Pow!
Sixth Annual Tucson Comic-Con
Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 2 and 3
Tucson Convention Center
260 S. Church Ave.
$8 day passes; $10 for weekend;free for children 10 and younger
The Tucson Comic-Con is a comic book show. It's rare in these days of rapid con growth. San Diego Comic-Con International has been consumed by everything that isn't comics and is considered pop culture. The organizer of the Tucson convention, Mike Olivares, started this convention six years ago because he felt that Tucson deserved a show, and it's gained in popularity since.
"Obviously bigger and better is always the theme the year after each show, but not just the convention itself. Our attendance increases every year as well as our local and national creators," Olivares said. "We are trying to create a unique comic convention to experience each year for the local Arizona and national comic community."
There are few shows that cater specifically to the comic book creators and fans. The president of Top Cow Productions, Matt Hawkins, is the biggest name outside of Southern Arizona set to appear at Comic-Con. Although Top Cow will be at Stan Lee's Comikaze convention in Los Angeles, Hawkins decided to appear at the Tucson show. Hawkins, currently writing Think Tank and Aphrodite IX, has launched a worldwide talent hunt, with any unpublished comics creator eligible to try out.
Best of Tucson® comic shop winner Heroes and Villains is bringing in up-and-coming author Eric M. Esquivel from Los Angeles. Esquivel, who you might remember from his short-run Tucson Weekly strip Smell You Later from earlier this year, started his career nearly a decade ago in Tucson and has been working with comic book companies like Big Dog Ink, Moonstone Comics and Boom Studios.
On Oct. 23, Esquivel's first Boom Studio Adventure Time story, Bravest Warriors #13, was released. You can catch up with the "Harvey Pekar of Tucson" at the Heroes and Villains booth on both days of Comic-Con.
H.B.
You Spin Me Right Round, Baby
Ninth Annual Tucson Record Show
9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 3
Fraternal Order of Police Hall
3445 N. Dodge Blvd.
622-0104cassidycollectibles@earthlink.net
For a long time now, I have been deeply annoyed by the growing fad amongst counterculture-obsessed trendsters my age to purposelessly adopt retrograde technology/fashion/lifestyles simply to be cool. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about. Think of the guy who, in the year 2013, typed everything in English class with a 1900's-era typewriter because computers were too mainstream.
Hipsters, we call them. Generally, they're incredibly annoying, trivial, and condescending. Now, however, I must begrudgingly admit — the hipster bandwagon has finally gotten something right (even if the rest of us have already discovered this). It has brought vinyl back to the new generation.
"There is definitely a transition back to vinyl with a small, growing population of young people," said Bruce Smith. "The satisfaction of actually owning something that you can hold in your hand and look at is kind of art in itself, versus something that you download. For some people it's really appealing."
Smith is co-founder of the Tucson Record Show, which is essentially Tucson's premier record swap — a gathering of dealers from all over Tucson and the Southwest to display, sell, and collect old vinyl, tapes, CDs, and music memorabilia. This Sunday will mark the ninth incarnation of the annual show.
In recent years, the show has begun to pick up speed once again. Smith said that despite recent economic hardships, last year's show was the best he's ever seen in Tucson. "The analog sound has proven to be of a quality that can't be reproduced electronically," said Smith.
If you are a music lover, don't miss out on this. Admission to the show is $4. Dealers can request a table at the event ahead of time for $40 ($50 on the day of the event). For more information, contact Bruce Smith at cassidycollectibles@earthlink.net.
I.G.
Child's Play
Bon Appétit
11 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 2
Loft Cinema
3233 E. Speedway Blvd.
621-4587
We've often marveled at the astonishing range of film and other programming that the Loft Cinema hosts each week—and the upcoming Loft Film Festival just confirms that the midtown theater remains the best place in town to explore movies that are outside the mainstream.
We'll have a lot more on the film fest (which begins Nov. 7) in next week's issue, but this Saturday, Nov. 2, the Loft is doing something completely different at its weekly Farmers' Market. (Yes, in addition to all the great cinema, the Loft is also home to a weekly farmers' market.)
Mezzo-soprano Kathryn Cowdrick, a professor at the Eastman School of Music, is visiting Tucson to perform Bon appétit!, a mini-opera based on one of Julia Child's recipe for chocolate cake.
"It's a really clever idea," says Chef Doug Levy, the culinary genius behind Feast, the innovative eatery just down the street from the Loft. "The entire libretto is basically verbatim an episode of The French Chef with Julia Child."
Levy will be on hand to talk about Child's impact on food culture with Paula Fan, a professor in the UA School of Music who will also be performing on the piano while Cowdrick sings.
"We'll be talking about what Julia Child has meant for cooking in the United States," Levy says.
J.N.
Glow-in-the-Dark
Hot Air Balloon Glow Festival
4 to 9 p.m.,Saturday, Nov. 2
Tubac Golf Resort and Spa
1 Otero Dr., Tubac
398-3521; www.tubacgolfresort.com
When I say 'huge bodies of hot air and light in the night sky,' you think 'stars' right? Well start thinking 'balloons.'
Come Saturday, the Tubac Golf Resort & Spa will be hosting their third annual Hot Air Balloon Glow Festival. True to its name, the festival centers around the launching of 10 massive glowing hot air balloons that, due to special flames used to heat the balloons, will illuminate the night sky. Be prepared to be awed by the subtle magic of these massive floating light bulbs. Disneyland, eat your heart out.
But should you attend, you won't just be watching the balloons from afar.
"Often times during the evening you get to watch as the baskets are laid on their side and they slowly start firing up the balloons," said Patti Todd, director of public relations for the resort. "It's a very loud, cool noise and the balloonist will talk to you about what it takes to actually fill (the) balloon ... and you get to watch this amazing balloon, basically from nothing, come to life."
The festival will also be covering its bases with all the festivities you could expect of an event-- live entertainment, food booths, a kid's zone, face painters, tethered balloon rides and more. Fair to say this festival has something for just about everyone.
Tickets for the Hot Air Balloon Glow Festival are $10 for adults, $4 for kids 12 and younger, and parking for the event is free. VIP tickets are available and include the entrance fee, a buffet dinner, a private cash bar, two drink tickets, VIP parking and live entertainment. For more information about the festival, check out www.tubacgolfresort.com.
I.G.
