. I've just been granted the one thing that alot of people rarely get, if ever: A second chance.

It's great to be a "Level-Head"

Ever since I was a child, I've always been fascinated with England. From the locales to the weather to the women with those sexy accents and especially the music, I could never get enough of anything from across the pond (well, maybe the comedy). Growing up in the mid to late 1980s, I caught the tail end of the last British Invasion that brought over many groups to America that were heavily inspired by soul music: ABC, Spandau Ballet, and Swing Out Sister, just to name a few. But there was one group----no----one band,  that towered above them all, and sadly didn't get the recognition they deserved for their incredible musicianship and ability to master just about any genre of music. You've probably never heard of them, but then this is why I'm writing this blog: To tell you about the band known as "Level 42."

Here in the U.S., Level 42 were best known (to those that were aware of them) for the hit single and intriguing music video "Something About You," in 1986, but their career as a whole takes them far beyond just that one perfectly crafted pop song. Formed during my birth year and month of June 1980, the band consisted of Mark King on bass and lead vocals, Mike Lindup on keyboards and vocals, and brothers Phil and Boon Gould on guitar and drums respectively. Level 42---named after a passage from the Douglas Adams book "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" where "42" is the answer to the meaning of life---played mostly instrumental jazz funk before moving onto vocal tracks with a more soul/R&B sound, then radio-friendly pop and later even some pop/rock. Their signature sound both vocally and musically were King's baritone vocals and Lindup's falsetto vocals (though they would often take turns with lead vocals on some of their songs), and Mark's mesmerizing slap-bass guitar technique that drove most of their tunes. They performed originally from 1980-1994 with various band member changes, but reformed back in 2006 with a new lineup that includes Mark's brother Nathan on guitar and Pete Ray Biggin on drums. After a new album and subsequent tour, they announced their 30th anniversary in 2010. And that's where the personal part of this story comes in:

It was July 2010. A month after my 30th birthday. I had just received the biggest news of my life a few months back via a friend's facebook message saying that Level 42 was returning to the U.S. for a tour. I couldn't believe what I was reading. A band that I had followed since I was five years old, would be performing live at four venues across California. I quickly snatched up tickets for two shows (One at the Grove Of Anaheim and the other at Club Nokia in Downtown LA), and asked my boss to let me out of work early, since the first show in Anaheim was happening on a weeknight. A three and a half drive later, I was at the stage pit with several other groups of fans, rocking along to the band's funky, chugging opening tune "Hot Water," grooving to the jazzy "Love Games," (complete with long bass solo), swaying to their heart-wrenching ballad "It's Over," and bobbing my head to their signature tune "Something About You," among their other fantastic catalogue of songs. When the show ended, I got to meet other "levelheads" as we all waited for the band to come out to sign autographs and take photos with us. It was here that I met two people who have become great friends of mine: Angel and Mark Riccardi, musicians, vocalists, and rabid fans like myself, who in turn introduced me to a whole group of Levelheads over the next year. Then came the other moment of the night: Meeting the band! As we patiently waited for Mark, Mike, Nathan, Pete, and Sean Freeman (their saxophone player for the live gigs) I had just remembered that I left my "World Machine" LP (from their fifth album in 1985) in my car. Following a sprint that would've made The Flash proud, the band came toward us for the long-awaited fan meeting. This is one of those situations where you always think that you're gonna play it cool when you meet someone or someones that you admire, but all that "play it cool" crap flies right out the window when it really happens.  I couldn't tell you what I said to the band members when I finally got to meet them, since most of what I said was babbling, but I do remember just enjoying being in that moment, as nearby fans helped snap photos of me with keyboardist Mike Lindup, drummer Pete Ray Biggin, and I almost missed having my photo taken with lead singer and bassist Mark King, as their road manager was trying to rush them onto the bus, and my camera battery was dying. Thankfully, neither issue stopped "the money shot." As I drove home listening to their albums, I truly felt that If I died the next day, I would've done so a happy man.

And that's my story of not only seeing my favorite band live, but also meeting them in person. Five years later, it's still hard to believe that happened, which is why I 'm so glad I have the photo proof. While there are other funky british music men who I admire (Songwriter Rod Temperton also comes to mind, with the legendary tunes he wrote for Michael Jackson, George Benson, Michael McDonald, and Heatwave), Level 42 will always be on the top floor.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

My very first book signing, and many more to come

This past wednesday I entered a new chapter in the promotion and the selling of my comic book and graphic novel series: My first book signing! Held at Pulp Fiction Comics in Culver City, California, this shop in its first year of business has been extremely indie creator friendly, having held a monthly "Artist Alley Saturday" late last year. Speaking with the clerk during my creator appearance, we agreed that new creator signings are a much better way to promote new comic talent, as only a few artists appear in the shop at a time and are mentioned by name, and they are placed across from the register near the front door usually on a wednesday---where foot traffic is at its highest in the store due to this being the day new comics are released. Now, onto how my "signing debut" went.

