San Diego Surf Culture Makes Comic Waves

By Ken Lewis 7 p.m.July 21, 2014

original link is here:  http://www.discoversd.com/news/2014/jul/21/comic-con-surfing-wilber-kookmeyer/

Wilbur Kookmeyer cartoon by creator Bob Penuelas. — Courtesy Photo

Comic-Con week is here! Soon you will be spending countless hours wandering the convention center floor and will be bumping into your tubby neighbor dressed as Han Solo, or your buttoned-up receptionist walking around half-naked and painted blue like she’s in the X-Men. Yep, this week rules.
So how does the surf guy have anything to write about this week that doesn’t involve tubes, bros or sunshine? While I admit I don’t know what Mindcraft is or what a 20-sided die can do, I do know that surfing and comics are not as far apart as you might think.
Surfing and art are in the same grouping and one of the most famous surfer artists that comes to mind is the legendary Rick Griffin. Griffin garnered acclaim in the ’60s and ’70s for his “Murphy” comic, that ran in Surfer magazine and later gained mainstream popularity with his concert posters of rock ‘n’ roll greats Frank Zappa, The Grateful Dead and Jimi Hendrix. Decades after his death, Griffin’s art still can be found on t-shirts, posters and movie covers, and chances are Griffin’s influence can be found somewhere on the tradeshow floor at Comic-Con in 2014.

Local artist Bob Penuelas created Wilbur Kookmeyer. — Courtesy Photo

Another great surf artist is local Bob Penuelas. Penuelas is a well-known airbrush artist who has been coloring surfboards in San Diego for 35 years. At some point in the mid-’80s, Bob developed a character that became the wildly popular surf cartoon strip, Wilbur Kookmeyer, which was also featured in Surfer magazine. In the comic, Wilbur was like many young surf grommets: mouthy, dumb and full of himself. The gangly Wilbur always found himself in bad situations because of his attributes, but his exploits kept readers coming back each month to see what trouble he was going to get into next.

Many of the comics were great social commentary on how the beach was changing from a sleepy town to something bigger and with less soul. It was very much what he was seeing right in front of his eyes, in Pacific Beach at the time. Eventually the comic ended but Wilbur is alive and well and can still be found on Facebook at facebook.com/pages/Wilbur-Kookmeyer/110447028469
I could go on a bit about that obvious choice of the Silver Surfer and how he is drawn as both a goofy-footer and as a regular-footer. That may not mean much to you, but to a surfer, it is a glaring mistake. But he is an alien, so I wont complain much because we too have an alien in surfing; we call him Kelly Slater.

So there you go Comic-Con homies. We’re practically the same people! How about we make a deal, you let me roam around your convention in my flip flops and buy me a corndog and I’ll take you surfing and buy you a fish taco. Deal?

To see more from Bob Penuelas check out his website, wilbur-kookmeyer.com

Paul Elder - the man behind Ballast Point Brewery Beer Label

You ever buy a beer because of the label? You might be out shopping at your local store staring at 100 different IPAs and then one label will catch your eye. A few years ago that happened to me because I saw an amazing image of a fish. It was a red and orange Sculpin swimming over some cobblestones. I bought it and it turned out to be the most delicious IPA I had ever enjoyed. 

I soon found out that the artist behind the image was Paul Elder an old friend and longtime Pacific Beach local. I caught up with Paul to discuss the brand, his art and his life long passion of surfing and spear fishing.  One thing that many surfers have in common is that they are very artistic, whether the medium is music, paint or words, many surfers crave creativity and Paul is no different.

Spending his early childhood traveling across the world as the son of a Navy man, he found a passion for the ocean while his family was in Thailand. When he finally arrived in San Diego in 8^th grade he loved to fish. Fishing also lead him to discover something new; Surfing. His family had moved to San Diego and as he was fishing off of Crystal Pier he saw some guys catching waves on surfboards and was instantly entranced. He ran off the pier and returned the rented rod and asked if he could rent a surfboard instead. In the years that followed, Paul became a very accomplished surfer and was known for having a very powerful surf style like that of BK or Jeff Hackman.

Paul Elder and his secret Baja Point

His other passion was art. He found himself painting ocean fish and comical t-shirts for many locally based businesses like Cass Street Bar and Grill, Skip Frye and Joe Ropers Repair shop. Somewhere along the line Paul began home brewing beer and would often stop at the Home Brew Mart on Linda Vista Rd to get his supplies. He struck up a friendship with the owners and they would talk beer and fishing quite often. Soon the Home Brew guys were starting up their own beer label called Ballast Point and asked if Paul could draw up a label for them. The first image he made for them was that of a yellowtail for their new Pale Ale. It was an instant hit and a perfect fit for the fledgling brand.

In the 18 years that followed, Paul has done dozens of beer labels for the brand including Calico, long fin, Dorado and the now award winning Sculpin, which Paul had a hand in naming. He was asked what would be a good fish to represent this new IPA and he said the Sculpin , because it’s a beautiful fish with the sweetest meat but you had to be careful because it also packs a very sharp sting. Much like the 7% alcohol content of the new beer. Then and there a new flagship beer was born.

Finding his passion in the sea and with beer has lead Paul to live a very simple but fulfilling life. He is very much ingrained into the DNA and identity of one of the fastest growing breweries and distillers in Southern California and the partnership is really just beginning. Now you know when you see a good label, give that beer a try, you just might find a winner.


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