APE runs amuck in the city

The Alternative Press Expo (APE), the little indie sibling of Wondercon and Comic Con, makes it's way back to San Francisco's Concourse this Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 1-2.

APE is one of the largest gatherings of alternative and indie comics in the country, with exhibitors ranging from self-published writers/artists of smaller comics to larger, upscale publishers like SLG Publishing, Top Shelf, Drawn and Quarterly, and more.

The selection of comics, graphic novels, art work, 'zines, and other knick-knacks is endless. Watch your wallets, attendees.

Membership is available on-site only. One day membership is $10 (good for either day) and two day membership is $15. For those who present their Comic Con badges from this year get in for free -- see, that $70 (or $300+ you shelled out on eBay) you spent paid off. Huzzah! Comic retailers with legit business cards also get free membership.

For more information on special guests, exhibitors, etc., check out the site.

Panelists IV show @ Giant Robot in SF

Starting Nov. 1, GRSF presents its latest group showing in the fourth installment of the Panelists show. This time 'round comic artists from across the country (of the indie and art gallery caliber) will show off original illustrations, paintings, and mixed media work. There'll also be some special surprises from a few contributers -- amongst them are Eisner and Ignatz Award nominees and winners.

The following artists will have their artwork shown:

Trevor Alixopulos
Jeffrey Brown
Lilli Carre
Christine Castro
Shawn Cheng
Allison Cole
Eleanor Davis
Vanessa Davis
Theo Ellsworth
Renee French
Matt Furie
Tim Hensley
David Horvath
Rama Hughes
Hellen Jo
David King
Mats!?
James McShane
Dan Moynihan
Tom Neely
Anders Nilsen
John Pham
Lark Pien
John Porcellino
Jesse Reklaw
Aaron Renier
Emilio Santoyo
Kazimir Strzepek
Daria Tessler
Jeremy Tinder
Steven Weissman

An opening reception will be held on the aforementioned date from 6:30-10 p.m. with appearances from several of the show's featured artists.

Panelists IV runs till Nov. 12. 

Things are looking ugly at Double Punch

Quirky Kaiju, bossy bears, cake eating spiders, and dolls so ugly they're charming have taken over Double Punch's gallery space in "Things." The show is a collection of, er, things that Uglydoll creators Sun Min Kim and David Horvath have created over the past 7 years since launching Uglydolls. Other works in "Things" include Bossy Bear, LittleBony, Choco & Minty, etc. 

Many of the items on display are extremely rare and long sold out. Have you seen the LittleBony DVD or CD at your local Best Buy? Nope? Uh-huh. I thought not.

The show ends Nov. 2. Admission is $2 for adults and $1 for kids (under 14), plus you get a little gift too (refund if you purchase something). 

And sold exclusively at DP (and their webstore) for "Things" is the Lonely Otaku print for $50. This print is a limited run of 50.

Uglydoll's actually got a really sweet love story. Read about it here.

David and Sun Min Qee figures.

Coca Cola bottle caps sold in Japan, circa 2005.

Uglydoll vinyl toys, circa 2004. These were manufactured by the now defunct toy company Critterbox.

The aforementioned LittleBony DVD and CD. Little Bony is actually a kids show that aired in Japan.

Sun Min's Spider-Boom pink Qee, Circus Punk, and Baby-Boom prototypes.

Various Choco vinyl figures.

The merchandise table included a ton of Uglydoll plushes in mini and big forms, keychains, blind-boxed LittleBonys, Ugly Guide series, and Uglydoll notebooks.

I picked up a mini Moxy. She's magenta. I had to. And she matched my outfit that day too. 

Anywho, to see more things be sure to go --> here. 

Till next time, keep it dorky, folks.

[All photos courtesy of NiNa]

Bust out the Lederhosen and get your drank on!

Join Gama-Go and Ningyoushi on Monday, Oct. 13 in an Octoberfest-like celebration in honor of the release of the wooden Deathbot Lederhosen at CityBeer in San Francisco.

Enjoy some delicious German beer all on Gama-Go's tab from 6-8 p.m. That's right, folks. FREE beer! And with that mentioned, apologies go out to those under the age of 21 -- this is a big kids par-tay. 