After my usual prep-work of ensuring that all my change, merchandise, and display portfolio are up to date, I loaded my two suitcases full of comics, duffel bag full of magazine holders, nameplate, and table skirt, personalized table runner and retractable banner into my car for the often congested trek from North Hollywood to Culver City via the 405 freeway. Since I left at 8:30 in the morning, and only had to be there at 11, it was one of the few times that the traffic didn't bother me.  I arrived at the shop about thirty minutes before they opened, so I killed time doing some FOS Mongoose sketches. Then came showtime: Following a standard 15-minute setup, I continued my sketching started from my car while talking shop with fellow indie creator Matt Macfarland, the artist and writer of his own series "Dark Pants," about the journey of a mysterious pair of pants through the city of Los Angeles. This was his first signing too, and we were both curious as to how the day would turn out for both of us. With this being a workday (though school and college kids were out of class for the summer), the customer traffic came in waves throughout the day. While Matt and I were both billed as appearing in the shop from 11-2, the store clerk was very cool with us staying longer if we wanted to. Matt stayed until  4 p.m., and I stayed until 6, as my good friend Andy Cogan was performing stand-up comedy in Northridge at 9 later that night. That was the best decision I could have made that day, as I made eight sales and a profit of $60.00---almost double what I did at the shops "Artist Alley Saturdays" last year. I even made my very first sale for my new trade paperback "Cosmic Force" Volume One" here, where I also included the fifth issue of this series as a complimentary part of a $30 offer. Sales of standard comics from my FOS Mongoose and Damn Tourists series included complimentary prints featuring characters from that series. Customer interaction was also great here, with most people drawn to our tables due to the proximity to the register as they waited to pick up their pre-ordered new comics.

So will I do this again? DAMN RIGHT I WILL!  I just signed up for a creator appearance at a shop called "Emerald Knights Comics and Games" in nearby Burbank on Saturday August 29th, and I am currently reaching out to other comic shops across Southern California for any indie creator signing opportunities (The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach and Meltdown Comics in Hollywood are possibilities right now). These comic shop appearances are probably the most affordable (no table charge like conventions) and more intimate comic events that any up-and coming comic artist or writer can be apart of, and I definitely look forward to doing more of these in the future. Perhaps I'll be appearing at a comic shop near you! Stay tuned!

What's wrong with "The Wiz?"

This film (and its soundtrack) has been a part of my life since my infant days, and when I recently found out how it got, and still gets somewhat, of a negative reception when its mentioned, I just couldn't understand why. What exactly were people expecting out of  a silver screen version of The Wizard of Oz with an all-black cast? Was it being compared to the broadway play starring vocalist Stephanie Mills as Dorothy? Were some actually trying to compare it to the original 1939 Judy Garland classic? I just don't get it.

Taking off my nostalgia glasses for this column topic (I'll just leave them on my desk here), "The Wiz" is nothing more than an entertaining, lighthearted re-imagining of the original "Oz" film. Produced by Motown founder Berry Gordy and released in 1978 starring Diana Ross as Dorothy, Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, Nipsey Russell as the Tin Man, Ted Ross as The Lion, and Richard Pryor as "The Wiz," the "re-imagining" part of this version was that the story was set in (and in some points shot on location) New York City instead of Kansas---there's even a scene depicting the emerald city, filmed at the World Trade Center. Dorothy is now a 24 year-old kindergarten teacher instead of a 12 year old girl, (both live with their uncle and aunt) who lacks the confidence to take a better- paying high school teaching position so she can afford to live on her own. Dorothy is then whisked away to the land of Oz thanks to a "snow tornado" during a blizzard (probably the only part in the movie I have a problem with). As expected, she meets the memorable characters The munchkins (now street kids), Glinda the Good witch, played by Lena Horne, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, and The Wicked Witch of the West, called "Evillene" here, played by Mable King. Once again, the new take on some of the characters and environments I liked as a kid, and still do now. The original character Miss One, who sort of comes off as Glinda's assistant, has some memorable lines like "bottom line, honey, this chick put the UG in UGLY!" when referring to The deceased wicked witch of the East, "Evermean." The costumes and set designs are fantastic, incorporating late '70s black culture in New York at the time. I'm torn between Michael Jackson's scarecrow outfit and Nipsey Russel's tinman outfit as far as the best costume is concerned. Both are very creative, and in the case of the Scarecrow, make the actor almost unrecognizable. 

By far, my two favorite things about this film are the "concrete jungle" scene (an urban version of the original film's "lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my" scene), and of course, the music.  Taking place in a deserted subway station,  Dorothy and her friends are confronted and then chased by such characters as a subway peddler with two giant orange puppets (which still scare the crap out of me to this day), mutant trash cans with sharp teeth (I was never scared of these as a kid because they were shorter than the puppets. I always felt that I could just kick them over), and support pillars hellbent on crushing you. Then there is the one thing that even people who hate this movie, love: The soundtrack. You just can't go wrong with Quincy Jones at the musical helm of this film. From songs such as Michael Jackson's "You Can't Win," to "Poppy Girls," with a bassline obviously inspired by the OJay's "For the Love of Money," to the iconic "Ease on down the Road (speaking of basslines)," most of the songs are bouncy, funky, fun, and even the slower songs such as "Is this What Feeling Gets" and "Home" range from heart-wrenching to triumphant. My personal favorite song in this movie is an instrumental: The Main Title/Overture, a dreamy sequence that opens the movie, complete with beautiful strings, funk guitar, and a fantastic but short harmonica solo by Toots Theilman. Yup, before Stevie Wonder and songs like "Oh Girl" by the Chi-Lites, it was this soundtrack that made me first fall in love with the harmonica. Toots Theilman later would play harmonica on a live version of the Billy Joel hit "Leave a tender moment Alone." And while we're talking about what some cast and crew from "The Wiz" would do afterward, there's no way I could leave out Michael Jackson's "Off The Wall" album being created due to this movie. After all, this is where Michael and Quincy Jones met before producing that R&B/Disco/Funk masterpiece.

