Cover Story
Alamo City Comic Con Grows Into National Contender In Just Three Years
It didn’t take long to recruit former SA city councilman and current State Rep. Diego Bernal as a major backer of Alamo City Con Comic three years ago when he heard event founder and director Apple de la Fuente’s plans to produce a top-tier production. Although he admits he had some trouble convincing some of…
10 Things You Have To Do This Weekend
Fri 9/18 Buttercup & Alyson Alonzo Around these parts, art-rock lifers Buttercup hardly need an introduction. They make songs about our city and songs about everything else, too. They make silly songs and important songs and old-school rock ‘n’ roll songs and indie-rock songs and so much more. All that they do is imbued with…
5 Artists We Loved At Alamo City Comic Con
Super Emo Friends The lives of superheroes are devastating, if you really think about it. It’s a wonder how any saving the world gets done when, given what they typically go through, your favorite comic book character should be curled up in a ball in their bedroom listening to The Cure. They should be completely…
‘Bodies Revealed’ To Show At The Witte Museum
One of the most jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring exhibits in the world returns to San Antonio this October. The Witte Museum will host Bodies Revealed, which features carefully preserved human bodies that are respectfully and artistically displayed, an exhibition that showcases our inner beauty, literally. “Bodies Revealed is a beautiful homage to the human body,” Marise McDermott,…
New Home For Pizza Classics
After 29 years at its original location on Broadway, a local pizza chain is on the move. Pizza Classics, now at 3440 N. St. Mary’s St., relocated to its new location after the building they leased in was sold and will now be turned into a high-rise, according to PC owner Robert Constantine. The St.…
Texas Game Wardens Destroy $6 Million Worth Of Marijuana Plants
A massive marijuana field found on public land in northeast Texas is no more. Texas game wardens recently destroyed over 6,500 marijuana plants worth over $6 million after two hunters stumbled upon the plants in the Cooper Wildlife Management Area while hunting feral hogs. Cooper Wildlife Management Area is a 14,480-acre zone of public land…
San Antonio Officials Launch Initiative To Eliminate Pedestrian Deaths
Dozens of pedestrians and cyclists in San Antonio die in traffic accidents each year. A newly launched initiative by the City of San Antonio aims to change that. City officials, led by Councilwoman Shirley Gonzales of District 5, kicked off an effort today to eliminate pedestrian fatalities called Vision Zero. Gonzales said she began to…
Texas Has A New Ben & Jerry’s Flavor
No big surprise — Bourbon Pecan Pie was voted the winner of Ben & Jerry’s Texas-Church Summer Tour. The four-month summer tour through Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, pitted two Texas-centric flavors against each other: Bourbon Pecan Pie with shortbread cookie pieces and Bar-B-Qu Peach with ancho chili caramel swirl. The pint, which follows…
How Do San Antonio Universities Fare In The Department Of Education’s New College Scorecard?
The U.S. Department of Education released a College Scorecard this weekend, which ranks universities by affordability and quality. San Antonio schools on the list include the University of Texas at San Antonio, the University of Incarnate Word and Trinity. With soaring costs of higher education and outrageous amounts of student debt in the U.S., it’s…
Mi Agua Mi Vida Coalition To Protest SAWS Rate Hike
A new coalition will rally at the Municipal Plaza Building tomorrow at 5 p.m. to urge City Council to vote against proposed San Antonio Water System rate increases. The Mi Agua Mi Vida Coalition is comprised of concerned citizens and groups like the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, the Southwest Workers Union, the Sierra Club,…
Remember ‘The Golden Girls’ The Puro San Antonio Way
Thirty years ago today, The Golden Girls, the greatest show to ever air on television, premiered its first episode. The series, starring Estelle Getty, Bea Arthur, Betty White and Rue McClanahan, continues to resonate with fans and enjoys a substantial gay following. The show’s premise about four senior women living together in a house in Miami…
Map Shows The Gap Between Minimum Wage And Living Wage In San Antonio
It’s tough to make it work anywhere on minimum wage, and Bexar County is no exception. A new map by Esri visualizes data from the Living Wage Calculator, a tool developed by Amy Glasmeier of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to estimate the amount of a living wage throughout the country. The living wage is…
5 Things You Have To Do This Week
Monday, September 14 Tom Green Sidelined from making his stand-up début in San Antonio in late June because of a serious spider bite that kept him hospitalized in Canada for an entire week, comedian Tom Green, best known for his hilariously immature antics on MTV’s The Tom Green Show in the late ’90s, has healed…
Poll: With More Details Revealed About Blue Bell’s Production, Will You Eat It?
