“Where is all the Kung Fu?” The question was posed to me by Justin Orr, an intriguing up-and-coming artist who was exhibiting at Silicon Valley Comic Con 2.0. His booth, Jusscope Press, caught my eye for the very question he asked – it had Kung Fu. He creates chic fan art with a vintage feel, a style that echoes the artistic mastery of Eyvind Earle, the brilliant painter behind Disney's Lady and the Tramp (1955) and Sleeping Beauty (1959). But instead of Disney-esque family fare, Justin takes on R-rated subjects, our beloved films such as Fist of Fury (1972), Drunken Master (1977), and Five Deadly Venoms (1978). As a "professional" fanboy of the Kung Fu movie genre, I love Justin's Kung Fu style.

I've been attending these kinds of fan conventions since before the term "Comic-Con" became the dominant title of such gatherings of fandom. I started nearly four decades ago with Star Trek conventions. Although science fiction conventions can trace their roots back to the '30s, the Star Trek conventions were really the first to go where no fanboy (or fangirl) had gone before. Prior to that, these sorts of conventions were much smaller and less diverse. There were comic book conventions devoted predominantly to comic collectors, and other fan gatherings devoted to their specific genres like Star Trek. I once sold Kung Fu movies from a booth at a convention that was exclusively devoted to Highlander (1992-1998). (If that seems odd, remember that Adrian Paul was a practitioner of Hung Gar and Choy Lay Fut.) But back then, the various science fiction and fantasy universes had not expanded anywhere near to the magnitude that they have today. Sure, we had Lord of the Rings, but no CGI Gollum and no Peter Jackson, just Tolkien's books, and a little later, Ralph Bakeshi's film and the works of children's animation Rankin/Bass. We had Batman, but it was Adam West and Burt Ward, not Christian Bale or Ben Affleck (For me personally, it was all about Adam and Burt – I mean they took on Bruce Lee! And much to SVCC's credit, they reunited Adam and Burt for their first West Coast appearance together in over a decade and what some think might be their final Northern California mutual appearance). Back then, we didn't have Hogwarts, the Marvel "Cinematic" Universe, or countless other imaginative worlds, dystopic visions and alternative realities that proliferate pop culture now.

Grant Gustin and Tom Felton of the Flash speak to a standing room only crowd

SVCC 2.0 was held over the weekend of Earth Day, April 21–23, which auspiciously coincided with the national March for Science. Founded by Silicon Valley entrepreneur and personal computing maverick Steve Wozniak, SVCC takes Comic-Cons to a whole new dimension by expanding the concept beyond just comics and pop culture fandom to include science and technology. Squeezed between The Flash's Grant Gustin and Tom Felton, the reunited cast of Sesame Street and Pam Grier was Robotics, Virtual Reality, NASA, SETI, and numerous other scientific groups invested in exploring the final frontiers and bettering the future of humanity. This year attracted more than 65,000 attendees, with 10,000 participating in the March for Science. And this is only the second SVCC.

I was at the first SVCC, as well as the expo that preceded it, Big Wow ComicFest. In 2015, Big Wow was held at the same time as our very own 2015 KUNG FU TAI CHI DAY. I tried to work out some sort of mutual cross-promotion with a promoter for that event (because there was some overlap between our demographics), but it didn't come to pass. We both got inundated by our own events and in the end only exchanged courtesy comp passes with each other, just so we might see future potential. In 2016, SVCC launched, and I went there on a mission to capture a Sith Lord. Ray Park, the former Wushu champion who played Darth Maul in Star Wars and Snake Eyes in G.I.Joe, was one of the guests, and he had been on my cover master hit list for years. We met for a private interview on the Friday evening that SVCC opened. It was only supposed to be an hour, but we both quickly fell into a gung-ho Kung Fu fanboy discussion of everything happening in the martial arts at the time. That went for hours and more than a few rounds of Stella Artois. Ray attends many conventions all around the world. He loves to sign autographs and interact with fans, but he really loves to talk martial arts, especially Kung Fu, so we hit it off well. And despite all the Stellas, I did get that cover story for our JULY+AUGUST 2016 issue (Ray Park: The Force of Wushu), along with some supplemental web article interviews (Ray Park on Action Movies, Family and Martial Arts: Part 1 and Part 2). (Never underestimate the power of Stella. Who is the Drunken Master now?)

But back to Justin's original question – there is actually plenty of Kung Fu at Comic-Cons, if you know where to look. What surprised me about SVCC was that there were more sword booths than I've seen at any other Comic-Con so far. It's a growing trend that has my complete approval. Most of the weapons were fantasy-based, fantastic swords from Lord of the Rings and anime, truly absurd caricature stuff as few creators of fantasy know the first thing about how an edged weapon really works. But fun nonetheless. Some of the booths had some top-shelf blades, offering some superb pieces from renowned makers like Hanwei. Some of those fantasy weapon makers, like Dragonsong Forge, have become quite impressive too, not only making fantasy blades but also traditional ones. And, of course, SaberForge was there, the leaders in high-quality sabers for full contact dueling (not light sabers – that term is trademarked). Those sabers cost several hundreds of dollars – as much as a real sword! But I must confess, after holding one in my hand, I wouldn't mind adding one to my sword rack. And alongside saber sales are the Jedi Academies. With actors like Ray Park and now Donnie Yen, will this evolve into an authentic martial art someday?

Although it wasn’t Kung Fu specifically, there was a martial arts demo from Ernie Reyes Jr., and his dad, Ernie Reyes Sr. Their Ernie Reyes West Coast Martial Arts franchise began locally, so I've seen their demonstrations countless times. Now in his seventies, Grandmaster Ernie Reyes Sr. is still very impressive. Junior was signing autographs too, based on his role in the original live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1991) and several other roles and stuntwork over the years. I remember way back in the day, when Ernie Reyes Jr. did a pre-cosplay demo dressed as Yoda at some tournament and fought alongside Sam J. Jones who played Flash Gordon (1980). Jones made a guest appearance at that tournament, and was also signing at SVCC 2.0. It's a strange memory, now that I think of it, one that I can't validate on the internet, so perhaps it's false. Whatever. As much as I enjoyed the West Coast Martial Arts demo, it was pretty standard as such performances go. Not to be disrespectful, but it would have played better to the audience if their demo uniforms and glitter staffs were replaced by cosplay and l*te sabers.

The most common place to see Kung Fu expressed at a Comic-Con is in the Cosplay. There are always Ninjas, and there are many shows that have a martial arts bent like monk robes in my closet. Someone's gotta represent. Maybe I can find four other venoms to join me. Poison Clan Rocks the World.

The next Silicon Valley Comic Con is scheduled for April 6­–8, 2018. For more information, visit www.svcomiccon.com.