So take that, all you people who still hate "The Wiz." If you simply watch the film for what it was, and what it was trying to do (be a black Wizard Of Oz), it's  a very entertaining film. On a sad note, it's a shame that very little of the original cast is still alive (in fact, Diana Ross is the only surviving member of the main cast). Despite this, I can only hope that there is some type of lost documentary footage with full cast interviews that could be used for a special edition DVD release (the current DVD just has a short featurette with the Director Sidney Lumet, Producer Rob Cohen, and Diana Ross). I know that there will people who still don't like this movie even after reading this, but at least if I made you want to take a second look at this film, well, that's all I can hope for. 

Baldwin Park Comic Expo

While I usually do a blog once a week, this time I changed up my usual schedule as I really had nothing interesting to talk about until my first convention appearance in three months. How did it turn out? Great of course, since I'm willing to devote a column to it.

Seriously though, I was very satisfied with this year's Baldwin Park Comic Expo, located in the San Bernardino region of Southern California east of Pasadena. I had exhibited here two years prior, and my customer interaction and sales were nothing much to write home about, but It was another opportunity to get my work out to the public (and an affordable one at that at just $35 for an artist table). This year was different in the best way possible, having sold 7 books and making a profit of $50.00 (I sold 3-4 books the last two years and made only $25). The crowd this year was even better two. This is not a large show with a busy crowd by any means ( the show lasts only one day on a Saturday for about five hours), but the family crowds are very appreciative of everything they see, from the art workshops and art gallery upstairs to the artist vendors on the main floor. Aside from the improved sales I had, the other great experience from this convention were that alot of my friends were able to come out at attend/exhibit. My good friend, stand-up comedian Andy Cogan, showed up to help out with sales while I took bathroom breaks, and I was also able to bring in new talent to the show in the form of three exhibitor buddies Paul Jamison of Superhero Network, and The Dillons Barbra and Bryant of Fanboy Comics. They really enjoyed the show as well and thanked me for recommending it. It was a great feeling to help out fellow artists who have always done the same for me with reviewing my books and sharing hotels at out-of-town conventions.  Some sale highlights of the day included a sale initiated by Andy while I took a went upstairs to use the bathroom and view the gallery, and a 15 minutes before closing final purchase by a woman picking up some comics for her two sons. She had no cash, so I put my square credit card reader to use for the first time at that show. Had I forgotten to bring it, I'd have missed out on a $10.00 sale (well, $9.72 to be exact. Square has to get their cut somehow, but money's money).

My final thoughts for this show: Once again, a much improved crowd and sales performance from the last two years. Great to see so many people I knew exhibiting along with me, and a special thanks to Andy Cogan for coming out to support me. I'll return the favor at his comedy shows next week in North Hollywood and Silverlake. The only improvement this show needs is an updated website or facebook page to inform new attendees. The only reason I heard about it was because I did the show the previous two years, so they just need to do some updates and promotion on their  facebook page for next year. Other than that, Baldwin Park Comic Expo is a great little show that can only get better with time!

My mass transit plan for Honolulu

Given my interest in this topic in some of the recent blogs I've written, I felt it was high time I share my ideas for a public transit network in my former home of Oahu, Hawaii. Between Los Angeles and Honolulu, transit has been a major political and social issue lately, but especially in Hawaii----mostly due to their rocky history with public works projects. While the aloha state's first rail system is still under construction, many people, from civil engineers to politicians, to even plain rail critics have proposed transportation alternatives to stop rail. I would like to propose transportation alternatives to help rail, because as I have said once before, there is no be-all-end-all solution to traffic, rather there are a multitude of options that work together to help move people to their desired destinations and take the load off our congested highways. So, here goes nothing:

Before I start with the other two alternatives to help form a mass transit network, I would like to suggest that one of the currently planned extensions of the Honolulu Rail west to Downtown Kapolei (the other extension is east to both UH Manoa College and Waikiki) be extended another mile or so to Ko Olina, an area of beachfront hotels just outside the rural Waianae Coast. This has been a thriving area for tourists (especially with the Disney Aulani Resort there), it could bring alot of visitors. straight from the Airport to the resort area. All you would need is one carefully placed rail station, which  could serve as a hub for two other modes of transit:

Feeder Bus Rapid Transit/Feeder Express Bus:  Contrary to the beliefs of some, having a rail system does not, and should not mean it is a replacement for Oahu's bus system, "TheBus." Both trains and buses have operating advantages and disadvantages that can be helped by the other. Trains can move passengers quicker (especially above or below ground trains), but cannot reach outlying hilly areas, while buses can reach those areas, but are often slowed by major highway and freeway traffic, traffic signals, etc. This is why using existing express bus routes to feed into the rail can help both modes as well as help tourists and residents reach the Ko Olina area. These resorts employ hundreds of nearby Waianae Coast residents, most of whom lack adequate vehicle transportation. Currently, hotel workers must walk from a busy highway bus stop and onto either the resort exit ramp or through dry brush to reach their jobs. Having their limited stop Country Express route take those workers off the highway and drop them off directly into the resort area would be much more convenient and safer. This same resort stop can be connected to the rail station, and folks who need to continue eastbound can transfer to the rail, which would bring them into downtown, UH, and Waikiki by that point. Now, there is one more transportation mode that can be linked in this area, as well as other points west and east. It is a mode that was tried briefly and people really liked, but was discontinued likely due to operating costs. I think it can work again, with a little more effort put into it:

TheBoat Commuter Ferry:  Back in 2006, the City and County of Honolulu started a Monday-Friday ferry service affectionately called "TheBoat." It was a small fleet of catamaran vessels that ran twice a day between Ko Olina Harbor on West Oahu to Honolulu Harbor on South Oahu, just outside of the Downtown area.  At the time, it seemed like a great second option to driving or taking the bus into town from the west side of the island., and I believe that it was. This service should definitely be brought back, but with two extra stops: Ala Wai Boat Harbor to the east, between Ala Moana Center and Waikiki, and Waianae Boat Harbor to the west, giving coast residents their first real option to Farrington Highway, their only road in and out of that coastal community. Transit connections from these two new stops can be made via local and express buses that would drop off/pick up passengers straight from these harbor lots. They can add in extra parking, security, and shaded benches for passengers. While some details will have to be worked out with these two new harbor stops (Ala Wai especially), it would be a greatly appreciated third transit option for Oahu. In the case of connecting all three modes (bus, train, and boat), this would happen near the Ko Olina Harbor, with having a rail station and bus hub in walking distance of TheBoat docks, and the resorts.

So that's my Honolulu transit plan. I can only hope that in at least the next ten years, some version of this transit network is implemented in the islands, as what's currently available (buses cars), just isn't cutting it anymore.

King for a day.

Yep, this past thursday was my thirty-fifth year on this earth, and unlike most birthdays, I celebrated this one in style!  This is not to say that none of my previous birthdays are fun (my 31st at a friend's concert and my 19th at a water park come to mind), I just usually don't make too big a deal of planning an outing unless I have a really good idea. Luckily for me and everyone else involved, this was one of those "creative years."  Let me just go through a rundown of "my day's" events for June 11th, 2015:

We (my mother, sister, and sister's boyfriend) began the day with a trip to the Long Beach waterfront to take a short cruise on the Aqualink, a water-taxi operated by Long Beach Transit. I discovered this service several months ago when I took my mother down to the LBC for the first time. The vessel is a sleek, air conditioned catamaran that costs only $5 per person each way between the waterfront and Seal Beach. It was a fun 45 minute cruise along the Long Beach coastline---------and they serve drinks! So, after finishing my Bloody Mary shortly after arriving at our final destination, it was off to Seal Beach Pier to explore and take pictures. By this time, we were all getting pretty hungry so we went headed back to the waterfront via Uber (as we missed the boat ride back and were pressed for time) for an early dinner at Yard House.  Why an early dinner? Because this was only part one of my birthday. Part two started later in the evening at my good friend Andy Cogan's stand-up comedy show at Malo Restaurant and Lounge in Silverlake. More drinks, more laughs, and even more fun overall.  Andy even wished me a happy birthday before he started his act. The night ended with a few more drinks at the El Cid bar down the street. It was great introducing my family to a great and talented buddy of mine, and that they all got to celebrate my special day together.

So here's to a great birthday full of boat cruises, drinks, food, laughs, and numerous facebook messages that I all appreciate. Despite all that I'm going through both emotionally and financially, it was nice that for at least 24 hours, I was "King."

Pasadena CicLAVia!

A no-car day in L.A. Quite the concept.  While the CicLAVia event has been around since 2010, I've only recently joined the fun back in March with their car-free street event in the San Fernando Valley, where I currently reside. I took my mom to the event, and we had so much fun we couldn't wait for the next one, which just wrapped up this past Sunday in Downtown Pasadena. For those who haven't heard of CicLAVia, it's a one day event (usually on Sundays), where a high-density main street in a Southern California neighborhood is closed off to vehicle traffic, and only bicyclist, skateboarders, rollerskaters, rollerbladers, and pedestrians are allowed on the road. It's a simple but fun 7 hours (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) where you can truly explore a town and it's shops, restaurants, and parks. Now that the uninformed have been brought up to speed, Let me tell you about our car-free experience last week in Pasadena.

Since our first CicLAVia was in our neighborhood,  we got to "metro rail-it" to the one in Pasadena by way of the Red Line Subway to Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles, and the Gold Line light rail from Union Station to Pasadena. There were already signs of the event when we transferred to the Gold Line at Union Station, with a crowd of bikes all over the station platform. In a fantastic example of planning ahead, Metro added a third car to each of their Gold Line trains to accommodate the added bicycle passengers. They also allowed non-bicycle passengers to board and exit trains first to prevent any boarding gridlock. We exited the train at the beautiful Del Mar Station in Pasadena, which is surrounded by a large TOD (Transit Oriented Development) containing an apartment complex and two cafes. I definitely wouldn't mind living there If I had the money. The bike/pedestrian route, which was 3.5 miles altogether, started at Raymond ave. near Pasadena Central Park, and continued several blocks east and west on Colorado Blvd. After taking numerous photos at the start, we began our trek through Downtown Pasadena, occasionally stopping to observe some of the other participants crazy outfits or bikes----and there were bikes of all kinds and sizes there: Tall bikes, small bikes, unicycles, even low-rider bikes, complete with accompanying music. The unprecedented star of this event was clearly a participant's large pet turtle, who could actually move faster than some of the CicLAVia walkers. While the route included alot of bars and small restaurants (who were more than happy to have the added foot traffic), the food trucks at the end of the route, which fronted Pasadena Community College,  took center stage when it came to eateries here. The two best trucks were The Original Grilled Cheese Truck that I first tried a few years back at a Grilled Cheese Festival in Downtown LA (you must try the Fully Loaded Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Macaroni & Cheese, Pulled Pork, and BBQ Sauce), and Cousins Maine Lobster (The Connecticut Lobster Roll with Garlic Sauce is dangerously addictive). My mother who is a seafood-lover, tried that sandwich once, then had the urge to come back 30 minutes later, so she's already addicted. I even ran into a good friend of mine at the truck, and got to catch up a bit with him. 

