At Super Art Fight, we make it all about the fan’s voice. And the fan’s voice has never quite been as heard as loud as it was at Super Art Fight 9, this past Friday night, January 21st at the Ottobar in Baltimore, Maryland.
Nearly 450 of you packed the Ottobar to the rafters, causing a line around the block and a spectacle never seen at an art fight prior. With performances by both the amazing video game rockers Rare Candy and the sublime Japanese punk rockers Peelander-Z, it was an amazing night, culminating in the crowning of a new Super Art Fight Champion – Michael “Spaghetti Kiss” Bracco.
As always, all bouts were commentated and hosted by Ross Nover and Marty Day, with music provided by DJ Sheephead, and officiating was handled by “The Dork Knight” Michael George. (Normal SAF referee “Action” Jackson Gill was unavailable for the evening, and will return on future cards, alternating the role with George.)
The Results of the evening…
BOUT #1 – ROOKIE BATTLE: Brandon J. Carr defeated Caldwell Tanner in a Werewolves vs. Unicorns Battle. While Caldwell Tanner may’ve arrived at the Ottobar the better known of the two artists, the battle divided the audience right down the middle. Showing that they learned well during their appearances over the SAF Fall 2010 tour, these relative newbies took the art all over the canvas, and in a memorable moment, onto Caldwell’s chest. Given that the difference was one of literally a single decibel point, it’s easy to say that either man could have won, and it will not be the last you see of either gentleman in SAF competition.
BOUT #2 – TAG BATTLE: Team Robozilla (Nick “Ghostfreehood” Borkowicz & Kelsey Wailes) defeated Team Sharktopus (Jami “Angry Zen Master” Noguchi & Chris Impink, replacing the ailing Chelsea Grose) in a Future vs. Past Battle The tag battles were added to SAF cards proper due to their memorable moments on our traveling cards, and absolutely delivered in spades. Team Sharktopus hit the stage first, Noguchi wearing a homemade sharktopus costume, but their choice of entrance was topped quickly, as Team Robozilla lived up to their name, with Borkowicz and Wailes making their way to the canvas dressed as Robocop and Mecha Godzilla respectively. A battle of four amazing art fight vets, this was an amazing showdown between four talents at their peak, and at the end, Team Robozilla received the first official tag victory in SAF history.
BOUT #3 – #1 Contender’s Bout: Bryan “Silent But Violent” Prindiville defeated Josh Taylor via forfeit to win a title shot at SAFX in an Insects vs. Reptiles Battle. You want controversy? This bout delivered it in spades. The mind games began early as Prindiville made his way to the stage dressed as Josh Taylor, but the self described “Most Hated Man In Art Fight” lived up to his title, as Josh Taylor refused to heed the call of the Wheel of Death, refused to draw (leading to angry chants from the audience) and even refused to finish the bout. No matter the circumstances, however, Bryan Prindiville now has a shot at the top of the mountain. Will he answer the call? We’ll find out at our 10th major event – SAFX.
BOUT #4 – MAIN EVENT: Michael “Spaghetti Kiss” Bracco defeated SAF ChampionJamie “Brawlin” Baldwin in a Heaven vs. Hell Battle to become the first ever TWO-TIME SAF CHAMPION! One year ago, Bracco and Baldwin headlined Super Art Fight 6, Baldwin gaining the SAF title. One year later, they clashed again in an art fight for the ages. After the controversy of the prior bout, the battle seen was just what the doctor ordered, providing amazing art, stellar competition, and more importantly, sportsmanship and respect. Much like Bout #1, the decision came down to the difference of a single decibel, but Michael Bracco now leads the pack into 2011 as our new Super Art Fight Champion.
Where do we go from here?
Michael Bracco is now set to defend his SAF Championship against Bryan Prindiville at SAFX, tentatively scheduled for sometime in April 2011.
Suffice to say, Josh Taylor is in a bit of hot water with the SAF Championship Committee based on his actions, and it will be interesting to see how, if at all, he will be punished.
Based on crowd reaction, I believe it is safe to assume that our new Tag Division was a resounding success, and will be a part of future events moving forward.
Super Art Fight moves on to Katsucon 17 in February, and then an appearance at the Cultural Arts Center in Frederick, Maryland in March. More details to come.
Later this week comes our patented POST MATCH INTERVIEWS! Look for them here and on our YouTube channel!
With Super Art Fight 9 just hours away, fans are already beginning to speculate on the winners and losers for each bout. Having commentated nearly every single Super Art Fight event respectively, our own Ross Nover and Marty Day discuss the bouts heading into the show, going over the tale of the tape, and making their picks for victors. Read on, and feel free to make your own predictions in the comments.
Marty Day: Ross, This Friday night, January 21st, we return to the Ottobar to present our first major event of 2011, Super Art Fight 9. It’s a stacked card from top to bottom and should deliver a spectacle unlike any ever seen in Charm City.
There will be four absolutely stacked bouts, including the first official SAF Tag Battle and an SAF Championship bout, not to mention two amazing performances from video game rockers Rare Candy and Japanese action comic punkers Peelander-Z.
But the question at the end of the day is – who will have their hand raised in victory.
Ross Nover: Super Art Fight has come a long way since its humble beginnings, Marty. From a group of talented artists and friends putting on a show to a truly competative spectacular. I’ve heard many of the combatants from the upcoming show discussing strategy and technique, something unheard of in the early stages of Super Art Fight.
