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The first time we spotted this amazing kid artist Ethan Castillo was at last year’s Big Wow! ComicFest, now he’s back for the second year in a row. Our Ramen host Eddie Ballar picks up the interview and learns what’s Ethan been up to this past year.
We get the 411 for Young Avengers artist Jim Cheung at Big Wow! ComicFest 2014. Jim talks about his upcoming Marvel projects and of course his Young Avengers work.
We interview comic book artist Nick Bradshaw this past weekend at Big Wow! ComicFest. Nick talks about working on the Guardians of the Galaxy, the new team line-up and of course the upcoming live-action Guardians flick.
This past weekend at the San Jose Convention Center, Big Wow! ComicFest took place for comic book fans and cosplayers. The Ramen & a Half team of Eddie and Ramon recall their highlights of this 2-day comic book festival.
I’m still recovering from this past weekend’s Big Wow! ComicFest convention at the San Jose Convention Center. The Ramen and a Half guys went hunting for autographs, but also grab interviews with artists, cosplayers and fans.
Iconic hip/hop rapper and leader of the G-funk movement Snoop Dogg is now “Dunnified” with this Kidrobot 7″ vinyl figure. Our Ramen host “The Eddie” takes an in-depth look at this Snoop Dogg figure.
“The Eddie” from Ramen and a Half interviews Rookies is Punk’d at Fanimecon. ROOKiEZ is PUNK’D is a Japanese punk rock band from Shibuya, Japan, that was formed in 2005.
They’re very well known in their home country and have spread a niche of fans in cities of Asia countries and in the US. They’re hoping to go places and share what they have to offer to the music world.
This was an interview done last year. We apologize for the rough interview package because we had audio issues, but we decided to pull it out of the vault and put it together as best we can for the fans.
The majority of their Official Website ROOKiEZ is PUNK’D is in Japanese, but you can google them and find plenty of information.
They will also be at AnimeNEXT in June 6-8th, 2014. You can still Pre-Register.
The Ramen interviews Frank Kozik at Kidrobot SF release and signing event for his Lore of Labbits and Blister packs.
For more info, go to: Kidrobot – Frank Kozik – Smorkin’ Labbit.
The 3″ Dunny Penelope McStompsalot pilots her 8″ mecha-inspired Blowback Industries DUNN-7™.
When our team was at New York Comic-Con 2013, we passed by a neat little booth selling cool graphic tees, but we also discovered it’s more than selling nerdy t-shirts. Shirts For A Cure was started by punk-rock photographer Mark Beemer in 2002. The various shirts and accessories sold by The Shirts For A Cure Project go to fight against breast cancer. It helps underprivileged women with financial assistant in the fight against breast cancer.
Capcom’s iconic 2D fighting video game Street Fighter II cost me a lot of quarters in middle school and now there are pro-Street Fighter button-mashing gamers. This year’s Capcom Cup took place at the Hyatt SFO in the SF Bay Area on December 14th, 2013. The Ramen crew interviews Street Fighter gamers and check out the announcements for Ultra Street Fighter IV.
Ramen and a Half’s Jonelle Marie interviews pioneering cosplayer model – Yaya Han, at New York Comic-Con.
Cosplay Model – Yaya Han
Back then when the term “Cosplay” was unheard of – Yaya Han and very few alike, simply loved the art of creating costumes of super heroes, villains, and not to mention fantasy and science fiction characters in between. The art of what became Cosplay for them was simply how convincing, how imaginative, and how ornately detailed their costume design can be from make-up to inseam.
Yaya Han : www.yayahan.com facebook/yayahan yayahan.bigcartel
The Ramen crew stopped Kidrobot SF for their Holiday Toy and Food Drive and artist J*RYU and cosplayer Vampy Bit Me joined the fun to help the drive.
Wake up! Rise and shine on a Saturday morning! It’s game time as the top video game players battle it out. The Capcom Cup is all about Street Fighter madness. Yesterday night at Kidrobot SF we celebrated and participated in a fun Holiday Toy & Food Drive with artist JRYU and cosplayer Vampy Bit Me, but we also caught with CEO/Gamer/DJ Gootecks. Our Ramen host The Eddie chit-chatted away with Gootecks about Capcom Cup and Ultra Street Fighter IV
image via Kidrobot SF Facebook
There always cool things happening in San Francisco’s Haight/Ashbury District and one neat event is the Kidrobot SF V.I.P. Party. Of course the Ramen crew was there to enjoy the festivities and our host Eddie also grabbed a sit-down interview with local Dunny artist Big C and as they talked about his charity Dunny fundraiser for Bad Rap and 2013 Designer-Con.
While we enjoyed NYCC by day we ended up dining at NINJA NEW YORK by night.
Our host of Ramen’s other Half, Jonelle Marie, shares her first impression of fine dining in Tribeca’s one-of-a-kind Ninja New York Restaurant!
