Back from NFT LA: The Batman NFTs, Mark Cuban's Web3 Content Studio and Bored Ape Burgers?

So much exciting stuff keeps coming up every time I’m about to hit send on a new issue.

First and foremost is that I will be merging Thndr Frens into THE HYPER ROOM and it will become a podcast of all the stuff you read here with interviews and more. You don’t need to do anything you will be automagically moved to the new list but it will say THE HYPER ROOM instead of Thndr Frens and it will look like this:

It will exist at the intersection of Pop Culture and Web3 and cover the multiverse and metaverse of all things comics, animation and gaming as it crosses over with NFTs, DAOs and DeFi. It is a very exciting space we are entering into and we are happy to have you along for the ride!

NFT LA-LA-LAND

I was at NFT LA and it’s a totally different vibe than say Miami or Vancouver because of the Hollywoods. This is a city where every Batmobile can be driven down the street and Charlie Sheen can roll out of bed and be on stage first thing in the morning.

I will say the hustle is real in the City of Angels, lets do a quick photo dump with captions before getting to some of the announcements:

Held at the LA Convention Center in DTLA, the 3-day show should have been 2 and the venue was way too big for this show.

Pretty great speakers, pretty empty rooms after saying it was sold out. Also it was $1000 a ticket for the 3-day show.

When you see this at an NFT show, you know that Gotham City is entering the Metaverse - full story after these photos.

Pretty amazing that Jim Lee came to NFT LA on Tuesday but did not go anywhere near WonderCon.

Oh this is what a paid panel looks and sounds like. Amazing and “authentic.”

This is one of the best panels of big names with no audience I have ever seen.

When Gmoney comes to a conference but is backstage doing a Zoom because he doesn’t want to dox himself.

Loving that “comics” is under the “fashion’ track.

For those of us that came for some sunshine, thanks for having the food and some of the booths outside.

Azuki holders-only party in West Hollywood. Room for 500, and another 1000 showed up. Lambos and horses valet parking. You could argue if the future of NFTs is like this is, it’s NGMI.

But I did get into the Steve Aoki party 5 minutes before he said “Good Night LA!”

This is not NFT LA, I went to WonderCon in Anaheim on Friday to have a look and met some new frens.

So the most interesting things that concern us specifically:

DC Comics is entering the NFT world with 200,000 Batman NFTs - called The Bat Cowl Collection - at $300 a pop - if they sell out (they will) this project will make more money for WarnerMedia than The Batman movie that just came out. It launches in 2 weeks. I will be getting one. Do you need a Whitelist with a massive supply?

Holy Bat Holders, what do you get for $300/0.1ETH?? Holders will have access to a private fan forum on the DC Universe website, access to fan events, physical collectibles, exclusive merchandise, and behind-the-scenes content. Now remember, a ticket to Comic-Con International in San Diego is $304 this year for all 5 days minus food and lodging.

The other big news was that Mark Cuban unveiled the first participatory entertainment platform for creators called Fireside - “a Web3 Content Studio which will provide creators and their production companies the ability to create and interact with their communities and bring their audience into the creative process in unprecedented ways.”

Doug Ellin, the creator of Entourage was on stage to announce that he is getting the gang back together for a new show called Ramble On that will be funded by an NFT for Cuban’s Fireside app. Details are here and they even got Charlie Sheen on stage for this one, who admitted he didn’t know much about an NFT. Jokes aside I would say all eyes are on this project as the future of tearing down the gatekeepers of Hollywood. Key message here is “F— the Gatekeepers” a direct quote from Mark Cuban, one of the most famous gatekeepers in the world.

Bored & Hungry in LA

I didn’t see this in LA, but my LA friends did. The Bored Apes Yacht Club NFT owner launches a burger joint called Bored and Hungry in Long Beach - and here are some pix from the pop-up:

The foodie reviews are not that good but the lines and excitement were high - a true collectible in the making - even the leftover packaging, we normally call “garbage” is highly sought-after on eBay:

Ok, Substack says this post is too long for email…

so I will end it here this week and remind you the next time you hear from me you will actually be hearing from me via podcast, but it will still come as a newsletter, a tweet, a YouTube and maybe even a TikTok as well.

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