I know all of our regulars are determined to bring their A-game to the show, with their eyes on a chance at the championship belt and bragging rights as BEST ART FIGHTER OF THEM ALL.
Shot at MAGFest this past weekend, our own Nick “Ghostfreehood” Borkowicz, Jamie “Angry Zen Master” Noguchi, Ross Nover and Marty Day sit down with BaltimoreGamer.com‘s Adam Chase to discuss the history of Super Art Fight and plug this weekend’s Super Art Fight 9.
As the minutes tick down to Super Art Fight 9, various press outlets are jumping on board for our first show of the year.
One such outlet is the popular indie rock outlet Brightest Young Things, who on the eve of this large event decided to interview one of our co-hosts, Ross Nover.
The interview is full of all sorts of insight into our growth lo these past few years, and is worth a read.
Here’s a snippet.
What is an optimal strategy for novices?
At the end of the day, there aren’t really any rules. We don’t have a referee most of the time, and when we do, he’s too busy drinking. Even if an artist is given a topic, he or she can leave it in the dust and do whatever they want. The best thing to do is draw BIG, with strong lines, and make it funny.
I’ve been to two art fights now, and have noticed the artists have personas and egos.
There’s definitely been an evolution in that process. At first artists were just happy to be there and having a good time. Now it’s gotten to the point where there are definitely “good guys,” and others who have taken the role of a “bad guy.” At Super Art Fight 8, there was a new guy named Josh Taylor. Not only is he an amazing artist, but jumped right into his character. Behind the scenes, he’s the nicest guy, but when he hits the stage he becomes the biggest asshole I’ve ever seen. It came across so well. When the topic of “Super Art Fight Does Christmas” came up, Josh looked at the canvas, wrote “NO,” and just kept going. The audience cheered for him, so he flipped them off and they loved him for it!
Super Art Fight WILL be attending/appearing/performing at MAGFest 9.
We know this is super last minute, and since MAGFest has grown from a bouncing baby convention into a four day mega event, it’s completely sold out, we can’t shill tickets for you, but we wanted you, dear fans, to know that if you were attending this amazing music and gaming convention this weekend, you’ll be able to see us!
We will be performing in Panel 2 on Saturday, January 15th at 7pm.
As always with MAGFest, we try to make the show a little different from what you would normally see from us at a con, so get ready for a fun and unique night of art fighting.
In our fourth and final battle to announce for Super Art Fight 9, we’re proud to announce the main show debut of two talents who we had the pleasure to scout during our fall touring season, and wanted to debut on one of our shows proper.
Back at Intervention 2010, we had a “Do or Die” Battle Royale, with the idea of the winner getting future main show bookings. After the dust settled, one man’s hand was raised in victory, and sure enough we’re delivering on our promise – Caldwell Tanner, known for the webcomic Loldwell and his amazing work for College Humor, is making his art fight debut proper at Super Art Fight 9.
His opponent? Coming off of our AIGA show, we’re proud to bring Brandon J. Carr into the fold. Astounding us with his cartooning skill and ability, it was a no brainer that we’d add him to future shows. And now he gets to prove his mettle in front of one of our most difficult audiences – the Ottobar crowd in Baltimore, Maryland.
And with that we wrap up our card for SAF9. An amazing main event, an astounding number one contender’s bout, a tag team grudge match, and this sure to memorable debut of two new Super Art Fight talents.
Friday January 21st – these bouts, Peelander-Z and Rare Candy. It’s going to be a night to remember. Get your tickets now.
With the dawning of a new year, we at Super Art Fight have two important resolutions.
Start a full-time tag division.
Settle Old Scores.
And luckily, when putting together the card for Super Art Fight 9, an opportunity to make such resolutions become a reality arose itself.
We focused originally on our second resolution. With all of the fallout from the fan’s choice main event at Super Art Fight 8, we realized that there were a lot of people who wanted to see Chelsea “Grose Misconduct” Grose battle Nick “Ghostfreehood” Borkowicz, up to, and including, themselves!
But at the same time, there was that pesky first resolution. After seeing the HUGE reaction to the tag bouts we’ve placed on our traveling cards, especially the amazing tag match back at Intervention 2010, we realized that it needed to become a standard part of every card. So yes, you’ve read it here first, tag matches will be on EVERY major card moving forward. However, that’s just what we wanted. Would Chelsea and Nick be game?
The answer was fast and it was furious. You’d swear Vin Diesel sent it to us. It was a resounding yes, and once we saw who they wanted as their respective partners, we knew it had to happen.
So, at Super Art Fight 9, at The Ottobar in Baltimore, MD, it will be…
Nick “Ghostfreehood” Borkowicz & Kelsey Wailes against Chelsea “Grose Misconduct” Grose & Jami “Angry Zen Master” Noguchi!
The stories in this bout are multi-layered…Noguchi and Borkowicz co-founding Super Art Fight and starting the first rivalry, Kelsey getting her first key win over Noguchi at Super Art Fight 6, Chelsea defeating Kelsey at Super Art Fight 7, and of course, the rivalry between Nick and Chelsea.
But no matter your favorites, the fact is, it all comes to ahead at Super Art Fight 9! Whose side are you on?!