While there, we were looking for that secret door – you know, the one you would open and discover the artistry of Ninja acrobatic sword fighting and trickery like a James Bond flick, but it was impossible. The place was a maze and when we asked to take us to your leader, they sent us numerous of Ninja PR henchmen to divert us from straight answers about what laid behind the echoing walls of their zigzagging cave-like paths that only Batman would appreciate. Though mystified by their stories, we had one of the most entertaining dining night outs I’ve had in a long time.
I would have to say Ninja New York is one of the most entertaining and delightful places to dine if you’re looking for fun and hearty authentic Japanese cuisine food. And you’re almost guaranteed not to have a dull moment from your first step in and out of this place!
If you like collecting weird vinyl toys and underground urban fashion – there’s a convention for it! It’s DesignerCon! The two-day collectible show DCon took place this past weekend at the Pasadena Convention Center in sunny Southern California. The Ramen crew went down to check out all the cool stuff with guest host Shannon Murray. We also interview 3 cool artists: Kathie Olivas, Amanda Louise Spayd and Shing Yin Khor. Here’s the recap and highlights from DCon:
For more, go to: DesignerCon.
Ramen and a Half interviews Andrew Sumner to find out what Titan Entertainment Group is all about at New York Comic Con. 
First and foremost our team at Retrenders reviews many of Titan Books and we’ve grown to love what they do, because we simply love the content they publish and re-publish. Titan Entertainment is known to reinvent and revive content that had once had their moment in time from cult classics novels, comics, and they publish niche content about historical arts, artists, musicians, early filmmakers and much more. It’s as if Titan reflects on fascinating content and say – “This is entertaining – let’s revive it!”
Titan Entertainment Group is also an official licensee of Doctor Who products and works with popular media entertainment and culture. You can find out about their latest releases and featured products at Titan Merchandise.
Our Ramen team showed up for the Kidrobot Dunny Evolved release event at Kidrobot SF retail store. The vinyl collectible toy series features 5 artists: Huck Gee, Frank Kozik, Kronk, McBess and Scott Tolleson, and each artist created 3 different figures for the set.
I’m still jet lag after 3 days, our Ramen and a Half team had a great time in New York City and checking out New York Comic Con 2013 which took place this past weekend – October 10-13, 2013. Stay tuned to our Retrenders.com and our YouTube Channel for videos from NYCC 2013!
The Central Valley is well known for putting on the best of Lowrider Car shows and this one took place in Lindsay, California. Here you can meet the pioneer and founder of Lowrider Magazine himself, Sonny Madrid, and actor Danny De La Paz, who starred in films American Me and Boulevard Nights. His most recent film is “Kill Kapone“. I was only able to catch Danny as he was having a conversation with Lindsay’s Lowrider Car Show Promoter, Ruben Gonzalez.
The Lowrider Car Show proudly brought together a floor full of classic to modern Lowrider vehicles showcased at McDermont Field House & Sports Center in Lindsay, California. We talked to Sal Sierra about his 1936 Pick-up Truck along with a few other Lowrider and aficionados themselves: Roy Tolentino, Alfred & Mary Torrez, and Yoli Preciado. Even the Mayor of Lindsay, Ramona Padilla, had a few words to say about the car show.
Some of the car clubs that could be found at the show were: Lindsay’s Finest, Nuestro Pride, Nuestro Estilo, Rollerz Only, and Brown Effects.
FILMED: Short Doc / Magazine Style (Shot on the Fly)
Produced & Edited by Johnny Moreno.
I apologize for those that I was unable to film and interview. Telling everything about Lowriders definitely needs an in depth – present to historical visit about Lowrider culture and the people that are involved and making a difference. This video is simply a taste about the Lowrider world.
The Ramen crew visited Kidrobot SF for the release of the DamGun ‘Bots. If you’re a Gundam fan or just an anime mech-head, then you might like these ‘Bots. Kidrobot pays homage to these plastic snap-on model kits with their own DamGun ‘Bots.
Yes, it was a long weekend for the Ramen crew, but here is an “End-All” rundown on what “The Eddie” and Ramon have accomplished at Big Wow Comicfest. And not to mention, being a bit silly and fatigued from a long adventurous weekend.
Hosts: Eddie Ballar and Ramon Angel
Producer: Johnny Moreno
Executive Producer: Stephen Jang
The “Eddie” and Ramon have made it to the end of the line – sort of like coming to the end of the yellow brick road in the Wizard of Oz, but here at Big Wow! Comicfest, we’ve come to the end to meet Stan Lee!
We also get to talk to a couple more cosplayers, three girls promoting Castle Corsetry and a local comic artist, and we interview Ivy Doomkitty to find out about her role at Big Wow! Comicfest.
“The Eddie” was able to get a brief interview with Japan’s famous adult manga (comic) artist or Hentai (perverted) comic artists, Toshida Maeda. Click on his name to view his website.
He’s very well known and we feel pretty lucky have interviewed him. His comics may be for adult eyes only, but he definitely has solid good advice for anyone – including young artists wanting to get into comics and make it as a career.
Johnny Moreno
Edward Ballar
GuestContributor
kellyannbrooke
Ramon Angel
Al Woo
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