Toward the middle of the afternoon, we decided to head back to the south end of the route to catch the train back to North Hollywood. Amazingly, we ended up staying there through almost the entire duration of the event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It was another great CicLAVia with lots of people, pets, bikes, and shops to look at, and we can't wait for the next one in August which will be through Culver City and Venice Beach, starting from the Metro Expo Line's Culver City Station and running down Washington and later Venice Boulevards, before ending right at the Venice Beach bike/skate path. Because of the flatter surface street terrain and endpoint of this route, I will be bringing my rollerblades with me so I can be an even bigger part of the action. It's been too long since I've last skated, and this needs to happen again. So thanks for reading, and tune in next week as I will be talking about a great childhood TV memory of mine------just in time for my birthday next Thursday. I will see you then!

L.A.'s San Fernando Valley does need rail, but they need to wait their turn

Within the last few years, the city of Los Angeles and its residents have finally figured out that mass transit is the way to spread the traffic load around evenly. Recent projects such as The Metro Expo Line that runs from Downtown L.A. to the westside community of Culver City (with an extension to Santa Monica next year), along with future projects like the Purple Line Subway extension through the heart of the westside in Miracle Mile, Century City, Beverly Hills, and Westwood, and the creation of the Crenshaw Line that will finally give Los Angeles a direct rail connection to LAX airport, are fantastic examples of this. However, this action is occurring in Central, West, and South Los Angeles. What region is missing from all this? The San Fernando Valley.

Although I'm a ten year resident in this part of Southern California, I've only recently recognized the few mass transit options available in the San Fernando Valley: The northwestern end point of the Metro Red Line Subway, and the Orange Line (don't be fooled by the name) busway. After doing alot of research on the valley's transit history, which began decades ago with the southern pacific electric railroad, it is a little disappointing to see the meager transportation options this region ended up with.  When the Red Line subway was originally constructed, it was planned to stretch farther into the west valley and end in Warner Center, a downtown section of suburban Woodland Hills. In addition, part of the line was to be placed on Ventura Boulevard, which is the entertainment equivalent strip of Wilshire Boulevard, filled with high-density and front facing retail shops. Unfortunately, a vocal minority ended up speaking for the vast majority of valley residents, and refused any proposal for a rail system of any kind due to conflicts with the technology and the religious beliefs of this minority. The result was The Orange line, a dedicated busway that opened back in October 2005, which runs from the Red Line terminus station in North Hollywood to Chatsworth, a town in the northern valley. Fast forward ten years later, and it has become a very popular transit alternative, with many buses packed with commuters throughout the day. However, the line has become too popular to the point of being over-capacity, and residents are now demanding a conversion of the busway to the light-rail line that the service is pretending to be. There is also talk of an extension into Burbank and Glendale, with a link to the Metro Gold Line in Pasadena.  As a current North Hollywood resident, I'm all for this but as the title of this blog states, The valley needs to wait their turn for other projects. 

These projects are of course, the other rail lines that need to be completed in other areas of Los Angeles first. With a limited amount of funding for these transportation projects, not every area can have what they want-----especially for an area that got a mass transit line (albeit in a half-assed fashion). Also, there is another rail project that is planned for the valley that still trumps an Orange Line rail-conversion in importance: The Sepulveda Pass Rail Project. For years, valley residents longed for an alternative to Interstate 405, one of the most congested freeways in Southern California, as short-term solutions such as on-and-off ramp repairs and adding carpool lanes only keep the traffic issue car-centric. Imagine being able to use a light rail line running from Sylmar through Van Nuys (the current line proposed), but also taking that line above the 405 freeway, elevated over the median to Westwood, all while connecting with such existing lines as the Orange Line, Purple Line, and Expo Lines. Such a north-south addition to the rail network could even provide a more direct route from the valley to Los Angeles International Airport by rail with an additional connection to the Crenshaw Line at the same station that will connect to the Expo Line. So yeah valley, let's take care of this bad boy first.

Now, once those projects are finished, we can definitely start on this Orange Line upgrade. This upgrade should not merely be a complete light rail conversion of the entire route----which contains two different endpoints at Warner Center as well as Chatsworth. We have to look at where the need is by focusing on the most heavily used section of the current busway, which is why I propose that the Orange Line be broken up into two sections: The Chatsworth to Canoga section should remain a busway, while the Warner Center to North Hollywood section be converted to light rail (with the Warner Center station to Canoga Station portion being underground). For a Burbank/Glendale/Pasadena extension, the new light rail Orange Line can run underground the North Hollywood Station (with a 7th street-like connection with the Red Line), then at-grade on Magnolia Blvd to the Downtown Burbank Promenade,  a great pedestrian friendly shopping center that's just crying out for a mass transit connection. Further extensions into Glendale and Pasadena to meet up with the Gold Line are also essential, though I'm not sure on what route or form a converted Orange Line rail would take from that point. Stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, the Orange Line just needs a few improvements to make it a more efficient system: Better signal priority (which all street-level light rail should have but don't), and having two of the 60-foot long buses run together eastbound and westbound. Such a change would really help with overcrowding, and justify the long station platforms, which were designed long enough to hold a pair of the articulated "Metro Liners."  Aside from that, the line runs very smoothly, with buses running no longer than twenty minutes during non-peak hours, and about 4 minutes during rush hours. Don't worry valley folk, there will be a time when you'll see tracks on that busway with sleek new rail vehicles that will take you as far east as Pasadena, and as far west as Warner Center, but just be patient.