After a months-long hiatus, Blue Bell is on its way back to San Antonio. The company halted production this summer after a listeria outbreak contributed to over a dozen hospitalizations and three deaths. Blue Bell has rightfully taken some hits for it, too. That continued over the weekend, as the conditions which created the crisis…
5 Shows To See This Week
Monday, September 14 Nina Diaz Open Mic At the front of Girl In A Coma and her thrilling solo band, San Anto’s Nina Diaz hosts the Limelight’s weekly open mic. Free, 9pm, Limelight, 2718 N. St. Mary’s, (210) 735-7775 Tuesday, September 15 Dirty Few, Rootbeer and Mermentau, The Beers From what I’ve heard from friends in…
SA Food Pics: Who Needs Lunch Suggestions?
Finding new places to indulge in definitely won’t be a problem after viewing this edition of SA Food pics! Some of these gourmet finds include a barbacoa grilled cheese from Barrio Barrista (3735 Culebra Road) which is going to be my new obsession, along with a delicious michelada from El 7 Mares (3831 W. Commerce St.) and to…
Remember NBA Great Moses Malone With His 80-ft Buzzer Beater For The Spurs
NBA hall-of-famer Moses Malone passed away this weekend at 60-years-old, suffering a heart attack in his sleep at a celebrity golf tournament in Norfolk, Virginia. Drafted to the ABA in 1974, Malone was one of the first modern centers in basketball, his dominant style paving the way for the great era of big men in…
SAPD Arrested Manu Bennett This Weekend
Maybe you know him as Azog the Defiler from the Hobbit movies. Or maybe know him as Crixus, from the hit television series Spartacus. Or maybe you know him as Slade Wilson, otherwise known as the villain Deathstroke, on the DC comic television series Arrow. Actor Manu Bennett, who was in San Antonio for Alamo…
2,500 Happy Texan Couples Able To Marry Thanks To The Supreme Court
On the morning of June 26, Jordan and Donna Reed were one of the first couples to arrive at the Bexar County Courthouse. Just after 9 a.m., the Supreme Court ruled that laws banning same-sex couples from getting married were unconstitutional. After the news broke, more and more couples showed up to the courthouse. Since…
Stan Lee, The Ultimate Politician, Thinks Donald Trump Needs To Tone It Down
Early in his panel at Alamo City Comic Con, an audience member asked Stan Lee why he hasn’t gone into politics. “You’re not the first person to say that I would be the best President of the United States,” he replied. No question he has the necessary broad appeal. Through his work at Marvel Comics,…
Hodor Hates Jon Snow And Hopes He Stays Dead
“I hope he is.” Such was the response of Kristin Nairn after a fan asked him the question the entire internet has been asking since June: Is Jon Snow really dead? Ever since the Game of Thrones season five finale ended with a shot of the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch clinging to life…
Rick Perry Suspends Presidential Campaign
July 2013 probably seems like eons ago for Rick Perry. That’s when Time ran a story by Zeke J. Miller that led with the line: “It looks like everything is aligned for Rick Perry to be the Republican nominee for president in 2016.” The story portrayed Perry, the longest-serving governor of Texas, as someone in…
Bonehead Quote Of The Week: Sarah Palin Might Be On Drugs
This week’s rally in Washington D.C. against the Obama-backed Iran deal brought out the heavy hitters of the GOP Magical Mystery Tour. The event’s intent was to convince Senate Democrats to oppose an accord the Obama administration struck with six other countries. The deal will limit Iran’s nuclear capabilities and lift some economic sanctions against…
The Unexpected Result Of The Federal Invasion Of Texas