There'll also be a limited supply of the Deathbot Lederhosen for $40 on hand. If you can't make it to the beer fest to pick up the murderous Barvarian bot, no worries. He shall be up for grabs for everyone the following day on the Gama-Go site.

Cheers!

Ring in the Holiday with Gama Go

It's November now and holiday cheer is spread all over the place. Yes, I know Turkey Day hasn't stumbled upon us yet, but Christmas is just around the corner (and all over malls!). Why not start shopping now? Gama-Go will be holding their Fourth Annual Holiday Sale on Saturday, Nov. 10 from 12-5 p.m at Rickshaw Stop in San Francisco. This sale only happens once a year, folks!



There's bound to be something there for everyone: men's & women's jackets and tees, accessories, jewelry, one-of-a-kind samples, wallets, bags, and even clothes for babies with prices going up to 75% off! The flyer pretty much says it all. If you want to get the goods, go early before someone else swipes it before you can.

The Rickshaw Stop is located at 155 Fell Street. For more information check out the sales' official page.

Halloween Blythe Meet

Last Sunday (the 28th) my friend, Ashley, and I went to Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco to attend the Halloween Blythe Meet. I actually found out about it on Flickr -- I swear, I'm obsessed with that site! Anyway, it was pretty overwhelming to see all these Blythe dolls grouped together. I dressed Tigerlily up as Minnie Mouse (I even made her mouse ears out of pipe cleaner), Ashley's Abigail was supposed to look like a masquerade girl, but Ashley forgot to put the mask she made in her purse. Whoops! And my friend Jean asked me to bring her doll Sylvie . . she was "Lady of the Night". HeHe . . .



I'm not sure how many people came, but there were sOoOoOoO many dolls!!! I think we counted over 80. I even got to see some Kenners (they're the original Blythes made in the 70s) up close. I met a lot of nice people, including Cat who organized the whole meet, and talking to everyone there made me feel not so weird about my new found love for Blythe dolls.

Some people brought little goody-bags for everyone and Ion, a.k.a. Blythe Boy, had special ones for the first 24 people who showed up -- they had a Littlest Pet Shop toy inside along with some candy. I got an owl and I've already gone crazy taking pictures of it in trees at school!

There was also a contest for which dolls had the best costumes:



The winners, L-R: Joey (winner), Ion (2nd place), and Poohie (3rd place).



Here's me showing some of the dolls:



The guy in the video is Henry. He was super nice and he also owns the "Bon Jovi" doll!

Here's some pictures that I took at the meet:















[All photos and videos are courtesy of NiNa]

More of my pictures can be seen on where else? My Flickr page! And to see others, go here.

Sunny Sweet Temper

After going to my first official Blythe Meet (stay tuned for that!) in San Francisco, I was able to head back to Double Punch (remember I wrote a blog about it in July?) and not only pick up some sweet swag (mostly Disney stuff), but I got to check out "Sunny Sweet Temper" in the art gallery portion of the store. "Sunny Sweet Temper" is fully charged by estrogen as it displays the art of Tink, Kelly Tunstall, Leah Brawley, Nathalie Roland, and one of my personal faves Fawn Gehweiler. It runs until Nov. 16, so if you ever find yourself in the area go check it out!

Here's a glimpse at what I saw . . .





















[All photos courtesy of NiNa]

For more information on "Sunny Sweet Temper", check out Double Punch's website. And to see more pictures from the show, go to my Flickr page.

PS: If you stop by Double Punch you just might be able to snag one of our lovely postcards :D

Litquake

Bookworms prepare to wave your bookmarkers like a lighter. Litquake, San Francisco's annual literary festival, returns to the city to celebrate its eighth year starting from October 6-13!

For eight days, the Bay Area's most seasoned and up-coming writers will be scattered about in 58 different venues ranging from plush theaters, fancy bars, dive bars, galleries, laundromats, and bookstores to share their works ranging in style and genres -- everything from fiction, poetry, journalism, and essays.

Rock out to the Dewey Decimal System with the 350 writers scheduled to appear in over 50 different events including Amy Tan, Andrew Sean Greer, Judd Winick (yes, that dude from The Real World!), etc.

Some events are free like the Off the Richter Scale readings, but you can forget about going to anything on Monday the 13th because all events that day are SOLD OUT!

For more information including a schedule and writers to appear check 'em out here.