Top Comic Book Artists Headline 25th Wondercon 2011 SF

Wondercon 2011 SF (San Francisco) is fast approaching and will be held April 1st - April 3rd 2011 at Moscone Convention Center South. The Bay Area-born event, created by Bay Area retailers John Barrett, Bob Borden, and Rory Root, along with comics writer and agent Mike Friedrich, was bought by Comic Con International in 2002, and has grown to draw 36,000 people.

Wondercon 2011 is sponsored by BBC America, DC Comics, G4, Showtime, and War North, the 25th Anniversary Wondercon 2011 is bringing some of the World's top comic book artists to San Francisco.

Just check out this list: Jason Aaron, Sergio Aragonés, Berkeley Breathed, Tony Daniel, Mark Evanier, Adam Hughes, Brian Keene, Robert Kirkman, Hope Larson, Bob Layton, Paul Levitz, Jeremy Love, Francis Manapul, Carla Speed McNeil, Terry Moore, Ryan Ottley, Joe Quesada, Frank Quitely, Amy Reeder, Seth, Bill Sienkiewicz, Len Wein, F. Paul Wilson, Marv Wolfman.

Wondercon posted bios of the artists on the event website, like this one for Jason Aaron:

Jason Aaron is an Eisner and Harvey nominated comic book writer whose work includes the critically acclaimed crime series Scalped for Vertigo and celebrated stints on Black Panther, Ghost Rider, and Wolverine: Weapon X for Marvel. He currently writes Wolverine, Astonishing Spider-Man & Wolverine, and Punisher Max, all for Marvel. Jason lives in Kansas with his wife and two sons.

And this one for Sergio Aragonés:

One of MAD magazine's longest-running cartoonists (Al Jaffee holds the record) and the creator of that popular dim-witted barbarian Groo, Sergio Aragonés recently ventured into the popular world of The Simpsons, becoming a featured writer/artist in Bart Simpson Comics. A new book, MAD's Greatest Artists: Sergio Aragonés: Five Decades of His Finest Works, celebrates Sergio's long history with the humor magazine.

Zennie62 Will Be At Wondercon and Comic Con 2011

Follow Zennie62 on Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube channel Zennie62, to get videos and tweets on what's happening at both Wondercon and Comic Con 2011.

A Badge Warning

Additionally, Wondercon producers want you to know that events are on a first-come, first-seated basis. Having a badge doesn't mean you're going to be seated if a room is already filled to capacity, so get there early.

Satoshi Tajiri (Pokemon), Yuko Yamaguchi (Hello Kitty), Alive After Japan Earthquake 2011

First reported at Zennie62.com.

There's a rumor on Twitter so persistent that it's caused "Satoshi Tajiri," the creator of the game Pokemon (pictured), to become a Twitter Trend over the assertion that he, as well as "Hello Kitty" character creator Yuko Yamaguchi died.

Both Satoshi Tajiri and Yuko Yamaguchi are still alive.

In the case of Mr. Tajiri, the Pokemon creator was, in part, the focus of a Nintendo Twitter Tweet reading:

NintendoAmerica Nintendo of America
Thanks for your concern! During the earthquake no one at Nintendo in Japan was injured and there was no apparent structural damage.
17 hours ago

Additionally, the blog Mauritiushot.com reports:

Satoshi Tajiri,45 years old live in Machida, Tokyo. Satoshi Tajiri fainted while seeing the destruction done by the Tsunami but he is not dead.

In the case of Ms. Yamaguchi, there's no evidence or reports of her death in the Japan Earthquake or the Tsunami.

For reasons that add up to insensitive mischief, Twitter has been a cosistent source for rumors of the death of celebrities, and in the wake of the fifth largest earthquake in history, someone elected to play on fears and launch tweets that have turned out to be a hoax.

Japan Earthquake 2011: Nuclear Plant Explosion, No Radiation Rise #prayforjapan

Contrary to reports at The Huffington Post, the explosion at the massive Tokyo Power Electric Co. Fukushima Dai-ichi plant did not cause a rise in radiation levels.

AlJazeeraEnglish on YouTube just issued a new video, the one above, reporting that the metal container that shelters the reactor has not been effected. Radiation is not rising, but decreasing. This information was released by the Japanese Government.

The blast was originally feared to have caused a radiation level increase. Four workers were killed.

Al Jazzera reports that a state of emergency has been declared for five nuclear reactors at two different sites in Fukushima.

As of this writing, the Japan Earthquake 2011 death toll is at 600, although it's believed that number will be revised upward as time progresses.

Philippines Tsunami Evacuation

After the big earthquake hit Japan triggering a tsunami the Philippines is now ordering tsunami evacuation as the tsunami's 3-foot-waves are expected to hit the northern coast, according to Yahoo News.