My view on the Honolulu Rail Transit Project:

If you've read any of my previous blogs, you know that I spent the first twenty-five years of my life in Honolulu, Hawaii. Despite the fact that I'm closing in on my tenth year in Los Angeles, California, you just can't take the island out of the man. Now, in my twenty five years in the islands (O'ahu to be specific), traffic increased due to rapid population growth on that tiny rock, and several proposals for a rail system were attempted since the late 1960s, but failed any approval processes before the first tracks could be installed. In 2015, the city and county of Honolulu, along with HART (Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transit), has just finished the first mile of the twenty-mile elevated guideway that will stretch from an undeveloped section of West O'ahu to the state's largest shopping center, Ala Moana Center, on the east side of the island just outside of Waikiki. With this project being the largest (and possibly the most expensive) of its kind in the state of Hawaii, to say that this rail system has generated a lot of controversy would be a gross understatement. Local politicians and especially residents have strong views for and against the project, along with myself. I have always been in support of building the rail since I lived there as a child in the 1980s, however I have two major issues in how it was planned and how it is being built, so let's jump right into those concerns:

The Route: While some local residents question the high cost of the system or the visual impact on scenery, I believe that where the rail line is being placed is the larger issue. I do agree that an east to west alignment is really the only way to go in order to properly service the island with another option to travel from the country to the city. What I don't agree with is the line's starting point, in which the aforementioned first constructed mile of elevated track sits on farmland, with the first phase of a major university a half-mile away from one of the planned rail stations. I understand that this farmland will be rezoned into a master-planned compact residential and commercial community which will be linked to the rail stations, but there's no guarantee that these new developments (mixed use areas known as smart growth) will be completed by the time this rail system goes into service. More importantly, the existing town of Kapolei, several miles west of the rail line, is missed entirely. From my experience using Metro Rail in Los Angeles, it's very important to have a rail line begin in an existing town or city, as not everyone will be willing to drive or use a bus to reach that first station. This omission (along with other areas on the lsland such as UH Manoa college and Waikiki) is planned to be remedied through future rail line extensions through those areas, so long as funding becomes available. Hopefully this does happen, and the city of Kapolei will be able to benefit more directly from the rail line going right into their downtown, preferably ending near the existing Kapolei Bus Transit Center, with a single station and park-and-ride serving the area. That suggestion goes into my other issue with the system:

Station Alignment: If you visit the honolulutransit.org website, you'll see both rail line maps that display the station areas, as well as digital and artist's renderings of rail stations. I once again go back to my metro rail experience and note how some stations are too close, while others are in are in areas with very low foot traffic. Just to give you a better understanding of the line, the 21 planned stations (west to east) are: East Kapolei, UH West Oahu, Ho'opili, West Loch, Waipahu Transit Center, Leeward Community College, Pearl Highlands, Pearlridge Center, Aloha Stadium, Pearl Harbor, Honolulu International Airport, Lagoon Drive, Kalihi Transit Center, Kalihi, Honolulu Community College, Iwilei, Chinatown, Downtown, Civic Center, Kaka'ako, and Ala Moana Center. The East Kapolei, UH West Oahu, Pearl Highlands, and Aloha Stadium stations will have park and ride lots. I'll just go down the line with the planned stations I disagree with. While the first five stations are fine, I have some reservations about the next two (Leeward Community College and Pearl Highlands): I don't envy HART one bit in the conception of these stations, as this area on Oahu is extremely complex and dangerous in terms of its layout. The area consists of an interchange for two freeways and one highway, with the college sitting to the south of all this action, connected to the highway by a sidestreet that crosses one of the freeways. It's safe to say that the only convenient way to access this school is by car, as a bus ride requires a half-mile walk partially uphill to cross the freeway. There is a shuttle service to the school, but it is extremely unreliable. That being said, the station servicing the college solves that inconvenience perfectly being placed right at the foot of the campus. It is also one of many essential areas that all rail lines should serve such as hospitals, sports stadiums, and shopping areas. The Pearl Highlands Station on the other hand, serves a low residential population area with two large shopping centers built for cars (one of the shopping centers has a Sam's Club as an anchor tenant). The proposed station meanwhile, will be sitting in a former small village and banana patch near the highway interchange. This isn't an area that would benefit from a mass transit station, as it is not a walkable area at all, and is inconvenient for pedestrian access. For the rail line as a whole, the distance between the college and shopping center is too close to allow the train to move quickly across the south side of Oahu. A better place for the Pearl Highlands station would be near the cross streets of Kamehameha Highway and Waimano Home Road, in the heart of the suburb of Pearl City. The proposed park-and-ride for the Highlands station could be moved there too if need be. Businesses in this area would need to be relocated of course (the auto dealership and strip mall on the south side of Kamehameha Highway specifically), but a station here would serve a larger area of residents.