Jade Helm 15 ends next week, and it had an unanticipated consequence. Through a Freedom of Information request, the folks at Gawker learned that after Texas Governor Greg Abbott played to the sympathies of conservative conspiracy theorists by ordering the Texas State Guard to “monitor” the routine military exercise, the guard saw an increase in…
Councilman Treviño Proposes $500,000 to Save Lerma’s
In the latest small victory in the battle to save Lerma’s Nite Club, the city council approved a budget amendment of $500,000 to help the Esperanza Center maintain the historic conjunto venue. As part of a budget of $2.5 billion for the 2016 year, Councilman Roberto Treviño’s proposal will boost the movement to restore the club…
11 Panels To Put On Your Alamo City Comic Con Itinerary
Friday, September 10 “I Am Iron Man” With Bob Layton 3pm-3:50pm, Room 203 Veteran comic man Bob Layton is credited with saving Iron Man from the trash heap, reinvigorating the then-struggling comic series in the 70’s and 80’s with a new take on Iron Man/Tony Stark. Layton is credited with “Demon in the Bottle” storyline,…
Which San Antonio Neighborhoods Have The Worst Obesity Problems? This Map Shows You
San Antonio’s overall obesity rates have dropped in recent years. Once consistently named among the country’s most obese cities, the most recent reports indicate that less than 30 percent of San Antonians are obese — still greater than the national average, but moving in the right direction. The improvement doesn’t tell the whole story though.…
6 Borderline Erotic Stormy San Antonio Radar Maps
Look outside, San Antonio! Storm’s a-brewin’. It’s been so long since it’s rained, and so damn hot outside that this steamy, stormy activity gets us all, well, you know. Here are six screenshots of radar from around 5 p.m. that we just can’t stop looking at: Awwww yeahhhhhh. There’s nothing cold about this…
City Council Approves $2.5 Billion Budget
With little fanfare, City Council approved a $2.5 billion budget today for the 2016 fiscal year. It’s the city’s largest budget ever. Here are some of the highlights: -$3 million to fund 1,300 body cameras for the San Antonio Police Department. -A $23 million increase for road repair and a $10 million increase for sidewalks. Upgrades…
Do You Know Who Hurt This Cat? The Sheriff Wants To Find Out
In another case of awful animal abuse, authorities are trying to determine who wrapped this cat in rubber bands. On September 2, deputies were called to the 11000 block of Shaenfield Road where the found the feline with rubber bands around its paws, cutting off its circulation. The cats back paw was saved, but its…
Shyamalan’s Found-footage Horror Flick ‘The Visit’ Goes Nowhere
I think I’ve figured out the secret of M. Night Shyamalan. His “twist,” if you will. I bet he turns out to be an alien sent to Earth to study humanity. Looking for our weak spots, maybe. Except he really doesn’t have even the first clue about us and his experiments — which have so far…
Josh Brolin: ‘The Rejection Factor Was Always The Big Thing For Me’
While driving through Beverly Hills and longing for a road trip through the desert, something sparked in Academy Award-nominated actor Josh Brolin’s (Milk) mind that made him pull off to the side of the road and begin writing the script for his 2008 short film X, which would become his directorial début. In X, a…
SA’s Patricia Vonne Dishes On Her Alamo City Film Fest Flick
She makes appearances in Sin City and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, but a couple of movies just weren’t enough for San Antonio native, musician and actress Patricia Vonne and her character Dallas (AKA Zorro Girl), one of the members of the vigilante group known as the Girls of Old Town. With permission…
Alamo City Con Offers Side Film Fest – Will It Succeed?