Yahoo writes:

Philippine Volcanology and Seismology Institute director Renato Solidum says the first 3-foot (1-meter) high waves are expected to hit the northernmost Batanes islands by 5 p.m. (09:00 GMT) Friday.

Disaster management officials in Albay province southeast of Manila say they have ordered residents to move to designated evacuation sites that are at least 15 feet (5 meters) above sea level.

Japan's Earthquake and Destruction

CNN reports that the earthquake in Japan is the largest it has had in over 100 years - it has killed hundreds of people and collapsed many buildings. The earthquake has also brought on a tsunami which adds to the devastation.

CNN writes:


Friday's quake is the strongest earthquake in recorded history to hit Japan, according to U.S. Geologic Survey records. The previous record was an 8.6-magnitude earthquake that struck near the Chubu Region near southwestern Honshu on October 28, 1707, that may have killed 5,000 people, CNN meteorologist Sean Morris said.

The quake, which struck at 2:46 p.m. (12:46 a.m. ET), prompted the U.S. National Weather Service to issue tsunami warnings for at least 50 countries and territories, although initial reports as the waves hit outside of Japan indicated no damage.

The epicenter of the main quake Friday was off Miyagi Prefecture, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) from Tokyo, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Photo taken from Bharat Chronicle

Japanese broadcasters reported collapsed buildings, power outages and transportation disruptions throughout Japan. In Tokyo, 230 miles from the hardest-hit areas, rail service was suspended, elevated highways were shut down early Saturday and surface streets remained jammed as commuters continued trying to get to their homes in outlying areas


There is a lot of commotion around the Fukushima nuclear power plant, because the emergency cooling system has not been working and there is fear for a meltdown as reported by the LA Times.

The shut down of over 18 percent of all plants has caused much of the electricity in Japan to be shut down.

President Barack Obama has offered condolences and assistance to Japan.

CNN writes:

"I offer our Japanese friends whatever assistance is needed," he said during a news conference. "Today's events remind us how fragile life can be."

Obama said Friday that the main U.S. assistance to Japan for now would probably be "lift capacity" in the form of heavy equipment to help clean up damaged infrastructure.

The U.S. government is taking inventory of how many military personnel are in Japan to provide help, he said, adding that American citizens in Japan will also receive assistance.

Obama called the earthquake and tsunami "a potentially catastrophic disaster," saying the images of destruction were "simply heartbreaking."

The following is video footage from Japan:

Oakland Army Base Redevelopment Update - Phil Tagami Video Part 1

On Tuesday, this blogger visited California Commercial Investments Managing Partner Phil Tagami, who has been a friend of mine since 1990.

Tagami is the developer of the Fox Theater (where such groups as Coldplay and Green Day have performed) and The Rotunda (both in Downtown Oakland), sat down to talk with me about the progress his team, including AMB Realty, is making on the redevelopment of The Oakland Army Base in West Oakland into in a new town and facility called Oakland Global. The 300-acre project's in what is technically called an "Exclusive Negotiating Period," as of this writing.

It's a weird deal in that Phil's team could do a lot of work, from environmental studies to infrastructure planning, and still lose the right to continue the "ENA." There's no sign of that happening, however, and if it does, the City doesn't have a viable "second act" to effectively complete the work.

Print that.

Here's the Oakland Army Base Redevelopment Update video, which is 33 minutes long in total. This is blog post is "part one," because our talk is filled with jargon that has to be explained for the lay viewer, and will be in a follow up post. This blog post presents our talk. Here's the video:



Stay tuned.

Huge Japan Earthquake Triggers Tsunami

The 8.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Japan this morning was the 2nd this week, and triggered a Tsunami that has already passed the coast of Kauai, as coastal evacuations proceed in Oregon, Washington, and California. President Barack Obama has already offered help to the people of Japan, and has a news conference scheduled for later this morning.

"Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the people of Japan, particularly those who have lost loved ones in the earthquake and tsunamis..."

U.S. President Barack Obama

Twitter is sluggish as the information flows; the two best hashtags are #japan and #tsunami as of now. Further information, including how to help, is available via CrisisWiki.org

Obama offers help to #Japan after quake, FEMA and Coast Guard ready in states as CA and OR opt for #tsunami evacs http://bit.ly/hFG2Wa

@kabiu Tweet

Record 8.9 earthquake, 2nd quake in 3 days, hits japan, triggering tsunami. http://reut.rs/ehpuKV Hawaii evacs in progress

@kabiu Tweet

Political Correspondent Thomas Hayes is a former Congressional Campaign Manager; he's a journalist, communications consultant, photo/videographer, entrepreneur, and union supporter who contributes regularly on topics ranging from economics and politics to culture and community.

You can follow Tom as @kabiu on twitter. Tweet