Lastly, for outlying areas too far from the rail line, large express buses can feed those passengers into the system. Oahu's bus company currently runs an all-day limited stop express bus service in its suburban and rural areas to carry those residents into town. Those routes can be reconfigured to take passengers to the appropriate rail station for an easy transfer. These buses (all 60-footers) can become BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) lines originating from the Waianae Coast, Central Oahu, Windward Oahu, and East Oahu. The Waianae BRT can travel from Makaha to the East Kapolei Station (later the Downtown Kapolei station if/when the rail extension is finished), The Central Oahu BRT would come from the towns of Wahiawa/Millilani/Mililani Mauka and end at the Pearl City Station, the Windward BRT would take residents of Kaneohe and Kailua to the Ala Moana Center station, and the East Oahu BRT would cover Hawaii Kai to Ala Moana. Some of these BRTs could be grade separated to run faster if space allows, while others would have dedicated lanes and some signal pre-emption. I do know that a BRT system was proposed for Hawaii years ago, but it was brought up as a cheaper alternative to a rail line. A system like this should never serve as a mass-transit backbone in a heavily populated city like Honolulu, due to its slower speed compared with trains, rather it should complement and feed into a rail line. This is how the Metro Orange line in Los Angeles is used, as it connects with the Red Line subway to transport people from the San Fernando Valley to Downtown L.A.

So that's my five dollars on the Honolulu Rail Project. I hope that at least some of these issues are addressed by HART to make it a more attractive system for island residents who are tired of having highway and freeway travel by either bus or car as their only option.

The Carter Comics Method:

In recent podcast and radio show interviews, I've been asked just how I create a comic book from idea to print, as well as where my ideas come from. So I'll be using this week's blog to share my comic creating method with you all.

As with most forms of entertainment, any comic book or graphic novel starts as an idea in your head. I don't do brainstorming for ideas because I feel that is too forceful a method to generate any kind of creativity. Rather, it's best for me to do a completely different activity (preferably outside), so I can relax my brain, and when I come back, I always have at least one idea that pops in my head. My book "Damn Tourists" is the best example of this. I came up with the idea for that story simply doing such a routine activity as riding the bus home from college when a rental car cut the bus off, and the rest is history. The way my mind works, an idea can't be forced, it has to come naturally. The finer details of that idea however, can be brainstormed if need be. 

The next step is the scripting process. The more I've written comic scripts for myself, the more I realized that creating a comic plot in word form is similar to organizing clean laundry. Sound weird? Not sure what I mean by this? I'll explain. Before you start folding your clean clothes that just came out of the dryer, you have to dump them out of the basket and onto your bed first, then you can start folding all your different garments. Well, it's the same with a script. I specifically write a script that's as wordy as possible, that describes every scene in great detail, dialogue that explains each character's motivations to a tee, and so forth. Once this is all done, I'll go back and remove certain lines of dialogue and narration to create a better story flow and to ensure that the dialogue will fit in comic panel word bubbles later on. Another important part of scripting is knowing what lines of dialogue and narration will be included on a certain comic page later on. I determine this by adding page numbers at the beginning, middle, and end of the script pages. These page numbers represent the comic boards I will be using once the writing is complete.

Speaking of comic boards, this is the most interesting and difficult step of them all. Translating words into drawings is just as hard as it sounds, but that's where the first two steps come in. Having already formed a well-thought out story with script page numbers, makes this transformation a little easier. Whereas the comic script writing can be compared to organizing laundry, turning a script into a pencil-and-ink panel comic page illustration is like a jigsaw puzzle. I have a finite amount of space for both the artwork and the written dialogue, which will be digital word bubbles in one of the last steps.

This second to last step, the digital process, is when what I've written and illustrated really comes to life. Following a trip to Kinko's in order to reduce my inked 11" X 17" art boards to a more scanner-friendly 8.5"X 11," is my digital coloring----along with giving the newly scanned line art a smooth vector look thanks to Adobe Illustrator live trace. The rest of the process is Photoshop tools galore: Magic wands, gradients, layers, blur tools, clone stamps, and of course, the paintbrush. The only downside to this step is my necessary but constant use of the color picker tool to maintain consistency on each comic page. Then there is the "jigsaw puzzle" part again for creating word bubbles from my script dialogue, small enough not to use too much space in a panel, but large enough to fit the required character dialogue. All in all: challenging, but fun.

The final step is more of an administrative process, which is prepping all files for an online print order. Each page must be the same size to prevent image clipping (10.5 X 7), and saved in three different file types (psd., jpg, and TIFF). Then the TIFF files (which is one of Ka-Blam Digital Printing's accepted file types), are placed in a zip folder to be uploaded in an online print order. The only thing left to do before the order is placed is to ensure that interior covers for the front and back comic covers are included. After a paypal payment and a few weeks of waiting, my newly printed books arrive in the mail, ready for the next convention.

So, that's my comic process in one really long nutshell. It's a long, challenging, interesting, and sometimes tedious endeavor, but the end result is all worth it. No, not merely holding the finished product in my hands, but having a comic convention attendee holding a newly purchased book of my in their hands.

"Avengers" does it again!

While I'm a little late to the game compared to last year when I saw the first film on opening day with my co-workers and boss, I finally checked out "Avengers: Age of Ultron" this past Sunday. What did I think? Well, let me put it this way: I'm already planning to see it again two more times this week. Once again, director Joss Whedon shows his talent of tackling a team superhero film where nearly everyone is given a chance to shine, all while keeping an even balance between action and comedy.