Already literally seeing his baby grow by leaps and bounds, the brains behind the city’s annual comic book convention brainstormed new ideas that could drum up even bigger crowds. Apple de la Fuente wants Alamo City Comic Con to grow into SA’s latest cultural institution, to be mentioned among the likes of Fiesta and the…
Bottle & Tap: Bone Up On Brewspeak
People love to bag on the Middle Ages, but keep in mind that both beer and higher education as we know it came about between bouts of feudal plague and there’s been a mystical link between scholastics and suds ever since. But how often has beer been a subject itself, rather than a tasty diversion…
Savage Love: Guys
Is it legal for a man to procure the services of a dominatrix? In the kind of session I have in mind, there’s no nudity or sexual activity or contact involved. There’s not even any whipping or flogging or caning or hardcore BDSM stuff. I just want to see what it would be like to…
For Alamo City Comic Con, Growing Up Means More Attractions for Kids
If anything has surprised Alamo City Comic Cook organizer Apple de la Fuente about the event’s first two years, it’s that families that have shown in droves. That factor seems to set ACCC apart from other comic cons around the country. To continue serving that market, de la Fuente has expanded programming this year to…
For When You’re Over Foie Gras, There’s Always Snow Monkey
Whilst navigating a culinary #cityontherise, where getting tossed delectable dishes like green pea pound cake and foie gras sweet treats has become commonplace, it’s easy to lose sight of simple pleasures. It’s easy to forget that you can go to a dinky place on Fredericksburg and have a badass experience on the cheap. Welcome to…
4 San Antonio Artists You Can Meet At Alamo City Comic Con
Creating a comic book is a complex process involving many moving parts. At the heart of it all is sheer creativity and imagination. This weekend’s Alamo City Comic Con will offer local comic book artists a chance to show their work to thousands convention goers. Event organizers are literally taking a page out of the…
Puerto Rican Gems, Shaky Service At Luna Rosa
Though institutions such as El Bohio and La Marginal have traditionally commanded the attention of most local Puerto Rican food lovers, the marketplace has since opened up. Now, fans of Boricua gastronomy can take their pick from two food trucks (Sofrito and Padilla’s Puerto Rican Cuisine) and three restaurants (Gusto Criollo off Culebra, Luna Rosa…
Highly Aroused: Paramour: Downtown’s First Rooftop Bar Consummated At Last
Chris Ware could still manage a smile in mid-August when first interviewed about the long-awaited, much-delayed opening of Paramour, the extravagant new bar atop the equally exuberant Phipps Building on 9th Street in the Museum Reach area. “A year and 16 days,” he said at the time — without batting an eye or betraying any…
All Aboard: SA-Austin Commuter Train Effort Gains Momentum
Anybody who has driven between San Antonio and Austin knows full well that between crazy drivers, accidents and traffic, chances are you end up wanting to pull your hair out. Could all that soon come to an end? Well, no. But odds are good that the experience could at least soon turn more pleasant. The…
Who Is Virgil Dorie? Searching For A Woman Without An Identity
Virgil Dorie carries almost everything she needs with her. Dorie is a round-faced woman who looks to be in her late 60s or early 70s. She collects her long frizzy hair under a cloth, which she tucks behind her head. Her clothes are baggy, a rumpled green polo shirt layered underneath a blue windbreaker. Her…
Folk Music 101: The Bands At Hand At The International Accordion Festival
Like the instrument itself, the International Accordion Festival is one of the most unique concerts in San Antonio. Where else does each headlining act play twice on the same day? And where else could such far-flung genres cross-pollinate at a single show? Paying homage to the squeezebox’s intrusion into folk cultures around the world, SA’s…
Hodor! Game of Thrones’ Kristian Nairn On His Spinoff Touring Rave
Let Hodor be a lesson, young graduates — always go out for the interview. For the 2009 comedy Hot Fuzz, Kristian Nairn, who plays Hodor in Game of Thrones, unsuccessfully tried out for a role. Years later, the casting director remembered Nairn and his 6-10 frame for the smash HBO adaptation of George R. R.…
Scumdogs Of The Universe Invade The Literary Marketplace With ‘Let There Be GWAR’
According to Snopes-verified, publicly notarized rock ‘n’ roll legend, members of KISS had vials of their own blood drawn to mix into the red ink used to print the first issue of their official Marvel comic book. Presumably most people who hear that story say “gross,” while potential KISS Army regulars say “awesome.” An even…
Free Will Astrology, Week Of September 8
ARIES (March 21-April 19): “More and more I have come to admire resilience,” writes Jane Hirshfield in her poem “Optimism.” “Not the simple resistance of a pillow,” she adds, “whose foam returns over and over to the same shape, but the sinuous tenacity of a tree: finding the light newly blocked on one side, it…
Flavor File: SA’s First Cereal Bar And More
A slew of restaurant and bar openings are going to make for an interesting fall. Let’s start things off with the opening of Jeret Peña’s latest bar, The Old Main Association at 2512 N. Main Ave. (inside the former Beat Street Coffee Co.). The space, designed in part by Steve Martín and graphic designer Jamie…