What made me enjoy this movie so much, and what makes this film trilogy so exciting is that it has and is still breaking new ground for comic films: The first film in 2012 made an unprecedented move by bringing together four characters from solo movies (Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk) and placing them in one film, eliminating the issue of character development. This sequel gets to expand its story with more action, but also funny downtime scenes with earth's mightiest heroes just partying or shootin' the breeze. When it comes to establishing a team leader, the "X-Men" films can learn alot from "Avengers," with Chris Evans' Captain America cleary the one equipped to give orders and Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man supplying both starpower and technical experience. Let's hope that the upcoming "X-Men: Apocalypse" can finally have a fleshed-out Scott Summers who is clearly born to lead the team of mutant freedom fighters. Thor and the Hulk, both characters I wasn't particularly interested in while watching their solo films, are actually interesting here like in the first film. The B-team of Hawkeye and Black Widow have alot more screentime in this sequel, with the audience discovering Clint Barton's family, and Natasha's would-be romance with Bruce Banner. The newest recruits, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, both make a great impression (though Scarlet Witch is the main focus between the two). Ultron is made into a pretty interesting villain, and while his origin differs from the comics (He was created by Hank "Ant Man" Pym in the comics), having Tony Stark create him instead is a great workaround. This Ultron struggles with his artificial nature and believes to be human, along with a resentment for his creator Tony Stark. Last, but not least, is the other new character Vision, a powerful android who is the answer to stopping Ultron. Vision also provides a link to the next chapter in this epic comic book trilogy with his power source--the mind gem---as the basis for the infinity gauntlet, held by the villain of all villains in the Marvel Comics Universe, Thanos (who makes a brief appearance here). What's not to love here?

So yes, "Avengers" entertains me yet again with "Age Of Ultron," Each film gets me more excited for the next one with all the groundwork that Marvel Studios lays in not just this film, but all their previous blockbusters as well. Watching this film will not only get you excited for "Avengers: Infinity War," but also "Captain America: Civil War," which will be incorporating one of the most intriguing comic book storylines in the last ten years, "superhero registration by the government."  I'm already set to watch this flick again next week to catch some of the comic references and minor characters I may have missed the first time around. But mostly, I'll be seeing it again, because, well........IT'S AWESOME!!

2016: The year of the Comic Book Film.

Even though comic book films have been around in some shape or form since 1978 with the release of "Superman: The Movie," they haven't been as plentiful until the recently released summer movie schedule for next year. An unprecedented seven films (five based on marvel properties, two on DC properties) will be dominating multiplexes starting next February. That number will only increase between next year and 2020. While a newer generation of moviegoers may consider this overkill, those of us who grew up in the late '80s and late '90s remember what a barren wasteland the summer movie season was when it came to superhero flicks. Very few films outside of the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher Batman franchise were released (and we all know how that series ended), and we were left with such table scraps as "Spawn," "Tank Girl," "Judge Dredd," and "The Phantom." Not to mention superhero parodies like "Mystery Men," "Blankman," and "Meteor Man." So I for one can't wait for the new slate of comic films coming up in the next four years-----but let's just start with the seven being released next year:

Deadpool; February 2016. This flick was a long time coming since "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" back in 2009. Luckily, Ryan Reynolds will be donning the trademark red-and-black outfit here instead of being depicted as some ultimate mutant with his mouth sewn shut.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice; March 2016.  Now, we're talking! Two of the most well-known comic book characters of all time finally appear in the same movie---and if that's not enough, the film will feature Wonder Woman along with smaller appearances from Cyborg and Aquaman that will lead into a long-awaited Justice League film the following year!

Captain America: Civil War; May 2016. For all of the comic fans who were dissatisfied with the last two "Spider-Man" franchises, this one's for you. Because this film will deal with one of the most compelling comic book storylines in the last ten years (my opinion) that heavily involved the wall-crawler, the upcoming Marvel Studios production will be the first to welcome Spidey to the MCU-----with the cooperation of Sony.

X-Men: Apocalypse; May 2016. Here's another one I'm pumped about (along with Batman v Superman). I loved "Days of Future Past," as it combined the best of the first two "X-Men" films with "X-Men: First Class." Now, we finally get to see the biggest threat to the movie X-Universe make his debut: En Sabah Nur, a.k.a., Apocalypse. And let's not forget the younger versions of Cyclops, Storm, Jean Grey, Angel/Archangel, Nightcrawler, Jubilee, and Gambit!

Suicide Squad; August 2016. This one could go either way in terms of quality for me. The big question here is whether or not this film will share a universe with Batman v Superman. While I'm only familiar with this anti-hero team through the animated "Justice League" and live action "Smallville," this flick could surprise me.

Gambit; October 2016. No more appearing in civilian name only on a mutant registration list, or getting owned by Wolverine in a 5 minute cameo. This time, it's all about the Ragin' Cajun!----that is, after his initial appearance in X-Men: Apocalypse first. With Hugh Jackman's Logan being phased out soon, someone has to take his place as "the cool mutant."

Doctor Strange; November 2016. And now we near the end of next year with the true motion picture debut of the Sorcerer Supreme (the less said about the low budget 1970s film they did on him, the better). All I ask is that they use this character to help introduce "magic" to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

So yep, that's what you can expect at this point in terms of comics gone hollywood next year! And look, I know that it's now fashionable to complain about things no matter how little we know about the final product, but think of it this way: We could still be at the mercy of "The 90's comic book film!"